Useful combination of intra-arterial chemotherapy and radiation therapy for lateral oropharyngeal wall cancer.

Conclusion: A concomitant treatment of intra-arterial chemotherapy and radiation therapy is a promising therapeutic option for oropharyngeal cancers. Objectives: Treatment for oropharyngeal cancer has been far from standardized because of its pathophysiologic complexity and its low incidence. In our department, T1 stage tumors with N0 or N1 status are primarily treated surgically, while T1 tumors with N2 or more advanced lymph node involvement are additionally treated with concomitant chemoradiotherapy (CRT). Treatment for T2, T3, and T4 tumors is based on CRT, but surgery is also performed if necessary. Patients and methods: The study included 73 patients with squamous cell carcinomas of the lateral oropharyngeal wall who received first-line therapy at our department between May 1993 and October 2003. Results: The 5-year disease-specific survival by disease stage was 100% for stage I, 90.9% for stage II, 88.2% for stage III, 69.8% for stage Iva, and 22.2% for stage IVb. The overall 5-year disease-specifi...