A clinical study to assess chlorpromazine as hypoxic cell sensitizer in head and neck cancer treated with conventional radiation

A randomized prospective study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of chlorpromazine as a sensitizer of radiation in advanced head and neck cancers. Patients with unresectable laryngopharyngeal cancers except glottic cancers, with histologically proven squamous cell carcinoma staged III and IV were accrued for the study. Patients received radiation to a total dose of 6000 cGy in six weeks in both the groups except that patients in the study group received 50 mgs chlorpromazine(CPZ) in divided doses. Fourteen of 20 patients showed complete response in the control group whereas 34 of 38 patients in chlorpromazine treated group had complete regression of the tumour (p=0.016). The survival was (p=0.08) better in patients receiving CPZ. The preliminary study shows beneficial effects of chlorpromazine. No adverse effects due to chlorpromazine in conjunction with radiation were documented. (author)