ASTRO: Efficacy of Intravenous, Intra-Arterial Chemo Equal

Both work for patients with head and neck cancer when combined with radiation

TUESDAY, Nov. 7 (HealthDay News) -- When combined with radiation, chemotherapy given either intra-arterially directly to the tumor or intravenously are similar in terms of their ability to control cancer growth in patients with inoperable head and neck cancer, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology in Philadelphia.

Coen Rasch, M.D., Ph.D., of the Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam, and colleagues randomly assigned 240 patients with inoperable head and neck cancer to receive either intra-arterial or intravenous chemoradiation (radiation and cisplatin chemotherapy given at the same time). Intra-arterial treatment was given directly to the tumor, the authors note.

The researchers found that both treatments were similar in terms of their ability to control cancer growth.

"Since intravenous chemoradiation is an easier treatment procedure for patients and doctors, it should be considered the standard of care for inoperable head and neck cancer," Rasch said in a statement.

Abstract

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