Re-Irradiation Combined With Chemotherapy After Salvage Surgery for Head and Neck Cancer Improves Progression-Free Survival Rates, Not Overall Survival Rates
2/28/2007 Barcelona, Spain Bruce Sylvester Doctor's Guide (www.docguide.com) Re-irradiation combined with chemotherapy after salvage surgery improves progression-free survival rates in patients with head and neck cancer but does not affect their overall survival rate, researchers report. "In this first randomised trial on the subject, we found that this combination treatment can indeed improve disease-free survival after salvage surgery, but we note that there was no effect on overall survival," said investigator and presenter Dominique de Raucourt, MD, radiologist, Centre Francois Baclesse, Caen, France. Dr. de Raucourt presented the results in an oral session here on February 24th at the International Meeting on Innovative Approaches in Head and Neck Oncology. The meeting was co-sponsored by the European Head and Neck Society (EHNS) and the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ESTRO). The investigators enrolled 130 head and neck cancer patients who had been treated with salvage surgery. Patients were randomised to receive either full dose re-irradiation combined with chemotherapy (arm A) or no postoperative treatment after the salvage surgery (arm B). Eligibility for enrolment included the following criteria: recurrence of disease or appearance of second primary cancer site in a previously irradiated area (up to at least 45 Gy); absence of distant metastasis; salvage surgery with macroscopic complete resection; possibility of starting adjuvant treatment within 6 weeks after salvage surgery. Subjects in arm A received 60 Gy radiation within 12 weeks combined with concomitant 5-fluorouracil (5FU) and hydroxyurea. After the end of the trial the 29 surviving subjects who did [...]