Head & Neck Cancers

The combination of lirilumab and nivolumab resulted in an objective response rate of 24.1% in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

Everett Vokes, MD, John E. Ultmann Professor of Medicine and Radiation Oncology, physician-in-chief, University of Chicago Medical Center, chair, Department of Medicine, University of Chicago Medicine, discusses the FDA approvals of the PD-L1 inhibitors nivolumab (Opdivo) and pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for the treatment of patients with head and neck cancer.

The FDA has approved nivolumab for patients with metastatic or recurrent squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck following progression on platinum-based therapy.

Robert Ferris, MD, PhD, vice chair for Clinical Operations, associate director for Translational Research, and coleader of the Cancer Immunology Program at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, discusses the impact of the FDA approval of nivolumab (Opdivo) for the treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (SCCN).

Enrolling clinical trials can be a long process, especially in rare diseases with limited patient populations. This is a particularly significant issue for patients with anaplastic thyroid cancer, an extremely rare and aggressive disease.

Jena D. French, PhD, instructor of medicine, division of endocrinology, metabolism and diabetes, Anschutz Medical Campus, University of Colorado, discusses the potential for immunotherapy combinations with lenvatinib in differentiated thyroid cancer.

Given the poor prognoses often seen in patients with anaplastic thyroid cancer, researchers are seeking novel therapies that may hold more promise than surgery or radiation.

Though some patients with medullary thyroid cancer can live with their disease without progression for long periods of time, the majority will eventually enter a phase in which their cancer becomes much more aggressive.

Bridgett Harr, CNP, radiation oncology, Cleveland Clinic, discusses survivorship and managing long-term side effects in head and neck cancer.