Dr. Vokes on Moving Immunotherapy into Frontline for Head and Neck Cancer

Video

In Partnership With:

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 possibility of moving immunotherapy agents into the frontline setting for patients with head and neck cancer.

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 possibility of moving immunotherapy agents into the frontline setting for patients with head and neck cancer.

Researchers need to consider this treatment option carefully, he explains. This is because the frontline setting is curative. Therefore, if an endpoint is missed in a given patient, this could translate into life or death. The safest way is to give standard therapy, such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy, in frontline and then as an adjuvant treatment. The challenge with this, he explains, is not knowing what patients are benefitting from this. There also needs to be longer follow-up to assess the impact.

Immunotherapy could also be given prior to chemoradiation or surgery, and during chemoradiation. These types of clinical trials are currently ongoing, Vokes explains.

Related Videos
Shivaani Kummar, MBBS, FACP, Margaret and Lester DeArmond Endowed Chair of Cancer Research, Professor and Division Head, Division of Hematology/Medical Oncology, Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine; co-director, Center for Experimental Therapeutics, co-deputy director, Knight Cancer Institute
Andre Goy, MD
Wenxin (Vincent) Xu, MD,
Guenther Koehne, MD, PhD
Alessandro Villa, DDS, PhD, MPH
Joseph Mikhael, MD
Michael Richardson, MD
Minesh Mehta, MD
Ruben Olivares, MD
Phillip J. Koo, MD