Concurrent chemoradiotherapy for T4 patients with hypopharyngeal and laryngeal squamous cell carcinomas

Objectives Concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCR) was given for the previously untreated T4 hypopharyngeal and laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma patients and the response and survival rates were evaluated. Patients and methods A total of 23 patients, namely, 15 for hypopharynx and 8 for larynx were eligible. These patients were given cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil based chemotherapeutic regimens with conventional radiotherapy for a total dose of 66.6–70.2 Gy. Results Ten out of the 15 hypopharyngeal carcinoma patients and 4 out of the 8 laryngeal carcinoma patients showed a complete response at the primary sites. The 5-year disease-specific survival rate was 59.4% in all the patients, 51.9% in the hypopharyngeal carcinoma patients, and 71.0% in the laryngeal patients. Seven out of the 12 resectable hypopharyngeal carcinoma patients and 4 out of 8 laryngeal carcinoma patients were able to do without total laryngectomy. Conclusions Based on these results, the survival rate in the hypopharyngeal and laryngeal T4 carcinoma patients treated by CCR seems to be satisfactory and the possibility of organ preservation for the advanced patients is indicated.