Radiation therapy alone or in combination with surgery in head and neck cancer

Radiation therapy alone, surgery alone, or the combination of these two modalities, remain the accepted treatments in the management of epidermoid carcinomas of the mucosa of the head and neck. These modalities of therapy produce comparable results; but, radiotherapy alone has the advantage that it can conserve anatomy and function. Irradiation with teletherapy techniques, at times supplemented by interstitial brachytherapy, with doses ranging from 6600 to 8000 cGy, results in satisfactory tumor response (CR). The CR of T1N0 and T2N0 lesions will be 99% and 90% respectively, but only 29% in T4N3 tumors treated with radiation only. To improve on the limited CR rate achieved in the advanced stages, surgery is combined pre or post-irradiation, or reserved for the salvage of failures. In the oral cavity and oropharynx, these possible options give comparable tumor control and survival, but in the supraglottic larynx post-operative irradiation is superior to pre-operative radiotherapy. Tumor recurrence rates in the head and neck range from 15 to 34% depending on initial site, stage and type of therapy. Cancer control activities that emphasize prevention and early diagnosis should present a better future for these patients.