Cisplatin, vindesine, and 96-h continuous infusion of 5-fluorouracil as initial chemotherapy for locally advanced head and neck carcinoma

The combination of cisplatin (80 mg/m2, i.v., day 1), 96-h infusion of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) (30 mg/kg/24 h) and vindesine (3 mg/m2 days 1 and 8) was evaluated in 31 patients with histologically proven epidermoid carcinoma of the head and neck. All patients were nonpretreated and had measurable lesions. Three (10%) of the 29 evaluable patients achieved a complete response (CR) and 19 (66%) had partial response (PR) with an overall response rate (CR + PR) of 76%. The major toxicity was leukopenia. Median overall survival was 14.5 months. It is concluded that the combination of cisplatin, 96-h infusion of 5-FU, and vindesine was as effective as other regimens including 5-FU and cisplatin reported in the literature, with a similar toxicity. The low CR rate in this trial is related to the high percentage of T4 N3 disease.