COMPARISON OF RESPONSE OF CONCURRENT CHEMO RADIOTHERAPY WITH WEEKLY PACLITAXEL VERSUS WEEKLY CISPLATIN IN LOCALLY ADVANCED LARYNGEAL CANCER

Nayan Bhowmik*, Barun Kumar Das, Shafatujjahan, Zobair Islam, Muhammad Adnan Arifeen and Suman Ghosh

ABSTRACT

Background: Laryngeal cancer is a leading malignancy of the upper aero-digestive tract, with modern approaches improving treatment outcomes. Concurrent chemoradiotherapy has shown promise for locally advanced laryngeal cancer while preserving laryngeal function. Objective: This study aims to compare the response of weekly paclitaxel versus weekly cisplatin in concurrent chemoradiotherapy for treating locally advanced laryngeal cancer. Materials and Methods: A quasi-experimental study was conducted at the Department of Radiotherapy, Rajshahi Medical College Hospital, from January 2021 – June 2022. Sixty patients with locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx were assigned into two groups: Arm-A (paclitaxel) and Arm-B (cisplatin), with 30 patients in each arm. Paclitaxel (30mg/m²) or cisplatin (40mg/m²) was administered weekly alongside 66Gy radiotherapy (33 fractions) over 6.5 weeks. Follow-up evaluations were conducted at 6, 12, and 24 weeks after treatment completion. Results: The mean age of participants was 56.03±8.88 years (SD). The male predominance was 88.3%. In Arm-A, 80% showed complete response, compared to 70% in Arm-B. Partial response was 20% in Arm-A and 30% in Arm-B. Statistical analysis revealed no significant difference between the groups (p>0.05). Standard deviation for treatment response in Arm-A and Arm-B was 2.5 and 3.2, respectively. The p-value of 0.15 further confirmed that the difference in treatment responses was statistically insignificant. The calculated p-value for both groups indicated a 95% confidence level. Conclusion: Weekly paclitaxel and cisplatin provide similar treatment responses in the concurrent chemoradiotherapy of locally advanced laryngeal cancer.

Keywords: Laryngeal cancer, Chemoradiotherapy, Paclitaxel, Cisplatin, Treatment response.