Cancer of the tonsil: Improved survival with combination therapy

✍ Scribed by Kumar S. Dasmahapatra; Mirseyed Ali Mohit-Tabatabai; Benjamin F. Rush Jr; George J. Hill; Martin Feuerman; Maimu Ohanian

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1986
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 462 KB
• Volume: 57
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0008-543X
• DOI: 10.1002/1097-0142(19860201)57:3<451::aid-cncr2820570308>3.0.co;2-l

✦ Synopsis

One hundred seventy-four cases of squamous cell cancer of the tonsil (SCCr) were reviewed. Radiation therapy (RT) alone was used in 81 patients, surgery alone (S) in 19 patients, preoperative RT + S in 49 patients, and chemotherapy ([q methotrexate plus bleomycin plus cisplatin) in 25 patients. The 5-year survival was 83% in Stage I (n = 21), 72% in Stage I1 (n = 19), 23% in Stage I11 (n = 34), and 15% in Stage IV (n = 100). RT and S were equally effective in Stages I and 11. In Stage 111, the 5-year survival for RT + S was 31% versus 11% for RT alone; and in Stage IV, the respective 3-and 5-year survivals for RT + S were 24% and 15% versus 6% and 0%, respectively, for RT alone. There was an 84% response rate to C, and the patients who completed C + RT + S had 3-and 5-year survival rates of 41.7% and 32%, respectively. Our results indicate that RT + S appears to offer better survival in Stage I11 and IV SCCT. The high response rate in early survival data seen with C + RT + S suggests a promising role for this approach.