Induction chemotherapy with a new regimen alternating cisplatin, fluorouracil with mitomycin, hydroxyurea and bleomycin in carcinomas of nasopharynx or other sites of the head and neck region.

Sixty-six patients with locally advanced (Stages III and IV) carcinoma of the head and neck were treated with three cycles of induction chemotherapy, consisting of cisplatin, fluorouracil (FU) infusion, bleomycin, mitomycin, and hydroxyurea, followed by radiotherapy and/or surgery. There were 48 men and 18 women with a median age of 55 years (range, 18 to 75 years) and Karnofsky performance status of 80 (range, 40 to 90). Primary site was nasopharynx (28 patients), followed by larynx (12) and others (26). Forty-one (62%) patients were presented with Stage IV disease. The response rate to induction chemotherapy was 27% complete response, 50% partial response, 20% stable disease, and 3% progressive disease. There was no significant difference in response rate between patients with cancer of nasopharynx or other sites (P greater than 0.1). Survival was 61% at 24 months. Patients with cancer of nasopharynx had a better survival than those with other primaries (P = 0.033). Toxicities from chemotherapy included alopecia (73%), nausea/vomiting (66%), leukopenia (54%), stomatitis (36%), anemia (32%), thrombocytopenia (16%), and diarrhea (9%). Grade IV toxicity was not observed. Induction chemotherapy with this new regimen resulted in a high response rate but may not be superior to cisplatin and FU alone. It can be safely combined with radiotherapy as a potentially curative therapy in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Chemotherapy followed by radiation therapy may yield survival similar to radical surgery in laryngeal and other head and neck cancers.