Regional intra-arterial polychemotherapy to increase the effectiveness of conservative treatment of locally invasive oral squamous cell carcinoma

The objective is using a clinical example to demonstrate the possibilities of intra-arterial polychemotherapy (PCT) in the combined treatment of oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Clinical case. A 43-year-old oral squamous cell carcinoma patient with metastases to cervical lymph nodes, left side (T3N2bM0, stage IV) underwent 2 courses of regional neoadjuvant intra-arterial PCT (docetaxel at a dose of 105 mg, cisplatin at a dose of 105 mg), accessed through a. lingualis. A total dose of 6,800 mg of 5-fluorouracil was administered as a 96-hour infusion. PCT induced oral mucositis of grade 2, no hematological side effects were observed. Clinical examination revealed that tumor volume decreased by 60 %. Ultrasound detected no changes in lymph nodes. Second step included resection of oral cavity bottom tissues, atypical tongue resection, marginal resection of the lower jaw on the left, radical neck dissection on the left. Histological study of the surgical material of primary tumor region as well as metastases of the cervical lymph nodes on the tumor side revealed pathomorphism of 4 grade. In the postoperative period, oral cavity and neck were irradiated from 2 sides. No signs of the disease were detected within 9 months after the combined treatment.

Conclusion. The clinical case demonstrates the high efficiency of regional intra-arterial PCT in patients with locally invasive oral squamous cell carcinoma. It seems relevant to further study its possibilities in the combined treatment of locally invasive forms of oral squamous cell carcinoma.

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