title: Induction chemotherapy with docetaxel and cisplatin followed by concomitant chemoradiotherapy in patients with inoperable non-nasopharyngeal carcinoma of the head and neck.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Induction chemotherapy (IC) followed by concomitant chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) has the potential of being an ideal multi-modality approach for improving the prognosis of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SSCHN).
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-four patients with locally advanced SCCHN were treated with 3 cycles of IC, consisting of docetaxel 75 mg/m2 and cisplatin 75 mg/m2 every 3 weeks, followed 3-4 weeks later by definitive radiotherapy (70 Gy) and concomitant weekly cisplatin 40 mg/m2.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After a median follow-up of 27.7 months, 6-month progression-free survival (PFS), the primary study end-point, was 84%. The median PFS was 16.4 months and median overall survival 24.4 months. The majority of the patients completed 3 cycles to moderate toxicity. Anemia, nausea/vomiting and mucositis were the prominent toxicities during CCRT. Retrospective analysis of a panel of biomarkers suggested that excision repair cross-complementation group 1 (ERCC1) protein expression was associated with shorter PFS.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  IC followed by CCRT, as administered in the present study, is a feasible and well-tolerated therapeutic approach. However, its real impact on the prognosis of SCCHN patients has to be demonstrated in a randomized study comparing this treatment to CCRT alone.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, "Papageorgiou" Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki School of Medicine, Thessaloniki, Greece. fountzil@med.auth.gr
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fountzilas
authors.forename: Aristotelis
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bamias
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kalogera-Fountzila
authors.forename: Georgia
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authors.lastname: Karayannopoulou
authors.forename: Mattheos
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authors.lastname: Bobos
authors.forename: Eleni
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Athanassiou
authors.forename: Konstantine T
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Kalogeras
authors.forename: Christos
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authors.lastname: Tolis
authors.forename: Periklis
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authors.lastname: Tsekeris
authors.forename: Pavlos
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authors.lastname: Papakostas
authors.forename: Chrysanthi
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vamvouka
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zaramboukas
authors.forename: Paris
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kosmidis
authors.forename: Nikolaos
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zamboglou
authors.forename: Despina
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Misailidou