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Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of superselective cisplatin infusion with concomitant radiotherapy (RADPLAT) for previously untreated patients with the squamous cell carcinoma of maxillary sinus (SCC-MS). Methods: Between 1999 and 2010, 54 patients were given superselective intra-arterial infusions of cisplatin (100-120mgm(-2) per week) with simultaneous intra-venous infusions of thiosulfate to neutralise cisplatin toxicity and conventional radiotherapy (65-70 Gy). Results: One patient (1.9%) was diagnosed with T2, 14 (25.9%) with T3, 27 (50%) with T4a, and 12 (22.2%) with T4b disease. Lymph-node involvement was present in 12 patients (22.2%). During the median follow-up period of 6.4 years, the 5-year local progression-free and overall survival rates were 65.8 and 67.9% for all patients, respectively. No patient died as a result of treatment toxicity or experienced a cerebrovascular accident. Osteonecrosis (n-5), brain necrosis (n-1), and ocular/ visual problems (n = 14) were observed as late adverse reactions. Conclusion: We have shown excellent overall survival and local progression-free rate in SCC-MS patients treated by RADPLAT with acceptable rates of acute and late toxicity. A multi-institutional trial is needed to prove that this strategy is a feasible and effective approach for the treatment of SCC-MS.

Concomitant radiotherapy and superselective arterial infusion of cisplatin for laryngeal cancer has shown excellent therapeutic outcomes. It is expected to be a reasonable treatment option for laryngeal cancer, especially in locally advanced cases.

The 14 cases of malignant submandibular tumor whose treatment outcome we analyzed between 1989 and 2008 included 5 of adenoid cystic carcinoma, 3 of squamous cell carcinoma, 2 each of mucoepidermoid carcinoma, and carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma, and 1 each of carcinosarcoma and large-cell carcinoma. One subject was diagnosed with T1, 7 with T2, 4 with T3, and 2 with T4. Lymph node involvement occurred in 5, -1 with N1 and 4 with N2. None had distant metastasis on the first visit. Seven were treated by surgery alone, 3 by surgery followed by radiotherapy, 2 by surgery followed by radio-and chemotherapy, and 1 by optimized supportive care. The surgical resection area was decided by tumor extension. Neck dissection was done in 9. Overall 5-year survival for all cases based on the Kaplan-Meier method was 57%. All with carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma, carcinosarcoma, or large-cell carcinoma remain alive. For those with adenoid cystic carcinoma 5-year survival is 80%, with mucoepidermoid carcinoma 50%, with squamous cell carcinoma 0%, and with carcinosarcoma 0%, respectively. The 5-year survival for stage I subjects was 100%, for stage II 83%, for stage III 50%, and for stage IV 0%. Surgical resection and postoperative radiotherapy were done in cases of minimal extraglandular extension or microscopically positive margins, with satisfactory results. Treatment efficacy for high-grade and advanced stage, however, requires more improvement.

Background The current study aimed to evaluate the significance of an immunohistochemical assessment of tumor suppressor p53 as a prognostic marker in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients treated with docetaxel and radiotherapy. Methods The expression of tumor suppressor p53 and its phosphorylated form at the Ser392 residue was retrospectively evaluated by immunohistochemistry in 51 Stage T1-3N0-2M0 (except T1N0 glottis) HNSCC patients who were treated with 10 mg/m 2 /week docetaxel four to six times and received concurrent chemoradiotherapy. Results Kaplan–Meier univariate analysis revealed that no difference in rates for overall and disease-free survival (DFS) between patients with p53-positive and -negative tumors ( p = 0.786 and p = 0.924, respectively). The prognostic significance of phosphorylated p53 at the Ser392 residue was neither observed. Conclusions An immunohistochemical assessment of the expression of p53 and its phosphorylated form might not be of clinical use in defining subgroups of patients with poor prognosis.

This retrospective study aimed to assess the role of salvage surgery for local recurrence in hypopharyngeal cancer (HPC) patients who had received radiotherapy (RT) or concomitant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) as an initial treatment. The local recurrence rate, salvage rate after local recurrence and overall survival rate were investigated in 104 HPC patients who received treatment between 1991 and 2005. Local recurrence in the primary site was observed in 41 patients (rate, 39.4%) of whom only 12 could undergo further salvage surgery. Disease control was achieved in seven of these patients (successful salvage rate, 17.1%). The 5-year overall survival rate was 40.6% in the RT/CRT patient group and successful salvage rates for T1, T2, T3 and T4 primary disease were 33.3% (1/3), 20.0% (4/20), 16.7% (2/12) and 0% (0/6), respectively. Severe postoperative complications such as pharyngo-cutaneous fistula were seen in six patients (50.0%). Prognosis of patients with locally recurring HPC after RT/CRT is poor at any primary T-stage and the incidence of postoperative complication is relatively high. This should be taken into consideration when the initial treatment plan is decided and the choice of salvage surgery for such recurrent cases should be carefully determined.

BACKGROUND: The current study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of superselective high-dose cisplatin infusion with concomitant radiotherapy (RADPLAT) for previously untreated patients with advanced cancer of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses. METHODS: Between October 1999 and December 2006, 47 patients were given superselective intra-arterial infusions of cisplatin (100-120 mg/m2 per week) with simultaneous intravenous infusions of thiosulfate to neutralize cisplatin toxicity and conventional external-beam radiotherapy (65-70 grays). RESULTS: There were 7 patients (14.9%) diagnosed with T3, 22 (46.8%) with T4a, and 18 (38.3%) with T4b disease. During the median follow-up period of 4.6 years, the 5-year local progression-free survival rate was 78.4% for all patients (n = 47), 69.0% for patients with T4b disease (n = 18), and 83.2% for patients with

Background. Comorbidity has an impact on survival in laryngeal cancer in several reports. However, the importance of comorbidity in hypopharyngeal cancer (HPC) has not been reported. Methods. A retrospective medical record review of 156 patients with HPC treated between 1995 and 2005 was performed. Comorbid illness was measured by the Adult Comorbidity Evaluation-27. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to determine the factors related to overall survival. Results. Comorbidity was absent in 55 (35.2%) of the patients, mild in 39 (25%), moderate in 28 (17.9%), and severe in 34 (21.8%). There were statistically significant differences between the survival rates in accord with age, stage, subsite, and comorbidity (45.1% for none or mild vs 27.7% for moderate or severe; p = .0073). Age, stage, and comorbidity were identified as independent prognostic factors in the multivariate analysis. Conclusion. Comorbidity, along with the clinical stage, should be considered in treatment planning for patients with HPC. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 2010

Objective To determine patient-perceived voice-related quality of life in patients treated with various methods based on the results of Voice-Related Quality of Life (VRQOL) and Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-10) questionnaires. Design The VRQOL and VHI-10 questionnaires. Setting University hospital. Patients One hundred thirty-seven patients who had received definitive treatment of laryngeal cancer were followed-up at Hokkaido University Hospital, Sapporo, Japan, and were alive with no evidence of malignancy at the time of the survey. Main Outcome Measure Patient-perceived voice-related quality of life based on the results of the VRQOL and VHI-10 questionnaires. Results The mean VRQOL scores for patients who had undergone radiotherapy (n = 63), chemoradiotherapy (n = 29), laser surgery (n = 14), or total laryngectomy (n = 27) as final treatment of laryngeal cancer were 92.6, 92.9, 85.5, and 68.4, respectively; the mean VHI-10 scores were 2.87, 2.34, 5.43, and 11.26, respectively. Conclusion The VRQOL and VHI-10 questionnaires are important in judging the overall effectiveness of treatment options for laryngeal cancer.