title: [Induction chemotherapy in patients with head and neck cancer].
abstract: Neoadjuvant chemotherapies for patients with advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma have been widely studied for twenty years. Despite a high level of activity on the primary tumor, no study has demonstrated a survival benefit suggesting the use of neoadjvant chemotherapy. One can consider that the only benefit of such strategy is for larynx preservation in patients with operable hypopharnx or larynx cancer. Nevertheless, recently the well established preservation strategy based on induction chemotherapy following according to the activity by radiotherapy has been knocked over by a strategy developed by Forastiere et al. using primary concomitant chemoradiotherapy. However, the lack of benefit reported by neoadjuvant chemotherapy has been thwarted by the recent results provided by the EORTC study which assessed the survival benefit of neoadjuvant chemotherapy by docetaxel-cisplatin-fluorouracile. Interestingly, since 2002 the clearly established strategies for patients with advanced head and neck cancer have been challenged and new options are emerging. This paper reviews the standard strategy of the past and the future proposal emerging from recent studies.
authors.affiliation: Service d'oncologie médicale, centre hospitalier universitaire Jean Minjoz, boulevard Fleming, 25000 Besançon. lchaigneau@chu-besancon.fr
authors.forename: Loïc
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chaigneau
authors.forename: Emmanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Guardiola
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: N'Guyen
authors.forename: Armelle
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dufresne
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Stein
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Villanueva
authors.forename: Antoine
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Thiery-Vuillemin
authors.forename: Fabrice
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lorchel
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Pivot
mesh_terms: D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000601:surgery; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D007822:Laryngeal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000601:surgery; D010610:Pharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000601:surgery; D012074:Remission Induction