Here's some of the data I have:

Prevention of Second Primary Tumors with Isotretinion (13-cis-retinoic acid) (9/20/1990):

Results: There were no significant differences between the two groups (medication & placebo) in the number of local, regional or distant recurrences of the primary cancers. However, the isotretinion had significantly fewer second primary tumors. After a median follow up of 32 months, only 4% of the isotretinion group had SPT's as compared with 12% of the placebo group.

Conclusions: Daily treatment with high doses of isotretinion is effective in preventing SPT's in patients who have been treated for SCC of the head and neck, although it does not prevent recurrences of the original tumor.

The other studies I have involve more than one agent -- interferon and 13-cis-retinoic acid.

-Brett

Brett...Please be sure to post the source of the data, where it was published etc. if you wish for it to stay on the board. Also remember that data which is four years old, may be still accurate or may not reflect the most current thinking in all things. This is a field where discoveries and trial results appear on a daily basis. What we knew four years ago may have been now superceded by something different. Posting references allows all to judge for themselves, and reading the original study in it's complete form, to determine if the information is still of value, appropriate for them, something to bring up to their docs etc.

I was worried about making some sort of mistake in posting this. That information was published in the New England Journal of Medicine 9/29/90 of which I was provided a xerox copy of just the study data. I'm not about to retype the entire document. I'll refrain from this type of post in the future. Please go ahead and kill this thread if you think that is the right thing to do.

-Brett