title: Combined radiochemotherapy for organ preservation in head and neck cancer: review of literature and personal experience.
abstract: Combined radiochemotherapy is the most common method aimed at improving the rate of clinical response in advanced head and neck cancer. Complete clinical remission may correspond to a significant percentage in organ and/or function preservation. In 1992 a protocol of concomitant radiochemotherapy with continuous infusion of carboplatin for 14 consecutive days at the daily dose of 30 mg/m2 and concomitant radiotherapy with conventional fractionation (1.8 Gy to a total 65-70Gy) was started. Over a 3-year period, 56 patients with advanced head and neck cancer, were treated. In view of organ preservation, 26 patients of this series, though with considerable extent of the disease at diagnosis, were considered candidates for radical surgery: oral cavity 9 patients; oropharynx 9 patients; larynx/hypopharynx 8 patients. A single patient was stage I (hypopharynx); most patients were stage III (7) and IV (17 = 65%); T4 20%, N3 23%. 17/20 patients (70%) showed complete clinical response, 6 partial clinical response with a single non responder (overall response 95%). A patient underwent total glossectomy followed by local recurrence and another patient underwent pharyngolaryngectomy also followed by recurrence. After a mean follow-up from 22 to 60 months, 9 patients were still free of disease (37.5%). Median duration of complete response was 25.6 months. Overall median survival was 26.7 months: 38 months in responders. 2-year survival of patients with complete response was 59%. As for organ preservation, at present 6 over 18 patients (33%) with tumor of the oral cavity or oropharynx and 3 patients with tumors of larynx/hypopharynx have preserved organ and function. As for complete responders, 54.5% of those with tumors of oral cavity or oropharynx and 50% of those with tumors of larynx/hypopharynx, have preserved anatomy and function after at least 2-year follow-up. To-date, in follow-up controls relevant late toxicity has not been observed, showing that to the positive anatomical result corresponds the functional preservation of single structures.
authors.affiliation: Cattedra di Radioterapia, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Policlinico A. Gemelli, Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Marmiroli
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ausili-Cèfaro
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Nardone
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fiorentino
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Genovesi
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Salvi
mesh_terms: D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D015996:Survival Rate; D014022:Tissue Survival