ABSTRACT
Eighty patients with advanced squamous carcinoma of the head and neck were entered into a study using a 2-day, inpatient, intravenous regimen. Folinic acid 200 mg/m2, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) 500 mg/ m2 bolus followed by 5-FU 500 mg/m2 in a 22-hour infusion were given on days 1 and 2, with carboplatin 300 mg/m2 on day 2. The whole was repeated every 21 days. Forty-three patients had advanced disease with no prior treatment; 37 had recurred following radical treatment. Fifty-eight patients were male and the median age was 60 years. In total, 275 cycles of chemotherapy were given. The major toxicity was haematological, which delayed 65 cycles of chemotherapy and contributed to the death of two patients. Non-haematological toxicity was mild, with less than 8% of patients experiencing any toxicity greater than WHO grade 2. The patients who had had no previous treatment had a 65% response rate (95% confidence interval (95% CI) 48-80). Those who had been previously treated had a 37% response rate (95% CI 21-55). The overall response rate was 52% (95% CI 40-64), of whom 5% were complete responders. The median survival time was 36 weeks (95% CI 29-45), with the majority of patients dying with progressive disease. We conclude that this chemotherapy regimen was well tolerated and produced minimal toxicity, while maintaining an acceptable response rate of 52%.
Subject(s)
Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use , Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/drug therapy , Head and Neck Neoplasms/drug therapy , Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/drug therapy , Aged , Carboplatin/administration & dosage , Female , Fluorouracil/administration & dosage , Humans , Leucovorin/administration & dosage , Male , Middle Aged , Survival AnalysisSubject(s)
Acromegaly/blood , Growth Hormone/blood , Acromegaly/radiotherapy , Adult , Aged , Female , Glucose Tolerance Test , Humans , Hypophysectomy , Male , Middle Aged , Pituitary Irradiation , Radioimmunoassay , Radioisotopes , Yttrium IsotopesABSTRACT
643 cases of salivary gland tumors constitute two series of histological sections that were studied from hospitals and dental schools in Southeast Scotland and Southern Ontario. The Scottish series represented epithelial tumors of the parotid and intra-oral salivary glands, but the Canadian series also included tumors of the submandibular and sublingual glands. Classification was based on that recommended by the World Health Organisation (Thackray 1972). While direct statiscal comparisons between the two series are not appropriate, the differences between them suggest that malignant tumors are more common in Canada. The Scottish series contains the largest proportion of benign salivary tumors so far reported. In the Scottish series, 88.7% of parotid tumors were benign compared with 51.9% of Canadian series. In the Canadian series from the submandibular glands, 21.2% only were benign. Of the intra-oral salivary tumors, 62.2% from the Scottish series were benign compared with only 34.7% from the Canadian series.