Chemotherapy of advanced head and neck cancer with methotrexate, bleomycin, and cis-diamminedichloroplatinum II in an effective outpatient schedule.

Thirty-one patients with advanced cancer of the head and neck, twenty-six of whom had failed prior irradiation, were treated with an out-patient chemotherapy regimen combining methotrexate, bleomycin, and cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (II). The overall response rate among evaluable patients was 61%, with 22.5% complete remission. If 6 additional patients not completing 3 weeks of treatment are included, the response rate was 51.4%. The median duration of partial remission was 3 months, but none of the complete remitters has relapsed with a follow-up of two to twenty months (median six). Response rate was not dependent on performance status, prior irradiation, or primary site. Toxicity was mild. The remission rate and duration suggest that this regimen may be superior to single agents, and as effective as more complicated and toxic regimens using higher doses of the same drugs.