MULTIDISCIPLINARY THERAPEUTIC APPROACH FOR ADVANCED PREVIOUSLY UNTREATED EPIDERMOID CANCER OF THE HEAD AND NECK - PRELIMINARY-REPORT

A pilot study was conducted using two courses of cis-diamminedichloroplatinum, vincristine (Oncovin), and bleomycin (COB) every three weeks prior to surgery(s) and/or radiotherapy in 34 patients with advanced previously untreated epidermoid cancer of the head and neck. All patients received at least one course of chemotherapy; 7 are too early for evaluation. Responses to chemotherapy were dramatic and occurred within a few days. Sixteen patients had partial remission (PR) (59.3%), 9 had minimal response (MR) (33.3%) and 2 had stable disease after one course of COB. Twenty-two patients completed a second course of chemotherapy, 6 (27.3%) had complete remission (CR), 13 (59.1%) had PR, 1 had MR and 2 had stable disease. Objective remission correlated with subjective improvement. Drug toxicity were tolerable and acceptable. Eight patients had surgical resection after chemotherapy, followed by post-operative radiation therapy, and one patient had pre-operative radiation therapy before the tumor was considered resectable. Twelve patients underwent radiotherapy, including patients with CR after chemotherapy. Presently there is no evidence of local recurrence with the longest follow-up of 15+ months. In this preliminary report, the effectiveness and feasibility of this combined modality therapy is established; further study is needed to prove its value in prolonging disease-free period and survival. © 1979.