Results of radiation therapy oncology group 97-03 - A randomized phase II trial of concurrent radiation and chemotherapy for advanced squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck: Long-term results and late toxicities

RTOG 97-03 was a randomized Phase II study evaluating three doublets of chemotherapy delivered concurrently with conventionally fractionated radiation for patients with advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Preliminary results with median follow-up of less than 3 years described the feasibility of all three arms, despite high but acceptable acute toxicity rates and encouraging disease control and survival rates compared with historical controls from the RTOG database. This current study updates the results of this trial with long-term follow-up.