[The usefulness of TS-1 for the treatment of head and neck cancer].

: We investigated the usefulness of TS-1 for the treatment of head and neck carcinoma in 29 patients who received treatment on an outpatient basis at our institution. Among the 29 patients, 22 patients in whom the response was evaluable were included in the efficacy analysis. To assess the safety of TS-1, the severity of adverse events was examined in the 29 patients. Each course of treatment consisted of oral administration of TS-1 at a dose of 80 to 120 mg/day, depending on the body surface area (BSA), for 28 consecutive days, followed by a 14-day rest period. None of the patients showed complete response (CR), 7 showed partial response (PR), 10 showed no change (NC), and 5 showed progressive disease (PD). The response rate was thus 31.8%. Severe adverse events (grades 3 and 4) occurred in 2 patients. One developed grade 3 leukopenia and grade 4 thrombocytopenia. The other developed Stevens-Johnson syndrome that was assessed as grade 4. The findings indicate that TS-1 might be useful for the treatment of patients with head and neck carcinoma on an outpatient basis without affecting their quality of life (QOL), although careful monitoring is essential to watch for the development of severe adverse events.