Inclusion Criteria:

- Patients must have a Karnofsky Performance Index ≥60%

- Patients must be over the age of 18.

- Patients must have a life expectancy of at least 6 months.

- Women of childbearing age must have a negative serum pregnancy test and agree to use
an effective method of contraceptive.

- Patients with a cardiac history should be cleared with a medical internist. In
general, patients with a history of prior bradyarrythmias, atrioventricular (AV)
conduction defects or marginal cardiac function will be eligible.

- Patients must have resectable stage III, stage IVA, stage IVB (without distant
metastases) squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity, oropharynx, or hypopharynx.
Hypopharyngeal carcinomas may also be stage II.

- Patients must not have had prior chemotherapy or radiotherapy (to the primary site or
nodes).

- Patients may not be planning to receive while on study concomitant immunotherapy or
hormonal therapy, except oral contraceptives or hormone replacement therapy.

- Patients must have adequate hepatic function documented by a normal serum bilirubin
0- 1.5mg/L and serum transaminases < 4 x upper limit.

- Patients must have adequate renal function documented by a serum creatinine not above
upper institutional normal limits and/or 24 hour OR calculated creatinine clearance
>60 ml/min. using the following formula:

(140-age) x Wt (kg) x .85 (if Estimated Creatinine Clearance = 72 x Creatinine
(mg/dl) female)

- Patients must have adequate bone marrow function documented by platelet count ≥
100,000 and absolute neutrophil count ≥ 2,000.

- Patients will have surgery according to Section 5.3. Operative and pathology reports
must be sufficiently detailed to confirm that surgery was done according to the
guidelines.

- Patients must be examined by a multi-modality team (consisting of a head and neck
surgeon, medical oncologist, and radiation oncologist) prior to entry on study.

- All patients must be informed of the investigational nature of this study and must
sign and give written informed consent in accordance with institutional and federal
guidelines.

Exclusion Criteria:

- Distant metastases.

- Prior malignancy, except for adequately treated basal cell (or squamous cell) skin
cancer, in situ cervical cancer, or other cancer for which the patient has been
disease-free for five years.

- Any condition that would be considered a contraindication for fluid challenge.

- Pregnant or lactating women may not participate.

- History of demyelinating neurological disorder, such as multiple sclerosis

- History of pancytopenia or aplastic anemia.