Adjuvant chemotherapy.

At present, adjuvant chemotherapy exerts no significant impact on long-term survival and only occasionally provides brief palliation in head and neck cancer. The major contribution of chemotherapy has been in the preoperative period, when therapy for advanced squamous cell carcinoma may render some patients candidates for curative operations or radiotherapy. This article discusses the use of single-agent chemotherapy, combination chemotherapy, and combination irradiation and surgery as well as the advantages of adjuvant chemosurgery.