title: Preoperative combination chemotherapy for advanced stage head and neck cancer. Promising early results.
abstract: We treated 19 consecutive patients with cisplatin, bleomycin, and methotrexate before definitive surgery or radiation therapy. Fourteen patients (74 percent) had partial or complete tumor regression after chemotherapy. With a minimum follow-up time of 27 months, none of the 4 patients who had a major histologic response relapsed, and only 2 of the remaining 15 patients continued disease-free. The achievement of a complete histologic response after preoperative chemotherapy may correlate with long-term disease-free survival after surgery and radiation therapy for head and neck cancer.
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001761:Bleomycin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008727:Methotrexate / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008875:Middle Aged; D010166:Palliative Care; D011300:Preoperative Care
chemical_list: D001761:Bleomycin; D002945:Cisplatin; D008727:Methotrexate