OBJECTIVES: I. Assess the time to treatment failure (local and regional) in patients with moderately advanced and advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (no distant metastases) when treated with hyperfractionated radiotherapy with vs. without 2 courses of simultaneously administered cisplatin. II. Assess the time to distant metastatic relapse, overall survival, and toxicity in patients receiving these treatments. III. Evaluate whether the potential tumor-doubling time is an indicator for risk of treatment failure in patients receiving these treatments.