[Effect of chemotherapy on the survival of patients with far-advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. A comparative matched-pair analysis of conventional therapeutic procedures with and without chemotherapy].

Forty-four patients, surgically and/or radiologically treated after primary cytostatic treatment, were compared by matched-pair analysis with a historical control group of patients who had been conventionally treated by surgery and/or radiotherapy only. Both groups were largely identical with respect of tumour localisation and classification, regional metastases, and conventional treatment. The disease-free survival and overall survival times did not differ significantly between both groups. It appears that tumour remission following primary cytostatic therapy does not influence survival times. Primary cytostatic treatment offers advantages over conventional therapy only if it is combined with surgical and radiological procedures in selected patients.