Current use of chemotherapy for head and neck cancer

A postal survey of 100 members of the Association of Head and Neck Oncologists of Great Britain was conducted in the first 6 months of 1983. The sample consisted principally of Otolaryngologists (50 per cent), Radiotherapists (14 per cent), Medical Oncologists (10 per cent), Oral Surgeons (10 per cent) and Plastic Surgeons (10 per cent). More than 80 per cent of those who completed the questionnaire used chemotherapy for Head and Neck cancer (72 per cent used it for palliation, and 64 per cent as part of combined modality therapy). There was great variation in the chemotherapeutic regimens used by the various responders. Furthermore, most responders used more than one regimen. Methotrexate was the agent most frequently used. No specific regimen, either single-agent or multiple-agent, enjoyed universal acceptance, although the combination of Vincristine, Bleomycin and Methotrexate was popular. Chemotherapy was thought by most responders to have a useful but as yet undefined place in the management of Head and Neck cancer. This survey underlines the need for prospective, controlled, clinical trials into the efficacy of cytotoxic chemotherapy for Head and Neck cancer.