Amy is right, the results for carboplatin (as a radiosensitizer) seem to be essentially the same as for cisplatin (as Gary says, chemo appears to add 10-15% effectiveness to radiation). Our MO - who has done extensive research on chemoradiation for HNC -- felt that there was good reason to use carbo for Barry, as he has existing high-end hearing loss from infections as a kid and also has some benign familial tremor, a hereditary condition which could be exacerbated by the peripheral neuropathy associated with use of cisplatin as well as taxanes such as Taxol.
Her exact words were "the radiation is the workhorse in this treatment and the chemotherapy simply enhances its effectiveness" The platinoid drugs inhibit the ability of a cancer cell to repair itself by forming platinum bonds within the cell's DNA.

The seven weekly carbo treatments were, in Barry's words, a "non-event" re side effects during treatment (of course he was given powerful antinausea drugs, Anzemet and/or Zofran) and afterwards. A hearing test after treatment showed no hearing loss compared to before-treatment test, and no problems with neuropathy.

Gail