[Combined chemotherapy with low-dose cisplatin, tegafur and uracil for head and neck squamous cell carcinomas]

The mechanism for the effect of cisplatin (CDDP) as a modulator for 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) has already been described. The effective AUC of serum 5-FU concentration with oral administration of tegafur and uracil (UFT) has been revealed. We administered a dose of 200-600 mg/body of UFT orally every day, and 3.5-10 mg/m2 of CDDP by drip infusion 5 days a week. Hospitalized patients were administered these agents for 2-5 weeks. Eleven patients were enrolled, including 4 with untreated pharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), 5 with locoregional recurrent SCC, and 2 with pulmonary multiple metastases. The mean age of the patients was 71 years, and all patients had a PS 3. Of the 4 patients with untreated pharyngeal SCC, PR was noted in 3 and NC in one, for a response rate of 75%. Of the 11 patients with locoregional recurrent and pulmonary metastatic SCC, PR was noted in only one patient for a response rate of 14%. Although on average these patients died of the primary disease 150 days after chemotherapy, 4 patients later showed an improved PS stage, and could were able to leave the hospital. These 4 patients could stay home with a PS 0 or PS 1 for an average of 133 days, and survived with the disease for an average of 240 days after chemotherapy. No side effects were observed in any patients. In side of the low response rate for locoregional recurrent and pulmonary metastatic SCC, the present therapy was thought to be useful from the viewpoint of the quality of life.