The efficacy of combining radiation therapy with a surgical procedure in patients with cervical metastasis from squamous cancer of the oropharynx and hypopharynx.

To determine whether combining radiation therapy and a surgical procedure was superior to either modality alone, the authors reviewed the records of 345 patients who had primary cancers of the base of the tongue, tonsillar fossa, or pyriform sinus associated with clinically positive nodes at the time of their first observation. Combining the two modalities of therapy produced a local and regional control of the disease in twice as many patients as did one modality alone. The absolute 5-year survival did not reflect this same trend, however, since as local and regional control increased, more patients lived longer but died before five years from distant metastases. Immunochemotherapy is suggested as a possible adjunct therapy to prevent distant metastases.