A medical technique combining platinum and radiation therapy has proved effective in the treatment for advanced head and neck cancer.

Researchers from Harvard University reported - in the July issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology Physics - that the new approach results in disease eradication in 70 per cent of patients with advanced head and neck cancer.

There have been a number of trials so far which suggest the assertion that the administration of platinum-based chemotherapy and radiotherapy is superior to radiotherapy alone in such cases.

The latest study from the Harvard research team treated 31 patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer with a number of different induction regimens including Platinol and Paraplatin.

Response rates among the patients to induction chemotherapy alone were 20 per cent while response rates for the platinum-enhanced treatment were 70 per cent.

On top of this, further to all of the planned therapy using a mixed technique, 93 per cent of the patients were considered to be completely disease-free.


Ÿ Adfero Ltd