Head & Neck Cancers

Andrew T. Parsa MD, PhD, from the University of California, San Francisco, describes the design of a trial analyzing prophage G-200 vaccine for recurrent glioblastoma multiforme.

Squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck have different patterns of genetic alterations, some of which may be actionable or druggable with available agents or drugs in development.

Interim findings from a randomized, global, phase III study indicate that the multi-targeted drug sorafenib nearly doubled PFS for patients with differentiated thyroid cancer resistant to radioactive iodine therapy.

Marcia Brose, MD, PhD, from the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania, discusses the phase III DECISION study that explored sorafenib in radioactive iodine-resistant differentiated thyroid cancer.

Patients with human papilloma virus–positive oropharyngeal cancer and their spouses may find some reassurance in a study that found that partners are no more likely to be infected by HPV than the general population.

Gypsyamber D‘Souza, PhD, MPH, MS, from Johns Hopkins University, discusses the prevalence of oral HPV infections in the spouses of patients with HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer.

Eric J. Sherman, MD, Head and Neck Oncology Service, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, discusses a pilot study of selumetinib-enhanced radioiodine uptake in advanced thyroid cancer.

This article summarizes 4 abstracts that will be discussed at the 49th Annual ASCO Meeting, focused on the treatment of patients with head and neck cancer.

A new measure of tumor heterogeneity in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) was significantly associated with tumor progression and adverse treatment outcomes.

Researchers are attempting to determine if targeting more than one tyrosine kinase provide a greater benefit in several clinical trials involving the investigational drug afatinib.

Eric J. Sherman, MD, Head and Neck Oncology Service, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, discusses the treatment of anaplastic thyroid cancer with intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), paclitaxel, and pazopanib.

A novel small molecule inhibitor called CH1iB may be able to block a mechanism that enables human papilloma virus to cause head and neck cancer.

Steven I. Sherman, MD, from the MD Anderson Cancer Center, describes the need to expand the clinical definition of radioactive iodine resistance for patients with thyroid cancer.

Patients with advanced thyroid cancer who develop resistance to treatment with radioiodine may benefit from the experimental drug selumetinib.

The patterns characterizing oropharyngeal cancers associated with the human papillomavirus are bucking broad trends in oncology statistics in the United States⎯and not in a positive way.

The incidence of cervical cancer, an HPV-associated cancer, declined slightly; however, incidence rates increased for oropharyngeal and anal cancer, which also are considered HPV-associated cancers.

Studies have explored integration of chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery, with the suggestion that modern technologies may be changing the treatment landscape with better outcomes in esophageal cancer.

New research suggests that there may be five distinct subgroups of head and neck cancer in which specific genetic profiles may be utilized to guide treatment decisions in patients.

Notch-targeted agents that were initially intended for the treatment of Alzheimer disease are now being examined for their possible anticancer activity.

Marshall Posner, MD, from Mount Sinai Medical Center, discusses the factors that improve the prognosis for patients with HPV-positive head and neck cancer when compared to patients who are HPV-negative.

A phase III trial of sorafenib in patients with locally advanced or metastatic RAI-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer met its primary endpoint of a statistically significant improvement in PFS.

Scientists now know a lot more about the genetic landscape of head and neck cancer and hope that eventually this knowledge will lead the way to new therapies.

Low-dose radioiodine ablation with thyrotropin alfa is as effective as high-dose radioiodine ablation in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer and is safer.

The FDA approved cabozantinib, a multi-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor, for the treatment of metastatic medullary thyroid cancer.

Despite the fact that pazopanib and cabozantinib are not yet approved, researchers are already trying to determine the best way to integrate them into existing treatment regimens.