Phillip Pifer, MD, PhD, on Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: New Data on Focal Adhesion Kinase
2022 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancers Symposium
Phillip Pifer, MD, PhD, of the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, discusses findings that suggest focal adhesion kinase is a potentially important target for therapeutic sensitization in patients with mutant TP53 HPV-negative head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
The ASCO Post Staff
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.
The ASCO Post Staff
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.
The ASCO Post Staff
Glenn J. Hanna, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, discusses findings that show human papillomavirus circulating tumor DNA (HPV ctDNA) may be useful as part of surveillance monitoring of patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. Dr. Hanna reports that 93% of patients who had no clinical evidence of disease developed a positive HPV ctDNA test during surveillance follow-up and subsequently had confirmed disease recurrence.
The ASCO Post Staff
Sue S. Yom, MD, PhD, of the University of California, San Francisco, discusses some of the latest developments in thyroid cancer, including the mutational landscape, therapies for high-risk and anaplastic diseases, and multimodalities for aggressive differentiated thyroid cancers.
The ASCO Post Staff
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.