Neoadjuvant chemotherapy with cisplatin, methotrexate, bleomycin and vincristine (CABO) in patients with stage III and IV squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

Forty-six patients with Stage III-IV previously untreated squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck were treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy with cisplatin, methotrexate, bleomycin and vincristine. The overall response rate was 70%, with a 9% complete response rate. The most frequent side effects were myelosuppression, nausea and vomiting, alopecia, neurotoxicity and stomatitis. Definitive local therapy consisted of surgery alone in 13 cases, surgery plus radiation in another 13, and radiotherapy alone in 14. Six patients, four of whom died, received no definitive local therapy and two were lost to follow-up. The median disease-free survival time was 10.5 months, and the most frequent cause of failure was local regional relapse (85%). Median survival time was 13 months and there were eight long-term survivals (median 48 months). Response to chemotherapy was independent of all analysed prognostic factors. Disease-free survival and survival were significantly influenced by the presence or absence of lymph nodes. Our results do not support the routine use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy with cisplatin, methotrexate, bleomycin, and vincristine in patients with advanced cell carcinoma of the head and neck.