Treatment of Advanced Squamous-Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck with Alternating Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy

• Published in: The New England journal of medicine Vol. 327; no. 16; pp. 1115 - 1121
• Main Authors: Merlano, Marco, Vitale, Vito, Rosso, Riccardo, Benasso, Marco, Corvò, Renzo, Cavallari, Monica, Sanguineti, Giuseppe, Bacigalupo, Almalina, Badellino, Fausto, Margarino, Giovanni, Brema, Fulvio, Pastorino, Gisella, Marziano, Corrado, Grimaldi, Andrea, Scasso, Felice, Sperati, Giuseppe, Pallestrini, Eugenio, Garaventa, Giacomo, Accomando, Emilio, Cordone, Giovanni, Comella, Giuseppe, Daponte, Antonio, Rubagotti, Alessandra, Bruzzi, Paolo, Santi, Leonardo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston, MA Massachusetts Medical Society 15.10.1992
• Subjects: 5-Fluorouracil; Antineoplastic agents; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - administration & dosage; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - adverse effects; Biological and medical sciences; Biopsy; Cancer; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - radiotherapy; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - therapy; Chemotherapy; Cisplatin; Cisplatin - administration & dosage; Combined Modality Therapy; Combined treatments (chemotherapy of immunotherapy associated with an other treatment); Drug Administration Schedule; Female; Fluorouracil - administration & dosage; Head & neck cancer; Head and Neck Neoplasms - radiotherapy; Head and Neck Neoplasms - therapy; Humans; Intravenous administration; Larynx; Male; Medical research; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Mucositis; Neck; Oral cavity; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Pharynx; Radiation; Radiation therapy; Radiotherapy - adverse effects; Skin; Squamous cell carcinoma; Survival Rate; Human; Skin disease; Chemotherapy; Squamous cell carcinoma; Head and neck; Advanced stage; Combined treatment; Malignant tumor; Radiotherapy
• ISSN: 0028-4793; 1533-4406
• DOI: 10.1056/NEJM199210153271602

IN patients who receive radiotherapy alone for advanced, inoperable squamous-cell carcinoma of the head and neck, the expected five-year survival is lower than 25 percent, 1 and in patients with local invasive and massive nodal involvement, it may be as low as 1 to 2 percent. 2 Chemotherapy has been combined with radiotherapy in an attempt to improve the outcome in such patients. However, adjuvant chemotherapy has had no advantage over standard local therapy alone, even though responsiveness to chemotherapy has proved to be the best predictor of responsiveness to radiotherapy and subsequent survival. 3 Comparisons of simultaneous chemotherapy and radiotherapy with radiotherapy . . .