The CancerWeb Report, What's New In Cancer: April, 1996
Head and Neck Cancer

• Do response rates mean much in head and neck cancer? - Intensive chemotherapy in combination with radiotherapy gave a very high response rate, up to 70% in patients with squamous cell carcinomas, according to a study from the Institut Gustave Roussy in Villejuif, France. However, there were severe mucosal side- effects, and the responses did not translate into improved survival, leaving the cure rate still only around 10%. (Wibault, J Clin Oncol 14:1192, 1996)

  ---

• Predictive value of p53 expression - The p53 gene was detectable in 41 of 69 head and neck cancer patients studied at the M. D. Anderson Cancer center in Houston. Taking those in whom 10% or more of the cell nuclei examined contained p53 as the positive group (52% of patients), the researchers found that the p53- positive group had significantly lower overall survival, and shorter times to recurrence, to developing second tumors, and to treatment failure than the p53-negative patients. (Shin, J National Cancer Institute 88:519, 1996)