Comparative results of preoperative chemoradiotherapy and thermochemoradiotherapy for locally advanced laryngeal cancer.

The study is based on the results of treatment of 60 patients with locally advanced laryngeal cancer (T3-4N0-3M0) exposed to combined treatment: 31 with preoperative chemoradiothera-py, 29 thermochemoradiotherapy. Radiotherapy was performed in the hyperfractionated mode: “1 Gy +1 Gy” (every 4-5 hours) 5 times a week to 30-40 Gy in total. Local hyperthermia was performed 2 times a week before the second fraction of radiotherapy in 3-4 sessions. Eight-day courses of chemotherapy were administered in the beginning of radiotherapy by scheme: vincristine (1. 4 mg/m2 per 1day), cisplatin (20 mg/m2 2, 3, 4 days), bleomycetin (10 mg/m2 5, 6 days), cyclophosphamide (200 mg/m2 7, 8 days). Surgical treatment was performed through 2,5 3 weeks after completion of radiotherapy. Local hyperthermia intensified the course of radiation reaction on the mucous of the larynx but not significant influenced on healing of surgical wounds. Thermochemoradiotherapy compared with chemoradiotherapy raised local relapse-free survival from 75 to 93% (p = 0. 07), regional, for a group of patients with stage N1-3 from 33 to 70%, N1-2 from 40 to 78% (p = 0. 1), loco -regional from 67 to 87% (p = 0. 04). Our findings suggest the necessity for further research on the use of thermochemoradiotherapy in combined treatment of patients with locally advanced laryngeal cancer.