August 25, 2022 - Supplement: Head & Neck Almanac (View All Issues)
Head and Neck Cancer 2021–2022 Almanac
Head and neck cancer is the seventh most common cancer in the world, with 1.1 million new diagnoses reported annually.1 In the United States, the incidence of oral and pharyngeal cancers is over 54,000 cases per year, resulting in over 11,000 yearly deaths.2 Although smoking and alcohol consumption ...
Tislelizumab Plus Chemotherapy Improves Progression-Free Survival in Nasopharyngeal Cancer
The addition of the checkpoint inhibitor tislelizumab to first-line chemotherapy significantly reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 50% and, despite a 49% crossover rate, numerically boosted overall survival in patients with recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal cancer, Zhang et al...
Are Disadvantaged Patients Less Likely to Receive Advanced Radiotherapy Techniques for Head and Neck Cancer?
Advanced radiotherapy techniques may reduce the risk of severe and debilitating toxicity associated with radiation, but not all patients have equal access to these modalities, according to data presented at the 2022 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancers Symposium.1 Retrospective analysis of the...
Induction Chemotherapy With Paclitaxel, Cisplatin, and Capecitabine vs Cisplatin and Fluorouracil for Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma
In a Chinese phase III trial reported in JAMA Oncology, Li et al found that induction chemotherapy with paclitaxel, cisplatin, and capecitabine (TPC) prior to concurrent chemoradiation was associated with improved failure-free survival vs induction therapy with cisplatin and fluorouracil (PF) in...
Blood Test Predicts Recurrence of HPV-Driven Oropharyngeal Cancer After Treatment
A blood-basedliquid biopsy may accurately predict recurrence of human papillomavirus (HPV)-driven oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma following treatment, according to data presented at the 2022 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancers Symposium.1
Results of the large, multi-institutional study...
Midtreatment Imaging De-escalates Therapy for Half of Study Patients With Oropharyngeal Cancer
Positron-emission tomography (PET) scans obtained before and midway through treatment may be used to de-escalate therapy for patients with oropharyngeal cancer, leading to fewer side effects, according to data presented at the 2022 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancers Symposium.1 An interim...
De-escalation of Radiation Therapy for HPV-Positive, Intermediate-Risk Oropharyngeal Cancer
De-escalated adjuvant radiotherapy appears to be safe in patients with surgically resectable, human papillomavirus (HPV)--positive oropharyngeal cancers, particularly in patients without extranodal extension or pN2 disease by American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) 8th edition. These findings...
Primary Transoral Surgery and Reduced-Dose Adjuvant Radiation Therapy for HPV-Positive Locally Advanced Oropharyngeal Cancer
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Robert L. Ferris, MD, PhD, and colleagues, the phase II ECOG-ACRIN E3311 trial has shown high progression-free survival rates and good functional outcomes in patients with intermediate-risk human papillomavirus (HPV; p16)-positive locally advanced...
HPV Vaccination and Projected Oropharyngeal Cancer Incidence Through the Year 2045
In a population-based age-period-cohort study reported in JAMA Oncology, Zhang et al estimated that current human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination rates will have a limited impact on overall oropharyngeal cancer incidence through 2045, due to a high risk of oropharyngeal cancer in unvaccinated...
First-Line Cisplatin Plus Gemcitabine or Fluorouracil for Advanced Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma: Final Overall Survival Analysis
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Hong et al, the final overall survival analysis of the Chinese phase III GEM20110714 trial showed a significant benefit with gemcitabine/cisplatin vs fluorouracil/cisplatin as first-line treatment for recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal...
Study Finds AI Ultrasound Platform Can Predict Thyroid Malignancy, Pathologic Stage, and BRAF Mutation Status
An artificial intelligence (AI) ultrasound platform that incorporates multiple methods of machine learning can accurately predict thyroid malignancy as well as pathologic and genomic outcomes, according to data presented at the 2022 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancers Symposium.1
Findings from ...
Thyroidectomy With or Without Radioiodine for Low-Risk Thyroid Cancer
In the French phase III ESTIMABL2 trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Leboulleux et al found that no use of radioiodine was noninferior to radioiodine ablation in the occurrence of functional, structural, or biologic events among patients undergoing thyroidectomy for low-risk...
Addition of Selumetinib to Adjuvant Radioactive Iodine in High-Risk Differentiated Thyroid Cancer
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Ho et al, the phase III ASTRA trial showed no improvement in complete remission rate with the addition of selumetinib to adjuvant radioactive iodine (RAI) in patients with high-risk differentiated thyroid cancer.
As stated by the investigators,...
FDA Approves Cabozantinib for Patients With Previously Treated Radioactive Iodine–Refractory Differentiated Thyroid Cancer
On September 17, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved cabozantinib (Cabometyx) for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients aged 12 years and older with locally advanced or metastatic differentiated thyroid cancer that has progressed following prior vascular endothelial growth...
Apatinib for Advanced Radioactive Iodine–Refractory Differentiated Thyroid Cancer
In an interim analysis of the Chinese phase III REALITY trial reported in JAMA Oncology, Lin et al found that apatinib, a highly selective VEGFR2 inhibitor, significantly prolonged progression-free survival vs placebo in patients with progressive, locally advanced or metastatic, radioactive...
Cabozantinib Prolongs Progression-Free Survival in Previously Treated Radioiodine-Refractory Differentiated Thyroid Cancer
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Marcia S. Brose, MD, Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania, and colleagues, the phase III COSMIC-311 trial has shown that cabozantinib produced a numerically higher objective response rate and significantly prolonged progression-free survival vs...
