Importance of primary site in assessing chemotherapy response and 7-year survival data in advanced squamous-cell carcinomas of the head and neck treated with initial combination chemotherapy without cisplatin

Journal of Clinical Oncology : Official Journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology
B T HillK D MacRae

Abstract

Two hundred eight patients with advanced head and neck squamous-cell carcinomas were treated between 1975 and 1982 with schedule A chemotherapy containing vincristine, bleomycin, methotrexate, 5-fluorouracil, and hydrocortisone administered over 24 hours followed by a folinic acid rescue. Chemotherapy was administered as initial treatment on days 1 and 14 before "curative" local therapy. Toxicity was minimal and patient compliance was 100%. Chemotherapy response was assessed on day 28 in 200 patients: 132 (66%) had an objective response and 68 (34%) were judged to be nonresponders. The complete remission (CR) rate following local therapy was significantly greater in chemotherapy responders (78%) than nonresponders (49%) (P less than .001). Overall median survival figures were 32 months for all patients, 37 months for all chemotherapy responders, and 69 months for all patients achieving CR. Analysis by tumor site showed that oral cavity or nasopharyngeal tumors responded well to initial chemotherapy (P less than .05 and P less than .01) compared with all other sites. This high response rate was not necessarily associated with increased survival, since the median survival of chemotherapy responders for oral cavity lesions was onl...Continue Reading

Citations

Aug 1, 1989·Journal of Chemotherapy·M AiroldiV Brando
Jan 1, 1989·Seminars in Surgical Oncology·S H AdvaniV R Pai
Jul 1, 1991·Otolaryngology--head and Neck Surgery : Official Journal of American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery·R MickW R Panje
Jan 15, 2003·Journal of Clinical Oncology : Official Journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology·Lisa LicitraGiulio Cantù

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