[Chemotherapy of carcinoma of the upper respiratory and digestive tract].

New regimens of chemotherapy in previously untreated squamous cell head and neck carcinoma yielded a 60 per cent rate of regression in over 50 per cent of patients. Planned radical surgery may be delayed and curative irradiation is often preferred. However, many patients have been excluded for polychemotherapy because of poor general condition. The results of simultaneous perioperative chemotherapy and X-ray therapy are not well known. Adjuvant chemotherapy after initial treatment is difficult to apply and to appreciate for results. Chemotherapy of recurrences is disappointing, even if efficient. Randomised trials are necessary to improve our knowledge in this field.