Combined bleomycin treatment and radiation therapy in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck region.

Forty-six patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck region were randomized to either irradiation or irradiation plus bleomycin. If possible, the patients later underwent radical surgery. In the bleomycin group, significantly fewer patients had remaining tumour cells in the tissue removed at operation, and a longer time elapsed before recurrences occurred. However, bleomycin had no significant effect on the 3-and 5-year survival rates, and it did not significantly reduce the incidence of local recurrences.