[Clinical results and experiences with combination of radiotherapy and radiosensitizing agents]

Clinical results and experiences with the combination of radiotherapy and radiosensitizing agents to the head and neck cancers were reported. Each of chemotherapeutic agents, 5-FU, Bleomycin, Peplomycin, Adriamycin, and Cisplatin had a radiosensitizing effect, and was expected to affect additively to radiotherapy, which led to the improvement of local control rate, reduction of dose of external radiotherapy by 10-20 Gy/1-2 weeks or more, or reduction or dispersion of treatment-related injury. Especially in the management of head and neck cancers, those merits also led to the preservation of function or cosmesis and the saving from the radical surgery in a substantial amount of cases. It was also stressed that the judgment of whether or not the salvage surgery/brachytherapy is necessary must be critically done for each case during the RT course.