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Improved local-regional tumor control may not be enough to justify the increased morbidity of adding neoadjuvant radiation to chemotherapy in esophageal and gastroesophageal junction cancers, according to a pair of studies presented during the 2020 Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) International...
Ezra E.W. Cohen, MD, of the University of California, San Diego, discusses primary results of the phase III JAVELIN trial of locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, in which the immune checkpoint inhibitor avelumab was combined with chemoradiotherapy followed by avelumab maintenance. Although the study results were negative, Dr. Cohen suggests other regimens that may prove to be effective (Abstract 910O).
In a French Head and Neck Radiotherapy Oncology Group phase II trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Sun et al found that the addition of Debio 1143 (a small-molecule antagonist of inhibitor of apoptosis proteins) to high-dose cisplatin chemoradiation improved locoregional disease control in...
In a single-center phase II trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, McBride et al found that use of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for a potential abscopal effect together with nivolumab did not improve objective response rate vs nivolumab alone in patients with metastatic head...
Robotic surgery for patients with early-stage oropharyngeal squamous cell cancer may be associated with improved health outcomes, including better long-term survival, according to a study published by Nguyen et al in JAMA Oncology. Transoral robotic surgery is a minimally invasive procedure in...
In a Chinese phase III trial reported in JAMA Oncology, You et al found that the addition of locoregional radiotherapy to chemotherapy improved overall survival in patients with chemotherapy-sensitive metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Study Details The open-label trial included 126 previously...
ASCO has released a new guideline for the treatment of locally advanced esophageal cancer that will provide a context for the current standards of care, fill gaps in clinicians’ knowledge of therapy options, and help define future treatment.1 An expert panel developed the guideline based on 17...
The combination of nivolumab plus ipilimumab was at least as effective as chemotherapy in front-line therapy for patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and brain metastases at baseline, according to the results of a post hoc analysis from part 1 of the phase III CheckMate 227...
I have had to come to terms with my own mortality three times in my life and I’m only 46. When I was 17, I was diagnosed with end-stage renal disease and experienced renal failure 2 years later. I underwent my first kidney transplant at 21, just before starting medical school. Finally, I thought my ...
Patients who were unexpectedly hospitalized for dehydration, fever, or other events while undergoing radiotherapy for head and neck cancer were at a higher risk for less favorable outcomes, according to a study published by Anurag K. Singh, MD, and colleagues in Oral Oncology. Researchers found...
Christopher Nutting, MD, PhD, of the Royal Marsden Hospital and Institute of Cancer Research, discusses phase III results from the first study to demonstrate the functional benefit of swallow-sparing intensity-modulated radiotherapy in oro- and hypopharyngeal cancers (Abstract 6508).
On June 12, Merck announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had approved an expanded indication for Gardasil 9—a human papillomavirus (HPV) nine-valent vaccine—for the prevention of oropharyngeal and other head and neck cancers caused by HPV types 16, 18, 31, 33, 45, 52, and 58....
In a phase Ib study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Powell et al found that the addition of pembrolizumab to curative chemoradiotherapy was safe and associated with response in patients with locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Study Details The U.S. multicenter...
On may 8, 2020, selpercatinib was granted accelerated approval for the following indications: Adult patients with metastatic RET fusion-positive non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) Adult and pediatric patients ≥ 12 years of age with advanced or metastatic RET-mutant medullary thyroid cancer who...
The final results of the randomized phase II ECOG-ACRIN E3311 trial were presented by Robert L. Ferris, MD, PhD, and colleagues during the ASCO20 Virtual Scientific Program (Abstract 6500) and in today's Head and Neck Cancer Oral Abstract Session. The trial, conducted in patients undergoing...
ASCO has released a new clinical guideline titled, “Diagnosis and Management of Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Unknown Primary in the Head and Neck: ASCO Guideline.”1 The guideline, promulgated by an international expert panel, is intended to “provide evidence-based recommendations to practicing...
Pam Baker DeGuzman, PhD, of the University of Virginia School of Nursing, discusses her study findings on the use of the NCCN Distress Thermometer, which identified and addressed distress in patients treated for head and neck cancer who were then referred to speech pathologists, lymphedema specialists, and social workers (Abstract HSR20-082).
The threat posed by head and neck cancer extends well beyond the physical disease, according to research presented at the 2020 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancers Symposium.1,2 The pair of studies underscored the high costs of survivorship, including elevated rates of chronic pain, substance...
The addition of bevacizumab to the current standard of care of chemoradiation therapy is safe and feasible for the treatment of locally or regionally advanced nasopharyngeal cancer, according to data presented at the 2020 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancers Symposium.1 “I’m pleased to report...
Charu Aggarwal, MD, MPH, Leslye M. Heisler Assistant Professor for Lung Cancer Excellence at the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, underscored the paucity of treatment options for metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. “Even though pembrolizumab is...
The first trial to evaluate anti–programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) blockade combined with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibition in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma demonstrates promising activity of the drug combination in patients with platinum-refractory or -ineligible...
Sue Sun Yom, MD, PhD, Professor of Radiation Oncology & Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco, Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, said there is “reasonableness to further investigation” of the combination of programmed cell death...
The combination of the checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab and definitive radiation therapy appears to be a safe and feasible option for patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer who are not eligible for cisplatin, according to data presented at the 2020 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck...
Moderator of the session, Tanguy Y. Seiwert, MD, Director of the Head and Neck Cancer Oncology Disease Group and Assistant Professor of Oncology at Johns Hopkins University, in Baltimore, underscored the “dramatically good” preclinical data supporting the use of mTOR inhibitors in advanced...
The mTOR inhibitor everolimus, used to treat breast and kidney cancers, may benefit patients with advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, according to data presented at the 2020 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancers Symposium.1 The results of an investigator-initiated, phase II...
Tanguy Y. Seiwert, MD, moderator of the session on the phase II trial of neoadjuvant nivolumab with or without ipilimumab in patients with oral cavity cancer, underscored concerns about differences in outcome measures. Dr. Seiwert is Director of the Head and Neck Cancer Oncology Disease Group and...
The results of a phase II study suggest that a short course of immunotherapy prior to surgery for oral cavity cancer may trigger tumor regression, possibly providing long-term benefits for patients. According to data presented at the 2020 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancers Symposium,1 a 3-week ...
Immune modulation with checkpoint inhibitors has shown beneficial effects in advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, but responses have been limited to a small number of patients. According to data presented at the 2020 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancers Symposium, however, an...
Sue Sun Yom, MD, PhD, Professor of Radiation Oncology & Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco, Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, said there is “reasonableness to further investigation” of the combination of programmed cell death...
The combination of the checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab and definitive radiation therapy appears to be a safe and feasible option for patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer who are not eligible for cisplatin, according to data presented at the 2020 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck...
Sue Sun Yom, MD, PhD, of the University of California, San Francisco, talks about the variety of evolving ways to deintensify radiation therapy, the critical need to counsel patients on the risks and benefits, and the ethical importance of respecting patient preferences in choosing their cancer therapies.
Jared Weiss, MD, of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, discusses outcomes for patients with stage III or IV disease who are ineligible for the standard treatment of cisplatin plus radiotherapy. His data suggest that treatment with pembrolizumab/radiotherapy instead is tolerable, with improvements seen in progression-free and overall survival (Abstract LBA1).
Jonathan D. Schoenfeld, MD, MPH, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, discusses phase II study results with the PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab or the combination of PD-1/CTLA-4 inhibition with nivolumab/ipilimumab in patients with newly diagnosed untreated oral cavity cancer (Abstract 1).
Gopal K. Bajaj, MD, MBA, of the Inova Schar Cancer Institute, discusses the results of a small study that showed prophylactic gabapentin can be safely and effectively used to significantly reduce pain and the use of opioids in patients undergoing radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
David Adelstein, MD, of the Cleveland Clinic, discusses the hypothesis that treatment can be de-intensified in patients with HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer and a good prognosis.
Jill Gilbert, MD, of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, discusses this ongoing area of investigation and which patients can safely undergo a de-intensification of treatment. Based on two randomized trials, cetuximab should not be substituted for cisplatin as a de-intensification strategy in HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer.
Assuntina G. Sacco, MD, of the University of California, San Diego, discusses the results of a small phase II study, which suggest that pembrolizumab plus cetuximab may show activity for platinum-refractory/-ineligible patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (Abstract 15).
Nadeem Riaz, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses the biomarkers that have emerged for immunotherapy and their tumor microenvironments, from PD-L1 staining and the Combined Positive Score to next-generation genomic technologies.
Carryn M. Anderson, MD, of the University of Iowa Hospital, discusses the investigational agent GC4419, previously shown to be safe and effective in decreasing the duration, incidence, and severity of oral mucositis in patients receiving concurrent cisplatin and radiation for oral cavity and oropharyngeal squamous cancers. The 2-year tumor outcome data suggest that GC4419 does not seem to compromise tumor control (Abstract LBA2).
Francis P. Worden, MD, of the University of Michigan Health System Comprehensive Cancer Center, explores the use of novel biomarkers that may help predict response to induction chemotherapy and survival in patients with locally advanced laryngeal cancer.
This week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Priority Review to brigatinib for the treatment of ALK-positive lung cancer and Breakthrough Therapy designation to a potential first-in-class oral antagonist of inhibitors of apoptosis proteins for the treatment of head and neck...
Immune modulation with checkpoint inhibitors has shown benefit in advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, but responses have been limited to a small number of patients. According to data presented by Gregory T. Wolf, MD, FACS, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and...
The mTOR inhibitor everolimus may extend progression-free survival for patients with advanced head and neck cancer who are at high risk for recurrence after standard treatment. Patients enrolled in a randomized phase II trial who received the agent were more likely to be cancer-free 1 year after...
Results from a new clinical trial suggest that neoadjuvant immunotherapy for oral cavity cancers may elicit tumor regression, which could provide long-term benefit for patients. Findings were presented by Jonathan D. Schoenfeld, MD, MPH, of Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center, and...
A new phase II trial has found that the combination of radiation therapy and pembrolizumab led to improved survival outcomes and acceptable toxicity for patients with locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). The combination therapy may offer a new treatment option for...
This week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Priority Review to treatments for non–small cell and small cell lung cancers, as well as for diffuse large-B cell lymphoma (DLBCL); Breakthrough Therapy designation to an antibody-drug conjugate for bladder cancer; and a double Fast...
This week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Priority Review to agents in lymphoma, lung cancer, gastrointestinal stromal tumors, and breast cancer, and granted Fast Track designation to a first-in-class radioenhancer hafnium oxide nanoparticle in head and neck cancer. Priority...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Bhishamjit S. Chera, MD, and colleagues found that surveillance for circulating tumor human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA was accurate in identifying disease recurrence in patients with curatively treated HPV-associated oropharyngeal squamous cell ...
Survival outcomes for patients with human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck have made significant gains in recent years, but new research published by Pike et al in JNCCN—Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network has found some groups have not...
With nearly all patients who undergo treatment for cancer of the head and neck experiencing oral mucositis, effective pain control is one of the main goals of physicians and care teams. Looking to provide more effective relief for patients—while also reducing the need for opioid painkillers—a team...