title: [Long-term survival following chemotherapy for recurrent head and neck cancer: patient characteristics].
abstract: Eighty-one patients with recurrent squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (60 patients) or undifferentiated carcinoma of the nasopharyngeal type (21 patients) were treated with cisplatin (80-100 mg/m2iv d1) and 5-fluorouracil (750-1000 mg/m2Cl d1-5). In squamous cell carcinoma patients there were 7 complete responses (11.6%), 25 partial responses (41.7%), 20 stable disease situations (33.3%) and 8 progressions (13.3%). In nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients there were 6 complete responses (28.6%), 9 partial responses (42.8%), 3 stable disease situations (14.3%) and 3 progression (14.3%). There were 5/60 patients (8.3%) with disease-free survival > 18 months in the squamous cell carcinoma group and 2/21 (9%) in the nasopharyngeal carcinoma group. All long-term survival patients had the following characteristics: good performance status (0-1 ECOG scale), disease- free interval from the first treatment > 12 months, local non-bulky relapse (rT1-2). A re-irradiation with palliative doses (20-48 Gy) was conducted in 3/7 patients. This treatment may have improved the response to drugs with regard to length and quality.
authors.affiliation: Divisione di Oncologia Medica, Ospedale Oncologico S. Giovanni, Antica Sede, Torino.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Airoldi
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bumma
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cortesina
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Giordano
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bussi
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Orecchia
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Succo
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gabriele
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Bertetto
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004358:Drug Therapy; D005260:Female; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D009305:Nasopharynx / Q000473:pathology*; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D015996:Survival Rate
chemical_list: D002945:Cisplatin; D005472:Fluorouracil
vernacular_title: Caratteristiche dei lungo sopravviventi dopo chemioterapia nelle recidive dei carcinomi dela testa e del collo.