ORIGINAL ARTICLE PROGNOSTIC VALUE OF PRIMARY TUMOR VOLUME AFTER CONCURRENT CHEMORADIATION WITH DAILY LOW-DOSE CISPLATIN FOR ADVANCED-STAGE HEAD AND NECK CARCINOMA

Abstract: Background. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of tumor volume in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma treated with chemoradiation. Methods. Forty-six patients were treated with radiotherapy and cisplatin (6 mg/m2 IV x20, daily). Baseline primary tumor vol-ume was recorded from MRI scans. The prognostic impact of tu-mor volume and other factors for locoregional control, disease-free survival (DFS), and overall survival (OS) was tested. Results. Mean tumor volume was 28 cm3 (median 23 cm3; range, 3–112). The locoregional control rate at 3 years was 81 % for patients with tumor volumes <median compared to 48 % for tumor volumes median (p 5.036). At multivariate analysis, it appeared that tumor volume remained an independent determinant of locore-gional control and survival when adjusted for other factors. Conclusions. In advanced-stage head and neck squamou