Radiation Therapy in Treating Patients With Stage II or Stage III Oropharyngeal Cancer

Inclusion Criteria

• •DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:
• •Histologically proven stage II or III (T1-T2, N0-N1) squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx (tonsil, base of tongue, or palate)
• •* Lymph nodes in both sides of neck at risk of metastatic disease and require radiotherapy
• •* Patients upstaged by imaging to N2 are eligible
• •Measurable or evaluable disease
• •* Greater than 1 cm in one dimension or with necrotic regions if by CT or MRI scan
• •Surgery of the primary tumor or lymph nodes limited to incisional or excisional biopsies
• •No distant metastases
• •PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:
• •Age:
• •Over 18
• •Performance status:
• •Zubrod 0-1
• •Life expectancy:
• •Not specified
• •Hematopoietic:
• •Not specified
• •Hepatic:
• •Not specified
• •Renal:
• •Not specified
• •Other:
• •No active untreated infection
• •No other malignancy within the past 5 years except nonmelanoma skin cancer or a carcinoma not of head or neck origin
• •No concurrent major medical or psychiatric illness that would preclude study
• •PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:
• •Biologic therapy:
• •Not specified
• •Chemotherapy:
• •More than 3 months since prior chemotherapy
• •No concurrent chemotherapy
• •Endocrine therapy:
• •Not specified
• •Radiotherapy:
• •No prior head or neck radiotherapy
• •Surgery:
• •See Disease Characteristics
• •Other:
• •No other concurrent treatment for head and neck cancer
• •No prophylactic amifostine or pilocarpine