Role of chemotherapy in the multidisciplinary approach to advanced head and neck cancer: potentials and problems

Chemotherapy as initial treatment for advanced squamous carcinoma has received much recent attention. Despite sparse experimental data supporting its usefulness, such chemotherapy is now used for a variety of advanced malignancies. This experience is conceptually reviewed, with special emphasis on squamous carcinoma of the head and neck. Factors which influence treatment results, such as drug dosage, radiation treatment planning, and surgical resection, will require careful analysis in the evolution of the multidisciplinary approach to advanced head and neck cancer.