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Induction chemotherapy was effective in converting technically unresectable oral cavity cancers to operable disease in approximately 40% of patients and was associated with significantly improved overall survival in comparison to nonsurgical treatment.

Locally advanced oral cavity cancers are treated with a multi-modality approach. Surgery is the most efficient local modality in comparison to chemoradiation in oral cancers. Preoperative chemotherapy has failed its expectations to improve disease-free survival or overall survival in resectable oral cancers. Its use as an organ preservation tool is being studied. Induction chemotherapy followed by assessment for surgery is an appropriate option for borderline resectable or technically unresectable oral cancer. Metronomic chemotherapy is being studied as a bridge to surgery and as adjuvant chemotherapy in locally advanced oral cancers. The role of induction chemotherapy in unresectable oral cancers is unproven. Metronomic chemotherapy has shown improved progression-free survival and overall survival in oral cancers in comparison to intravenous cisplatin. A phase 3 study for confirmation of this finding has begun.

Cetuximab-based chemotherapy leads to a significant improvement in OS in the match pair analysis in comparison to metronomic chemotherapy.