Neoadjuvant chemotherapy in locally advanced cancers of oral cavity

Oral cancers constitute a major burden of cancer in northeastern part of India. This can be attributed to the increased consumption of tobacco in various forms such as chewing, snuffing, powder or paste and smoking along with betel nut and areca nut. The majority of patients with oral cavity cancer present in an advanced stage which carries a poor prognosis. We present here a case of locally advanced (T4b) oral cavity cancer where 5-fluorouracil (5FU) and methotrexate (MTX) were used as neoadjuvant chemotherapy to attain a surgically resectable stage. The objective of this case report is to show the efficacy and impact of 5FU and MTX as induction chemotherapy in advanced oral cancers.