[Chemotherapy with MTX, 5-FU and CDGP for treatment of newly diagnosed head and neck cancer].

Combination chemotherapy including 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and nedaplatin (CDGP) with methotrexate (MTX) and leucovorin(LV)as biochemical modulators was performed on patients with newly diagnosed head and neck cancer. We treated 45 patients with MTX, 5-FU and CDGP consisting of 150 mg/body of MTX on day 1 followed by a 3-day continuous infusion of 5-FU at 3,500 mg/m2 and 17 injections of LV at 15 mg and infusion of CDGP at 100 mg/m2. Forty-three patients were concurrently treated with radiotherapy. Seven of the 45 had distant metastasis. In spite of the metastasis, 6 of the 7 underwent radiation therapy only on the primary or cervical metastatic mass because their primary tumor was bulky. Treatment-associated toxicities, e. g., mucositis and myelosuppression were significant but acceptable. The overall response rate was 97.6% with 61.9% of CR.