Preoperative concurrent irradiation and cisplatin for cancer of the oral cavity

Tumors of the oral cavity are commonly treated by surgery, RT or a combination of both. The results are poor especially in patients with advanced regional disease. Many attempts were made to improve the results by combining chemotherapy with irradiation and surgery. The combination of irradiation and cisplatin gave encouraging results in the treatment of advanced and often inoperable cancers of the head and neck. We evaluated patients with operable cancer of the oral cavity. Most of these patients have been entered on a prospective intergroup study of DOESAK (Deutsch-oesterreichisch-schweizerischer Arbeitskreis fuer Tumoren im Mund-, Kiefer- und Gesichtsbereich). (orig.)