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A challenging patient population with advanced head and neck cancer may have a new treatment option, according to data presented during the 2022 Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) Annual Meeting.1 Results from Cohort 17 of the COSMIC-021 study showed that the combination of the kinase...
The final results of the phase III CheckMate 651 trial showed no significant overall survival benefit with first-line nivolumab/ipilimumab vs the EXTREME regimen (cetuximab plus cisplatin or carboplatin plus fluorouracil for up to six cycles, followed by cetuximab maintenance) in recurrent or...
There is a 2-decades-long separation between the time I was diagnosed with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma in 1996 and my laryngectomy in 2016. The surgery was necessary because of the long-term damage to my larynx from the radiation therapy I received. In 1996, I had a low-grade sore throat...
The ASCO Post asked for comment from Glenn J. Hanna, MD, Director of the Center for Salivary and Rare Head and Neck Cancers, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Hanna said it is important to put the findings of KEYNOTE-4121 into context...
Pembrolizumab plus chemoradiation failed to demonstrate a statistically significant improvement in event-free survival vs chemoradiation alone in patients with locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, but favorable numerical trends were demonstrated, according to results of the phase ...
A small subset of patients who have undergone treatment for head and neck cancer may require a gastrostomy tube many years into survivorship, according to a new study published by Galloway et al in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, and Physics. The findings were also...
In an Indian single-center phase III trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Vijay Patil, MBBS, MD, DM, and colleagues found that the addition of low-dose nivolumab to triple metronomic chemotherapy significantly improved overall survival in patients with newly diagnosed or recurrent...
Pembrolizumab plus chemoradiation therapy failed to demonstrate a statistically significant improvement in event-free survival vs chemoradiation therapy alone in patients with locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, but favorable numerical trends were demonstrated, according to...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Kevin Harrington, MD, PhD, and colleagues, updated results of the phase III KEYNOTE-048 trial showed enduring survival benefits with first-line pembrolizumab alone and pembrolizumab/chemotherapy vs cetuximab/chemotherapy in patients with recurrent...
Jean-Pascal Machiels, MD, PhD, of Belgium’s Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc (UCLouvain), discusses the primary results of the phase III KEYNOTE-412 study of pembrolizumab plus chemoradiation therapy (CRT) vs placebo plus CRT for patients with locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (Abstract LBA5).
When combined with radiotherapy as definitive treatment of locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, cisplatin at a dose of 40 mg/m2 weekly is noninferior to cisplatin at 100 mg/m2 every 3 weeks, according to the results of the ConCERT trial.1 These findings were presented by Atul...
Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) alone may be considered an effective treatment option for “low-risk” T1–2N1 and T3N0 nasopharyngeal carcinoma, according to trial data presented by Jun Ma, MD, MS, Professor of Radiation Oncology, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China,...
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...
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...
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...
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...
In a Chinese phase III trial reported in JAMA, Tang et al found that radiotherapy alone was noninferior to concurrent chemoradiotherapy in failure-free survival in patients with low-risk nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Study Details In the open-label multicenter trial, 341 patients were randomly assigned ...
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...
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...
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...
Gary Walker, MD, MPH, MS, a head and neck radiation oncologist at Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center, Arizona, expressed concern about the disparities identified in the adoption of advanced radiation therapy techniques for patients with head and neck cancer. “Despite widespread availability of...
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...
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...
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 ...
ASCO has endorsed the recommendations put forth in a new guideline, developed by the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), on the use of radiation therapy for the management of brain metastases.1,2 Although ASTRO—in conjunction with ASCO and the Society for Neuro-Oncology (SNO)—recently...
In a phase II trial (Alliance A091404) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Ho et al found that enzalutamide showed some activity in advanced androgen receptor–positive salivary gland cancer but failed to meet the predefined criterion for a successful strategy. Study Details In the...
Patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head or neck were 93% less likely to die of any cause during the first 3 years after diagnosis if they ate a healthy diet high in nutrients found to deter chronic disease, according to results published by Vieytes et al in Frontiers in Nutrition. The...
In a single-institution retrospective cohort study reported in JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery, Alkhatib et al found a higher rate of response to immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment among patients with histologic high-grade vs low-grade recurrent or metastatic mucosal head and neck...
In an analysis from the Human Papillomavirus Cancer Cohort Consortium (HPVC3) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Robbins et al found substantial risks of oropharyngeal cancer over time among persons, particularly males, with positive results on human papillomavirus (HPV) 16-E6 serologic...
Hispanic and Black men are dying from human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated throat cancer at a higher rate than White men, and most new cases being diagnosed in non-Hispanic White men are late-stage disease, according to a new study published by Villalona et al in the Annals of Cancer ...
In an analysis of the KEYNOTE-048 trial reported in a research letter in JAMA Oncology, Yu et al identified outcomes with pembrolizumab alone or combined with chemotherapy vs cetuximab plus chemotherapy in patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma with a low or...
Nabil F. Saba, MD, of Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, discusses new data from a trial of pembrolizumab and cabozantinib in patients with recurrent metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. The study met its primary endpoint of overall response rate. The regimen was well tolerated and exhibited encouraging clinical activity in this patient population (Abstract 6008).
Sue S. Yom, MD, PhD, of the University of California, San Francisco, discusses a translational analysis from the NRG-HN002 study. This phase II trial established the feasibility of the tumor tissue–modified viral (TTMV) human papillomavirus DNA assay in clinical trial specimens. The goal is to use such an assay to measure tumor volume, levels of TTMV over the course of treatment, and the association of TTMV to treatment outcomes (Abstract 6006).
Carryn M. Anderson, MD, of the University of Iowa Hospital, discusses phase III results of the ROMAN trial of avasopasem manganese for patients with severe oral mucositis who are receiving chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced, nonmetastatic head and neck cancer. Compared with placebo, avasopasem manganese improved severe oral mucositis (Abstract 6005).
Patients with head and neck cancer undergoing radiation therapy may be less likely to require opioids or a feeding tube if they received a higher dose of prophylactic gabapentin before their treatment, findings from a team of radiation oncologists showed. Their report, published by Ma et al in JAMA ...
As reported in JAMA Oncology by David Palma, MD, PhD, and colleagues, enrollment in the phase II ORATOR2 trial, which was designed to evaluate overall survival after de-escalated treatment with primary radiotherapy vs transoral surgery in human papillomavirus (HPV)-related oropharyngeal squamous...
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...
In a study reported in a research letter in JAMA Oncology, Kana et al found that changes to Medicaid dental benefits in California from comprehensive to emergency services—and then back to comprehensive—were associated with reduced, then increased, percentages of cases of oral cavity cancer...
In a UK observational cohort study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Price et al found that pretreatment absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) was associated with overall survival and predictive of benefit of the addition of cisplatin to radiotherapy in patients with oropharyngeal squamous...
Gary Walker, MD, MPH, MS, a head and neck radiation oncologist at Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center, Arizona, expressed concern about the disparities identified in the adoption of advanced radiation therapy techniques for patients with head and neck cancer. “Despite widespread availability of...
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...
In a post hoc analysis of the KEYNOTE-048 trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Barbara Burtness, MD, and colleagues found that survival results with pembrolizumab and pembrolizumab/chemotherapy vs cetuximab/chemotherapy in patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous...
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...
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...
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...
Elizabeth D. Cash, PhD, of the University of Louisville, discusses depression among patients with head and neck cancer, the impact it can have on prognosis, and the importance of helping patients cope through screening for depressive symptoms and treatment with collaborative care models.
Michelle Mierzwa, MD, of the University of Michigan, discusses early findings from a phase II trial of FDG-PET (fluorodeoxyglucose–positron-emission tomography) de-escalated radiotherapy for patients with p16-positive orophyaryngeal cancer. An interim analysis suggests that for approximately half of patients with stage I or II disease, this type of treatment may decrease toxicity and improve quality of life.
David S. Hong, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses results from a phase II cohort, which suggest favorable antitumor activity with tisotumab vedotin-tftv in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma that has progressed after treatment with a platinum-containing regimen. Additional research is warranted, says Dr. Hong, in the second-line setting as well as in treatment-naive patients in combinations with pembrolizumab and carboplatin.
Peter Zeng, MD/PhD Candidate, at Ontario’s Western University, discusses a three-gene prognostic classifier tool, known as UWO3, which was validated in six external cohorts and shown to identify patients with human papillomavirus–related head and neck cancer that is likely to recur following aggressive radiation de-escalation.
Nancy Lee, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses results from the 30ROC trial, which showed that intratreatment FMISO [(18)F-fluoromisonidazole] PET response could identify patients with human papillomavirus–positive oropharyngeal carcinoma who may be sensitive to radiation therapy. Based on this information, researchers were able to de-escalate radiotherapy to 30 Gy from the standard 70 Gy, in the setting of chemotherapy (Keynote II).