SYSUCC is located in Guangzhou, also known as Canton in the West. Nasopharygenal carcinoma (NPC) was named “Canton tumor” due to the highest incidence among Cantonese. Dr. Liu has been dedicated to the clinical and translational research of NPC for over ten years. His work includes the first phase 3 trial demonstrating the benefit of PD-1 blockade in locoregionally-advanced NPC (Lancet 2024). On the other hand, Dr. Liu believes another “failed” phase 2 trial published by him is of equal importance to the Lancet paper, which found that antiangiogenesis treatment after high dose radiation might be associated with necrosis in NPC (IJROBP 2022). Dr. Liu has been coauthored the ASCO 2020 Educational Book titled “Recent Advances in the Development of Biomarkers and Chemoradiotherapeutic Approaches for Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma”. He was invited to join the NCI clinical trials planning meeting on NPC in 2018. 

Patient Care Philosophy: “My mom was deceased due to rectal cancer after a painful journey. Thus, I understand the feeling of patients and relatives. I will try my best to make decisions together with patients and align the treatment with every individual patient’s preferences.”

Clinical and translational research of immunotherapy, Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma, Head and Neck Cancer

MD Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University (2011)
MS Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Oncology (2014)
PhD Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Oncology (2020)

1. Liu Xu, et al. Induction-concurrent chemoradiotherapy with or without sintilimab in patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma in China (CONTINUUM): a multicentre, open-label, parallel-group, randomised, controlled, phase 3 trial. Lancet 2024;403(10445):2720-2731.

2. Huang SW,...Liu Xu (Last Corresponding Author), et al. Systemic longitudinal immune profiling identifies proliferating Treg cells as predictors of immunotherapy benefit: biomarker analysis from the phase 3 CONTINUUM and DIPPER trials. Signal Transduct Target Ther 2024;9(1):285.

3. Chen YP, Liu Xu (Co-First Author), et al. Metronomic Capecitabine as Adjuvant Therapy in Locoregionally Advanced Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma: A Multicentre, Open-Label, Parallel-Group, Randomised, Controlled, Phase 3 Trial. Lancet 2021;398(10297):303-313.

4. Liu Xu, et al. Adjuvant Apatinib in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma with Residual Epstein-Barr Virus DNA after Radiation Therapy: A Biomarker-Driven, Phase 2 Trial. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 2022;113(5):1063-1071.

5. Liu Xu, et al. Characteristics of Radiotherapy Trials Compared with Other Oncological Clinical Trials in the Past 10 Years, JAMA Oncol 2018;4(8):1073-1079.

6. Liu Xu, et al. Quality of Abstracts Reporting Randomized Clinical Trials Presented at A Major Oncology Conference. JAMA Oncol 2017; 3:414-416.

Updated Nov 2024 by International Office, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center