Influence of the necessity of transfusion in anemia on the prognosis of ENT cancer in the protocol with concurrent hyperfractionation of carboplatin and irradiation

Because of the determinant role of hemoglobin level in blood to the response of treatment (viewpoint admitted whether for irradiation or chemotherapic agents) the AA. have lead an analysis of a group of 36 patients suffering an advanced head and neck cancer (18 months mid-follow up and 30 months maximum) which underwent a program of concomitant radio-chemotherapy hyperfraccionated with carboplatin (the cytostatic) as part of each therapeutic fraction. The results in patients being transfused with an erytrocyte concentrate were compared with those from patients not having had any transfusion. The purpose of this study was the assessment of which are the influence on the prognostic of ENT-cancer resulting of the compulsory necessity of transfunding erytrocyte concentrates aroused by serious anemia presenting during the development of the schedule treatment. In brief, in that kind of patients needing transfusions of red blood cells concentrates because of serious anemia during the treatment (17% of the totality treated) were recorded 50% local failures, 33% metastases and only 17% of the totality were free of neoplasma at the end of the follow-up fixed. Instead between patients not having had transfusions (for treating anemia) the differences registered were 20% failures of loco-regional control and 13% metastases, whereas 67% were free of tumor at the end of the study. The conclusion drawn out is: the important influence on the prognostic of these tumors, when in the course of the scheduled treatment, appear severe anemia making the transfusions compulsory.