ESMO Minimum Clinical Recommendations for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN).

• The standard treatment depends on primary tumor location and extension. It could be surgery with or without postoperative radiotherapy or radiotherapy alone [I, A]. • Adjuvant chemotherapy has demonstrated no benefit [I, A]. Concomitant chemo-radiotherapy with single-agent platinum following surgery has shown a benefit for disease-free and overall survival in comparison with postoperative radiotherapy alone [II, B]. • Induction chemotherapy has demonstrated no benefit on diseasefree survival and overall survival [I, A]. The pattern of relapse with a reduction of distant metastasis is its only possible impact [II, C]. • Induction chemotherapy allows organ preservation for advanced larynx cancer and hypopharynx cancer requiring total laryngectomy. This organ preservation has no unfavorable impact on disease-free survival and overall survival [I, A]. The standard chemotherapy in this indication combines cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil [I, A]. The decision to avoid surgery and to give radiotherapy alone is based on response to induction chemotherapy. The level of response allowing organ preservation is debatable.