@article {FOUNTZILAS529, author = {GEORGE FOUNTZILAS and ARISTOTELIS BAMIAS and ANNA KALOGERA-FOUNTZILA and GEORGIA KARAYANNOPOULOU and MATTHEOS BOBOS and ELENI ATHANASSIOU and KONSTANTINE T. KALOGERAS and CHRISTOS TOLIS and PERIKLIS TSEKERIS and PAVLOS PAPAKOSTAS and CHRYSANTHI VAMVOUKA and THOMAS ZARAMBOUKAS and PARIS KOSMIDIS and NIKOLAOS ZAMBOGLOU and DESPINA MISAILIDOU}, title = {Induction Chemotherapy with Docetaxel and Cisplatin Followed by Concomitant Chemoradiotherapy in Patients with Inoperable Non-nasopharyngeal Carcinoma of the Head and Neck}, volume = {29}, number = {2}, pages = {529--538}, year = {2009}, publisher = {International Institute of Anticancer Research}, abstract = {Background: Induction chemotherapy (IC) followed by concomitant chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) has the potential of being an ideal multi-modality approach for improving the prognosis of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SSCHN). Patients and Methods: Thirty-four patients with locally advanced SCCHN were treated with 3 cycles of IC, consisting of docetaxel 75 mg/m2 and cisplatin 75 mg/m2 every 3 weeks, followed 3-4 weeks later by definitive radiotherapy (70 Gy) and concomitant weekly cisplatin 40 mg/m2. Results: After a median follow-up of 27.7 months, 6-month progression-free survival (PFS), the primary study end-point, was 84\% . The median PFS was 16.4 months and median overall survival 24.4 months. The majority of the patients completed 3 cycles of IC with mild to moderate toxicity. Anemia, nausea/vomiting and mucositis were the prominent toxicities during CCRT. Retrospective analysis of a panel of biomarkers suggested that excision repair cross-complementation group 1 (ERCC1) protein expression was associated with shorter PFS. Conclusion: IC followed by CCRT, as administered in the present study, is a feasible and well-tolerated therapeutic approach. However, its real impact on the prognosis of SCCHN patients has to be demonstrated in a randomized study comparing this treatment to CCRT alone. Copyright{\textcopyright} 2009 International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. John G. Delinassios), All rights reserved}, issn = {0250-7005}, URL = {https://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/29/2/529}, eprint = {https://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/29/2/529.full.pdf}, journal = {Anticancer Research} }