[The role of bleomycin combination in radiation therapy of squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity].

In an effort to improve tumor control by radiation therapy, a treatment regimen consisting of concurrent combination of bleomycin (90 mg/3 weeks) and radiation (30 Gy/3 weeks) was applied. Between 1972 and 1981, 287 patients with squamous cell carcinoma in the oral cavity were subjected to this bleomycin-radiation combination regimen. All except 4 patients experienced marked response after treatment using the bleomycin-radiation combination alone. One hundred thirty-four patients (47%) obtained CR and 149 (53%) PR. Higher CR rates were obtained in patients with carcinoma of the lower gum (62%), of the upper gum (68%), and of the cheek mucosa (43%), compared to patients with carcinoma of the floor of the mouth (21%), and of the tongue (15%). In each of the tumor sites, small lesions (T1, T2) obtained higher CR rates, compared with large lesions (T3, T4). Of the 134 patients who experienced CR, 83 were observed without any further treatment after bleomycin-radiation combination alone. Local recurrence-free rates of these patients were 72% for T1, T2 lesions and 48% for T3, T4 lesions. Local control rates were increased to 85% and 78%, respectively, with successful salvage treatment involving surgery or interstitial radiotherapy for post-irradiation failures.