Conclusions
Considerable progress has been made in the treatment results of patients with locally advanced head and neck cancers. This has resulted in a decrease in distant involvement and improvements in local control, quality of life (with organ preservation), disease-free survival, and overall survival. These endpoints have been demonstrated not only in carefully designed phase III trials and meta-analyses, but also -- and more significantly -- in the changes in the natural history of this disease as shown on the national level, especially in patients with advanced nasopharyngeal cancer. The use of "total" chemotherapy-radiation therapy treatment, the appropriate application of the newer chemotherapy active agents, and the inclusion of the biological and the specific targeted compounds as part of therapy in these patients should provide further improvement in treatment outcomes.
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Cancer Control. 2002;9(5) © 2002 H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Inc.
© Copyright by H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute. All rights reserved.
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Cite this: Treatment of Locally Advanced Head and Neck Cancer: Historical and Critical Review - Medscape - Sep 01, 2002.
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