Controversies in the multimodality management of head and neck cancer

A number of prospective controlled trials currently exist, with consistent results that help define the current role of chemotherapy in patients with advanced-stage head and neck cancer, and they may offer directions for future research. Neoadjuvant combination chemotherapy appears to offer no survival advantage but does appear to select a subgroup of patients who do not require surgical intervention, thereby resulting in organ preservation. Patients who have received neoadjuvant chemotherapy and obtain a prompt complete response are more likely to realize a significant local control advantage following regional therapy. Randomized studies using simultaneous chemotherapy and radiotherapy have resulted in higher clinical local control and overall survival rates. These studies have used only single agents, however. Phase II trials with drug combinations have been even more encouraging as compared with historical data. By comparing different treatment schemes, such as alternating and sequential, to simultaneous schedules, it is hoped that differences in toxicity, the role of dose-intensity, and regional control rates can be further defined. The information now exists for the formulation of well-designed, prospective randomized clinical trials comparing different schemes of concomitant chemotherapy with standard regional treatment regimens.