Comparison of Radiation Therapy vs. Intra-Arterial Chemoradiotherapy for the Treatment of Preoperative Tongue Cancer

Background: We sometimes underwent intra-arterial chemoradiotherapy (IACRT) in patients with preoperative tongue cancer. Previous study could not sufficiently verify the superiority of IACRT in comparison with radiation therapy alone. To evaluate the effectiveness of IACRT for the treatment of preoperative tongue cancer, we compared the treatment results between radiation therapy alone and IACRT. Methods and findings: A retrospective study was conducted including 10 patients with preoperative tongue cancer. Four patients underwent radiation therapy alone and 6 patients underwent IACRT. The response rate (CR+PR) was 75% in the radiation therapy group, whereas it was 100% in the IACRT group. IACRT was more responsive than radiation therapy, however, there was no statistically significant difference between two groups (P=0.1967). The mean tumour reduction rate was 29% (SD: 7.13) in the radiation therapy group and 65% (SD: 11.08) in the IACRT group, there was a statistically significant difference between two groups (P=0.0402). Conclusion: Compared to radiation therapy alone, IACRT resulted in higher tumour reduction rate, therefore may be a better preoperative therapy in tongue cancer