Unresectable primary tumor of head and neck: does neck dissection combined with chemoradiotherapy improve survival?

A study regarding patients with primary and previously untreated advanced histologically proven squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck was performed to compare two treatment modalities: neck dissection followed by chemoradiotherapy (Group I) versus chemoradiotherapy alone (Group II). Fifty-four patients were randomly chosen to receive Group I or II treatment. Our results demonstrate that Group I treatment has a higher and statistically significant disease-specific survival rate. We suggest that an association of neck dissection plus chemoradiotherapy can be useful in the event of unresectable advanced carcinomas.