THE INFLUENCE OF CISPLATIN-5-FLUOROURACIL COMBINATION CHEMOTHERAPY ONMALIGNANT TRANSFORMATION OF THE EPITHELIUM OF THE ORAL-MUCOSA

In a prospective study we examined the effect of preoperative chemothe rapy with cisplatinum and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in 40 patients with ad vanced carcinoma of the oral cavity. Histopathologic grading, cell kin etics and immunohistochemical parameters of the mucosa were determined at two different locations. Prior to therapy, histologic dysplasias i n the mucosa ''close'' to the tumor were observed in 75 percent of the patients. Dysplastic changes of the mucosa ''far'' from tumor were al so found in more than one-third of the patients. Our results show that more advanced dysplasias improve only temporarily under the influence of preoperative systemic chemotherapy. Moreover, new dysplasias appea ring during chemotherapy and persisting after its termination are prob ably induced. The results point to a possible carcinogenic potential o f the combined chemotherapy schema used.