Changing role of chemotherapy in treatment of head and neck cancer.

The role of chemotherapy in the management of head and neck cancer includes treatment for recurrent disease and as an adjunct to conventional therapy with radiation and/or surgery in the primary treatment program. The best single agents, methotrexate and cisplatin, used for recurrent disease give response rates of 20 to 50 percent but of short duration. Results may be improved with combination chemotherapy, but often with increased toxicity. Prognostic factors that influence response are discussed. A newer role of chemotherapy in this disease is in the initial treatment program. Pretreatment chemotherapy can debulk these lesions prior to surgery and/or irradiation in up to 80 percent of patients. Controlled trials are in progress to determine the effect on cure rates. Chemotherapy utilized during radiotherapy has resulted in survival benefit in several studies. Post-treatment adjuvant chemotherapy still needs to be evaluated. The potential advantages and disadvantages of chemotherapy used in the initial treatment are discussed. Major strides have been made in the last decade in the treatment of head and neck cancer, and chemotherapy is assuming an increasingly important role.