The promising role of safe initial non-cisplatin-containing combination chemotherapy in nasopharyngeal tumors.
Twenty patients with previously untreated nasopharyngeal tumors received, as initial treatment, two courses of Schedule A chemotherapy including vincristine, 5-fluorouracil, bleomycin, hydrocortisone, methotrexate, and a folinic acid rescue, prior to definitive radiotherapy. Thirteen patients had Stage IV and seven had Stage III tumors, with nodal involvement in 18 patients (90%). Response to two courses of Schedule A chemotherapy was assessed on day 28, and overall, 18 patients responded. Side effects were minimal. Following radiotherapy 17 patients achieved a clinical complete remission. Durations of response ranged from 6 to 95+ months (median 40 months) and of survival from 8 to 95+ months (median 53 months). This chemotherapy protocol should be more widely evaluated as initial treatment in nasopharyngeal carcinomas since the 90% chemotherapy response rate and, after radiotherapy, 85% clinical complete remission rate was accomplished with minimal toxicity and interference with patients' quality of life and resulted in median overall survival figures of approximately four years.
Hill
B T
BT
Cellular Chemotherapy Laboratory, Imperial Cancer Research Fund, London, United Kingdom.
Price
L A
LA
MacRae
K D
KD
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*