|Articles|August 11, 2010
What is the Clinical Role of Induction Therapy in Locally Advanced Squamous Cell Cancer of the Head and Neck?
Author(s)Fran Lowry
Fran Lowry
Fran Lowry
Induction chemotherapy has led to improved survival and organ preservation. Combining induction therapy with other treatment modalities is critical for treating this complex disease and attaining optimal outcomes.
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ABSTRACT: Induction chemotherapy has led to improved survival and organ preservation. Combining induction therapy with other treatment modalities is critical for treating this complex disease and attaining optimal outcomes.
Head and neck cancer specialists agree that induction chemotherapy has a place in the treatment of locally advanced squamous cell cancer of the head and neck, but they differ on its exact role in this setting.
For Everett E. Vokes, MD, induction chemotherapy should be reserved for patients with advanced nodal stage disease. There are not enough randomized trial data to support its more general use, he said. Dr. Vokes is John E. Ultmann Professor of Medicine, and Radiation and Cellular Oncology at the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago Medical Center.