[Combination of radiotherapy and chemotherapy in the treatment of upper respiratory and digestive tract carcinomas (author's transl)].

The authors set out in detail the conditions for which adjuvant chemotherapy is used in the treatment of carcinomas of the upper respiratory and digestive tracts. The conditions are at the same time of a theoretical (natural history as shown by cell kinetics) and of a practical (general physical state) nature. They evaluate 34 randomised therapeutic trials and 14 phase II trials: chemotherapy given either before, during or after radiotherapy. They finally draw several conclusions concerning the use of adjuvant chemotherapy.