Salvage cisplatin and adriamycin for advanced or recurrent basal or squamous cell carcinoma of the face.

Is it justified to treat a small, localized and relatively indolent malignancy by systemic combined chemotherapy? Five patients with locally advanced skin tumors were treated by salvage cisplatin and adriamycin for three to five courses. Three achieved complete response, one achieved partial response and one succumbed to an unrelated cause. The rapid induction of response, high response rate, unmaintained complete remissions of long duration and relatively low rate of toxicity may justify the use of this combination for the treatment of small skin tumors when other treatment options are of no avail.