Intra-arterial cisplatin and FUDR in advanced malignancies confined to the head and neck

Twenty-seven patients with advanced malignancies confined to the head and neck region were treated with intra-arterial (IA) cisplatin and 5-fluorodeoxyuridine (FUDR) using implantable pumps or injection ports. Tumor histologies were: 16 squamous cell, one mucoepidermoid, one adenocarcinoma, one neuroendocrine, four adenoid cystic, two acinic cell, one fibrosarcoma, and one melanoma. All primaries originated from tissues in the head and neck area. Nineteen patients had received prior treatment, including chemotherapy in 13; eight were newly diagnosed. Responses in 26 evaluable patients were two complete (CR), ten partial (PR), six minor (MR), and eight progressions. The median duration of response was 5 months, with a range of 2 to 11 months. Sites of progression were within the infused volume in 13 patients and to uninfused local-regional or distant sites in eight. The response rate in the subset of 15 patients with squamous cell head and neck cancer was 47%. Toxicity in the 26 patients included stomatitis in 88%, nausea and vomiting in 64%, myelosuppression in 15%, and grade 1 nephrotoxicity in 1%. A regional advantage for IA cisplatin and FUDR can be calculated based on total body clearance rates (CLTB) for these agents and estimates of external carotid artery (ECA) blood flow. However, frequent progression of disease outside the infused volume to regional and distant sites limits the usefulness of this approach in recurrent disease patients.