Between August 1979 and August 1984, 47 consecutive patients with recurrent squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck entered one of three consecutive second-line treatments. Response rates with each treatment were very different (70 % vs 5.9 % vs 75 %), but there was no statistical difference in actuarial survival (survival: 30 % vs 29 % vs 20 %, respectively, at 260 days). In light of this observation, the efficacy of the second-line therapy appears doubtful and the survival of relapsing patients seems unrelated to the response achieved.
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