TY - JOUR T1 - Induction Chemotherapy with Docetaxel and Cisplatin Followed by Concomitant Chemoradiotherapy in Patients with Inoperable Non-nasopharyngeal Carcinoma of the Head and Neck JF - Anticancer Research JO - Anticancer Res SP - 529 LP - 538 VL - 29 IS - 2 AU - GEORGE FOUNTZILAS AU - ARISTOTELIS BAMIAS AU - ANNA KALOGERA-FOUNTZILA AU - GEORGIA KARAYANNOPOULOU AU - MATTHEOS BOBOS AU - ELENI ATHANASSIOU AU - KONSTANTINE T. KALOGERAS AU - CHRISTOS TOLIS AU - PERIKLIS TSEKERIS AU - PAVLOS PAPAKOSTAS AU - CHRYSANTHI VAMVOUKA AU - THOMAS ZARAMBOUKAS AU - PARIS KOSMIDIS AU - NIKOLAOS ZAMBOGLOU AU - DESPINA MISAILIDOU Y1 - 2009/02/01 UR - http://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/29/2/529.abstract N2 - 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© 2009 International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. John G. Delinassios), All rights reserved ER -