To determine the contributions of chemotherapy and radiotherapy to larynx-preserving treatment, the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group and the Head and Neck Intergroup conducted a randomized trial (RTOG 91-11) to investigate three radiation-based treatments: induction cisplatin plus fluorouracil fol- lowed by radiotherapy if there was a response to the chemotherapy(aregimenidenticaltothatgiventhe “experimental” group in the Department of Veter- ans Affairs Laryngeal Cancer Study Group trial), ra- diotherapy with concurrent administration of cis- platin, and radiotherapy alone. The rationale for the second group was based on the enhancement of ra- diation effects on tumor cells by concurrent treat- ment with cisplatin. The primary objective of the tri- al was to compare the rates of laryngeal preservation associated with the three treatments. The study in- volved investigators from the Radiation Therapy On- cology Group (the coordinating group), the South- west Oncology Group, and the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group.