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ASCO Educational Book; 2008
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Sequential Chemoradiation for Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck

Merrill S. Kies, MD, George R. Blumenschein Jr., MD, and David Ira Rosenthal, MD

From the Departments of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology and Radiation Oncology, University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas

Authors’ disclosures of potential conflicts of interest are found at the end of this article.

Address reprint requests to Merrill S. Kies, MD, Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology, University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Unit 432, PO Box 301402, Houston, TX 77230-1402; E-mail: mkies{at}mdanderson.org

Overview: This article describes combined modality therapy for patients with locally advanced squamous cell carcinomas of the oral cavity, oropharynx, hypopharynx, and larynx. Treatment goals are curative while preserving head and neck function and cosmesis. Outcome analyses should focus on disease control and function preservation. For a majority of previously untreated patients, radiotherapy has assumed center stage in definitive treatment. This is particularly true for patients with cancers of the oropharynx and early- to intermediate-stage cancers of the hypopharynx and larynx. Chemotherapy is integrated into a combined treatment program for many patients. Complex strategies sequence intensive induction chemotherapy and definitive concomitant chemoradiotherapy.