Induction chemotherapy with docetaxel, cisplatin and fluorouracil followed by surgery and concurrent chemoradiotherapy improves outcome of recurrent advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Locally recurrent rate of advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) still remains high and the treatment is controversial. We retrospectively analyzed ninety-three patients with recurrent advanced oral cancer from 2009 to 2013. Sixty-four patients are in the docetaxel with cisplatin and 5'-fluorouracil (TPF) group and the remaining twenty-nine patients are in the cisplatin and 5'-fluorouracil (PF) group. The overall response rate was better in the TPF group (p=0.005) than the PF group. Patients who received induction chemotherapy, TPF, followed by surgery and concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT) had better overall survival (OS) (p=0.012) and progression-free survival (PFS) (p=0.038), while patients with prior intra-arterial-infusion-chemotherapy had an adverse impact on OS (p=0.039). We showed that induction chemotherapy with TPF, followed by surgery and consolidation CRT, is the ideal choice for recurrent advanced HNSCC with improving response rates and survival. However, prior intra-arterial-infusion-chemotherapy showed an adverse impact.