Head & Neck Cancers

Adding the pan-PI3K inhibitor buparlisib (BKM120) to chemotherapy reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 35% in patients with advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Thomas M. Churilla, MD, Department of Radiation Oncology, Fox Chase Cancer Center, discusses a study exploring the impact of health insurance status on the presentation, local management, and outcomes of patients with head and neck cancer.

Ranee Mehra, MD, discusses what the KEYNOTE-012 findings could mean for patients, the growing role for the immunotherapy agent in head and neck cancer, and what else is on the horizon for the treatment landscape.

Jan S. Lewin, PhD, professor, Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Division of Surgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the impact of lymphedema in patients with head and neck cancer.

To investigate the possibility of environmental impacts as a predisposition for thyroid cancer, researchers sought to identify counties in California with possible geographic clustering of advanced thyroid cancer cases.

Ranee Mehra, MD, chief, Head and Neck Hematology/Oncology, associate professor, Department of Hematology/Oncology, Fox Chase Cancer Center, discusses the results of the KEYNOTE-012 study, which examined the efficacy of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in patients with recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Pembrolizumab demonstrated an objective response rate of 18% in data from two clinical trials exploring the PD-1 inhibitor as a treatment for patients with pretreated recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

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 CheckMate-141 trial, which found that treatment with single-agent nivolumab (Opdivo) reduced the risk of death by 30% and doubled 1-year overall survival (OS) rates compared with investigator's choice of therapy for patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (SCCHN).

Treatment with single-agent nivolumab improved overall survival and objective response rates compared with investigator's choice of therapy for patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

A. Daniel Pinheiro, MD, physician, Otolaryngology, Mercy Clinic, discusses a study looking at the determinants of cost in the treatment of patients with T1 to T3 oropharynx cancer.

Keith C. Bible, MD, PhD, discusses novel treatments he is excited about, the role of lenvatinib, and what the future may hold for thyroid cancer treatment.

James Melotek, MD, discusses two clinical trials looking at the impact of cetuximab in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

Robert Ferris, MD, PhD, explains the potential of nivolumab, its future, and its limitations in the treatment of patients with head and neck cancer.

The FDA has granted a breakthrough therapy designation to nivolumab as a single-agent treatment for patients with recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck following a 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 CheckMate-141 trial, which found that treatment with single-agent nivolumab (Opdivo) reduced the risk of death by 30% and doubled 1-year overall survival (OS) rates compared investigator's choice of therapy for patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (SCCHN).

Treatment with single-agent nivolumab reduced the risk of death by 30% and double 1-year overall survival rates compared investigator's choice of therapy for patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Sharon Spencer, MD, professor, chief of Medical Services, Ruby Meredith Outstanding Clinician Endowed Chair, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, discusses the types of radiation therapy available to patients with head and neck cancer.

The FDA has granted a priority review designation to pembrolizumab (Keytruda) as a treatment for patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Jonathan D. Schoenfeld, MD, discusses potential synergy between radiation therapy, given with or without chemotherapy, and immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

Next-generation sequencing efforts focusing on the most common form, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, are illuminating the hidden complexities of its genome.

Jessica Frakes, MD, explains findings from a study that examined treatment and follow-up for HPV-associated oropharynx cancer, and how they could impact clinical practice for the follow-up of patients with the disease.