Twenty-nine patients with previously untreated, locally advanced head and neck cancer were treated with two or three cycles of combination chemotherapy consisting of 5- fluorouracil infusion and carboplatin, followed by surgery and/or curative radiotherapy. Nine patients with recurrent head and neck cancer were treated with the same combination chemotherapy. The results were as follows; 1) Among 28 evaluable patients, response rate was 71.4%(partial response) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Following local modality(surgery and/or radiotherapy), response rate was 79%(complete response 51.4%, and partial response 25%). 2) One year survival rate in neoadjuvant group was 83% and one year progression-free survival rate, 68.8%. The progression-free survival of responders was significantly prolonged in comparison with that of non-responders(p<0.05). 3) In palliative treatment group, one partial response(11%) was observed among nine patients. Median time to progression was 6.8 weeks and median survival was 17.7 weeks; there was no significant difference between responders and non-responders. 4) Nausea and vomiting were frequently observed but easily controlled. Hematologic toxicities-leukopenia and thrombocytopenia were observed but were reversible. In conclusion, combination chemotherapy with carboplatin and 5-FU was effective for locally advanced head and neck cancer in neoadjuvant setting, but it had limited benefits for recurrent diseases. Toxicities were tolerable and neurotoxicity, ototoxicity, and nephrotoxicity were not observed.
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