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Preoperative Chemoradiation May Markedly Improve Results in Advanced Head and Neck Cancer Patients: Presented at AHNS By John Otrompke CHICAGO, IL -- August 23, 2006 -- Presurgical radiochemotherapy may offer promising results to patients with advanced head and neck cancer, according to a poster presented here at the 2006 annual meeting of the American Head and Neck Society (AHNS). "Carboplatin and cisplatin are the most often used drugs for this disease, and paclitaxel has been used for 8 to 10 years for head and neck cancer, and because of the new drugs belonging to the taxane group, we're seeing more and more studies in this area," said Andre Eckardt, MD, PhD, head and neck surgeon, University Hospital, Hanover, Germany, who presented the poster on August 19th. In the study, 51 previously untreated patients were given paclitaxel and carboplatin in addition to radiation, followed by tumor resection. Forty-five patients were male, 41 had cancer of the oral cavity, and the median age upon presentation was 54 years. One-year survival was 83% and 6-year survival was 67%. After 6 years, 67.3% of the patient population was still alive with no disease, while 18 patients were dead, according to the poster. However, in 9% of the patients, second primary tumors of the upper aerodigestive tract were diagnosed. "We need a randomized phase 3 trial to compare these results to the old regimen -- carboplatin and cisplatin," said Eckardt, noting that quality of life and organ function would also probably be part of the next trial. Although patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck present with locally-advance disease in 40% to 50% of all cases, cisplatin is most often administered in a low-dose regimen, noted Dr. Eckardt. A recent meta-analysis indicated that adding chemotherapy to radiation leads to a survival benefit of 7% at 2 years and 8% at 5 years, the poster said. [Presentation title: Concurrent Preoperative Chemoradiation of Resectable Stage III/IV Oral Cancer: 6-Year Results of a Phase II Study. Poster p054] E-mail this page to a friend or colleague! To print, use this version