Utility of chemoradiotherapy for head and neck cancer with distant metastases at initial presentation

Metastatic (M1) disease is the state in which a malignant tumor has generalized and the principal treatment is drug therapy. However, for head and neck cancer with distant metastases at initial presentation, local control is important for maintaining Quality of Life (QOL) . We retrospectively reviewed 11 cases of head and neck cancer with distant metastases at initial presentation at our hospital from January 2014 to June 2016. Initial treatments were classified as follows: no treatment group, drug therapy group, and chemoradiotherapy group. Local control rate and median survival time were 0% and 4 months in the no treatment group, 0% and 10 months in the drug therapy group, and 83% and 20 months in the chemoradiotherapy group. Chemoradiotherapy was useful for long-term control of a locoregional site and for maintenance of QOL. In addition, chemoradiotherapy may be a useful treatment option for M1 disease patients for improving prognosis.