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 followed by radiotherapy if there was a response to the chemotherapy(a regimen identical to that given the “experimental” group in the Department of Veterans Affairs Laryngeal Cancer Study Group trial), radiotherapy with concurrent administration of cisplatin, and radiotherapy alone. The rationale for the second group was based on the enhancement of radiation effects on tumor cells by concurrent treatment with cisplatin. The primary objective of the trial was to compare the rates of laryngeal preservation associated with the three treatments. The study involved investigators from the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (the coordinating group), the Southwest Oncology Group, and the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group.