[Hyperfractionated radiotherapy in 56 patients with tumors of the head and neck (author's transl)].

A new method of irradiation known as hyperfractionated radiotherapy was studied in 56 patients with cancers in the region of the ear, nose, and throat. The dose was 72 grays given during 80 sessions over a period of 28 days, with a rest period of two weeks at the half-way point. Each session lasted 2 hours. The results (complications and survival rate) were compared with those obtained in a control group treated with 70 grays in 35 sessions over a period of 7 weeks. The complication rate was 21% in the series treated with hyperfractionated radiotherapy, against 19% in those given classical treatment (results not significant). The survival rate was better, however, (63% against 33% after 18 months), for the patients treated with this new method of irradiation.