Chemotherapy for Stage IV Oral and Oropharyngeal Cancer

Abstract

Present study evaluated the effect of chemotherapy on the survival of patients with advanced oral or oropharyngeal cancer. A total of 51 patients with a stage IV squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity or oropharynx (40 males and 11 females), treated at the University of Tsukuba Hospital from 1988 to 2001, were included in the study. Nineteen patients were treated by full-dose irradiation and 32 patients underwent surgery after radiotherapy. Chemotherapy consisting of cisplatin (50-80mg/m²) or carboplatin (300mg/m²) followed by administration of fluorouracil (500mg/body) or peplomycin (5mg/body) for 5 days was given to 25 patients. The effect of chemotherapy on disease-free survival rate was of slight significance (0.05<p<0.1). The approach using chemotherapy for advanced oral or oropharyngeal cancer warrants further investigation.