抄録
A new antracycline anti-tumor agent, (2''R)-4'-0-tetrahydropyranyl adriamycin (THP), was used in the treatment of 15 cases of head and neck malignant tumors, and the primary effects and side effects were examined in 15 cases.
The histopathological daiagnosis was squamous cell carcinoma in 13 cases, malignant melanoma in 1 case and fibrosarcoma occuring after treatment of tongue cancer in 1 case.
The primary lesion was nasopharyngeal carcinoma in 1 case, mesopharyngeal carcinoma in 2 cases, hypopharyngeal carcinoma in 1 case, laryngeal cancer in 2 cases, tongue cancer in 4 cases, gum cancer in 2 cases, maxillary cancer in 1 case, malignant melanoma of the maxillary sinus in 1 case and fibrosarcoma of the tongue in 1 case. Three patients had no prior treatment and 12 had recurrences. THP was administered by intravenous infusion in 7 patients, by local intraarterial infusion in 7 and both intravenous and intraarterial routes in one. The therapeutic effect of THP was rated as PR in 5 cases, MR in 2 cases, NC in 7 cases and PD in one case. The overall response rate was 33.3%, but in the intraarterial infusion group it was 71.4%. These results indicate that intraarterial infusion of THP is more effective than intravenous infusion. No severe side effects of THP were observed in the 15 cases in this study, but there was a slight decrease in the W. B. C. count in 12 cases.
THP apPears to be an excellent antitumor agent for neo-adljuvant chemotherapy of head and neck advanced cancers because of itsnegligible sideeffects.
