Use of phytohemagglutinin in the treatment of maxillary cancer.

Twenty-four patients with maxillary squamous cell carcinoma were treated with 50 micrograms of phytohemagglutinin (PHA), saturated into pieces of gelatin sponge, and applied to the maxillary sinus which was in advance surgically exposed via the peroral route. Treatment was combined with cobalt 60 irradiation at 4,000 rads (200 rads X 20 doses over a one month period) and concurrent arterial infusion of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) with a total dosage of 5,000 mg (250 mg X 20 doses). After 20 treatment with phytohemagglutinin, gross examination showed that tumors were no longer apparent in 83.3% of the cases treated with PHA vs. 52.6% in the control group without PHA. On histological examination, 66.6% in the PHA group showed no signs of tumors vs. 15.8% in the control group. Microscopically, the disappearance of the tumors was frequently observed in tumor of T2 more than that of T3 in extent of primary tumor. No side effects were observed nor was there a significant difference between the control group and the PHA group in the 3-year crude survival rate (control group: 68.4%; PHA group: 62.5%).