COMBINED CONCOMITANT BOOST RADIOTHERAPY AND CHEMOTHERAPY IN STAGE III-IV HEAD AND NECK CARCINOMAS - A COMPARISON OF TOXICITY AND TREATMENT RESULTS WITH THOSE OBSERVED AFTER RADIOTHERAPY ALONE

Background: Alteration of radiation therapy (RT) fractionation and the combination of chemotherapy (CT) with RT represent two predominant fi elds of current research in the treatment of head and neck carcinomas. To assess the potential integration of these two fields, a retrospect ive comparison of toxicity and treatment outcome was carried out in st age III-IV patients treated with a concomitant boost RT schedule with or without CT. Patients and methods: Fifty-two patients were treated b y RT alone and 35 by RT and CT. In the RT group, there were significan tly fewer T3-4 tumors (56% vs. 88%, P = 0.002) and higher proportion o f planned neck dissections (35% vs. 14%, P = 0.047). The planned total dose was 69.9 Gy delivered over 5.5 weeks. In 10 cases CT was given b efore RT and in 25 concomitantly with RT, either alone or with neoadju vant and/ or adjuvant CT. All patients but two had cisplatin-based (CD DP, 100 mg/m(2)) CT, associated in 28 patients with 5-fluorouracil (5- FU, 1000 mg/m(2)/24 h x 5). The median follow-up for the surviving pat ients was 21 and 31 months for the RT and RT-CT groups respectively. R esults: Grade 3-4 acute toxicity (RTOG) was observed in 73% and 86% of patients, and grade 3 dysphagia in 31% and 57% (P = 0.02) respectivel y in the RT and RT-CT groups. The rates of grade 3-4 late complication s were similar in the two groups (5% vs. 12%). At three years, actuari al loco-regional control (LRC) was 57% and 66% (P = 0.66) and overall survival was 56% and 47% (P = 0.99) in the RT and RT-CT groups respect ively. Conclusions: While acute toxicity was higher compared with RT a lone, this accelerated RT schedule was feasible in association with 5- FU/CDDP, even administered concomitantly. Despite the significant prop ortion of more advanced disease in the RT-CT group, LRC was similar to that obtained by RT alone. Combinations of concomitant boost RT and c hemotherapy merit further investigation in prospective trials.