Lack of survival advantage in patients with advanced, resectable squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity receiving induction chemotherapy with cisplatin (CDDP), docetaxel (TXT) and 5-fluorouracil (5FU).

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Cisplatin-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) has been reported to increase survival of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and organ preservation in those with laryngeal carcinoma, but its efficacy for other head and neck carcinomas is still controversial. We examined the effects of NAC for patients with stage III-IV squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity. The patients were divided into two groups; 9 patients who underwent NAC consisting of one course of cisplatin (CDDP), docetaxel (TXT) and 5-fluorouracil (5FU) followed by surgery (NAC group), and 18 patients who underwent surgery alone (control group). Complete response (CR) was not observed, but partial response (PR) was obtained in 6 of 9 patients (33%) of the NAC group. The 3-year survival rate was 29.6% in the NAC group and 81.5% in the control group. Although any valid conclusions could not be drawn because of the small number of patients examined here, NAC with CDDP, TXT and 5FU offered no advantages over standard treatment for advanced oral cancer in terms of survival.