1996 Volume 45 Issue 1 Pages 31-38
For the evaluation of concomitant carboplatin and conventional radiotherapy, forty-four patients with maxillofacial cancer were examined between November 1990 and December 1993. At first, all patients underwent external radiotherapy of up to 40Gy with 4 concomitant weekly courses of carboplatin at a dose of 100-120 mg/m2/week. After 40Gy irradiation, 11 patients, including 2 patients with maxillary sinus carcinoma who underwent debulking surgery at 10-20Gy, have continued radiotherapy while 33 patients underwent surgery.
In two patients, only 3 courses were possible due to renal toxicity. In the other forty-two patients, toxicities were self-limiting and no patient required interruption of carboplatin administration. As compared with historical control receiving radiotherapy alone, intensity of mucositis was not found.
In forty-two patients, except for maxillary sinus carcinoma, CR+PR was 42.9%, obtained at 40Gy. The actual survival rate and local control rate of 44 patients at 2 years were 72.5% and 74.6% with a mean follow-up period of 27.8 months. These data were similar to the previous data of historical controls receiving radiotherapy alone, and the efficiency of using concomitant carboplatin was not found. Those cases with planned operation were inconclusive by clinical parameters alone although the histopathological findings were estimated at 40Gy.
