Present state of the combined treatment with radiation and chemicals

Of malignancies in which the results have been markedly improved by combined treatment with radiation and chemicals for the past decade, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma localized in head and neck and intra-oral carcinoma are presented. In the management of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, the authors stressed the following: 1) Rappaport's classification has been a help to evaluate the prognosis; 2) lymphoma of the Waldeyer's ring should not be included in nodal lymphoma, and also it should be separated from extranodal lymphoma as well, because of different prognosis; 3) It seems that some kinds of chemotherapy would have a role in improving the results of radiotherapy in the management of radiotherapy, even in localized cases. In some types of intra-oral carcinomas, bleomycin was found to be useful in the combined treatment with radiation as follows: 1) A minimum required dose for local control of intra-oral carcinomas could be a combination of 30Gy in 3 weeks and 100mg bleomycin during the same period. 2) Although the end results of patients with carcinoma of tongue or floor of mouth have not been improved by this approach, there was marked improvement in patients with carcinoma of the lower gum. 3) For the treatment, the side effect as limiting factor was mucositis, and none of the cases of the series developed pulmonary complication. In the cases controlled by initial combined treatment, no one developed troubles of the mandible, in the follow-up study for the past 10 years. (author)