HEAD AND NECK-CARCINOMA WITH DISTANT METASTASES - A RETROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS OF 44 CASES TREATED WITH CISPLATIN-BASED CHEMOTHERAPEUTIC REGIMENS

The rarity of medical reports on the chemotherapeutic management of he ad and neck cancer metastatic to distant organs prompted us to review the effect of cisplatin-based regimens in this clinical setting. Out o f 44 eligible patients, 10 patients (23%) achieved a CR, 16 patients ( 36%) has a PR, 7 (16%) no change, and 11 (25%) progressed. Patients wi th rhinopharyngeal carcinoma showed a 69% overall response rate, while those with other head and neck carcinomas had a 54% overall response rate. No preferential site of response was detected. The difference in mean survival of responding patients between the rhinopharyngeal grou p and the non-rhinopharyngeal group was statistically significant (P<0 .05). Responding patients survived longer than non responders (P<0.05 in both groups). Interestingly, 3 patients in the rhinopharyngeal canc er group survived more than 2 years from the start of chemotherapy for metastatic disease. These data strenghten the observation that rhinop haryngeal carcinoma, even with distant metastases, responds to chemoth erapy better than other carcinomas arising in the head and neck region . Moreover, although survival is still dismal, cisplatin-based systemi c chemotherapy seems an effective palliative treatment for metastatic head and neck cancer.