Intra-arterial high-dose chemotherapy with cisplatin as part of a palliative treatment concept in oral cancer

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Patients with cancer of the oral cavity often present with advanced tumor stages, distant metastasis, or severe comorbidities, which render radical surgery infeasible. The purpose of this study was to investigate the response rate, technical feasibility, and safety of intra-arterial (IA) chemotherapy as palliative treatment in this situation. METHODS: From November 1997 to December 2003, 64 patients with histologically proven oral squamous cell carcinoma, classified as inoperable, received IA high-dose chemotherapy with cisplatin as a palliative treatment at our institution. To minimize toxic side effects, sodium thiosulfat was given intravenously. Twenty-eight percen..