Combination chemotherapy with methotrexate, bleomycin, and vincristine with or without cisplatin in advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

A total of 185 eligible patients with advanced inoperable squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck were randomized into two groups; the cisplatin, methotrexate, bleomycin, and vincristine (CABO) group received cisplatin (50 mg/m2; day 4), methotrexate (40 mg/m2; days 1, 15), bleomycin (10 mg; days 1, 8, and 15), and vincristine (2 mg; days 1, 8, and 15) and the ABO group received methotrexate, bleomycin and vincristine in the same doses on days 1, 8, and 15. After three courses, patients in both arms received weekly methotrexate as maintenance therapy; those 34 patients with previously untreated locoregional disease went off the study because of subsequent locoregional treatment in form of radiotherapy +/- surgery. The complete response rate was 16% in patients receiving CABO, compared with 5% among patients given ABO.

Phase II study of a combination of hydroxyurea, fluorouracil and mitomycin in previously treated squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

Thirty-six evaluable patients with locoregionally recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck were treated with a combination of mitomycin (10 mg/m2 i.v. day 1), fluorouracil (500 mg/m2 i.