September 10, 2023 - Supplement: Head & Neck Cancer Almanac (View All Issues)
Head and Neck Cancers 2022–2023 Almanac
Head and neck cancers comprise approximately 4% of all new cancer diagnoses globally and represent approximately 110,000 new cancer diagnoses and 17,000 cancer deaths annually in the United States.
Head and neck cancers are a heterogenous group of malignancies where prognosis and treatment varies...
Pembrolizumab Plus Chemoradiation Therapy Falls Short in Locally Advanced Head and Neck Cancer
Pembrolizumab plus chemoradiation therapy failed to demonstrate a statistically significant improvement in event-free survival vs chemoradiation therapy alone in patients with locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, but favorable numerical trends were demonstrated, according to...
Cabozantinib Plus Atezolizumab Warrants Further Study in Treatment of Advanced Head and Neck Cancer
A challenging patient population with advanced head and neck cancer may have a new treatment option, according to data presented during the 2022 Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) Annual Meeting.1
Results from Cohort 17 of the COSMIC-021 study showed that the combination of the kinase...
Could Fluorouracil-Free First-Line Regimen Challenge the Standard of Care in Advanced Head and Neck Cancer?
In patients with relapsed or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, a regimen of the immune checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab plus carboplatin and paclitaxel, evaluated in the phase IV KEYNOTE-B10 trial, demonstrated antitumor activity, with a good safety profile, investigators reported ...
First-in-Class Bifunctional Antibody Plus Pembrolizumab Shows Activity in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma
The first-in-class bifunctional antibody BCA101—which inhibits both the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β)—given with the immune checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab, is showing activity and tolerability in recurrent or metastatic head and neck...
Novel HPV-Targeted Agents Boost Efficacy of Pembrolizumab in Head and Neck Cancer, Two Studies Show
Immunotherapeutics that target human papillomavirus (HPV) genotype 16 appear to boost the activity of pembrolizumab in advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Two examples were presented in posters at the 2023 ASCO Annual Meeting.1,2
The phase II VERSATILE-002 trial evaluated PDS0101,...
Ficlatuzumab With or Without Cetuximab in Pan-Refractory, Recurrent/Metastatic Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma
In a phase II trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Julie E. Bauman, MD, MPH, and colleagues found that the combination of the antihepatocyte growth factor antibody ficlatuzumab and cetuximab was active in patients with cetuximab-resistant, recurrent or metastatic head and neck...
First-in-Class Agent Given With Chemoradiotherapy Improves Survival in Locally Advanced Head and Neck Cancer, Study Finds
The first-in-class agent xevinapant (also known as Debio 1143), given with chemotherapy and radiotherapy, significantly improved overall survival in a phase II study of 96 patients with locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.1 “This is the first study in decades to improve...
Addition of Pazopanib to Concurrent Radiotherapy and Paclitaxel in Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer
In a phase II trial (NRG/RTOG 0912) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Sherman et al found that the addition of pazopanib to concurrent radiotherapy and paclitaxel did not improve overall survival in patients with anaplastic thyroid cancer.
Study Details
In the U.S. multicenter, double-blind trial, ...
Genomic Screening May Help Detect Medullary Thyroid Cancer, Study Finds
Population-based genomic screening may facilitate early detection of medullary thyroid cancer in patients with variants in the RET gene, according to a new study published by Pichardo et al in JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery.
Background
Medullary thyroid cancer accounts for 2% to 5%...
Epigenetic Imprinted Biomarker Test to Identify Malignant Thyroid Nodules
In a Chinese study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Xu et al found that a test for epigenetic imprinted biomarkers was highly accurate in distinguishing malignant vs benign thyroid nodules.
Study Details
The multicenter study involved 550 consecutively enrolled patients with nodules...
CONTINUUM: In Locally Advanced Nasopharyngeal Cancer, Addition of Sintilimab to Chemoradiotherapy Offers Benefit
The addition of the PD-1 inhibitor sintilimab to standard induction chemotherapy and chemoradiotherapy resulted in a significant improvement in 3-year event-free survival, a manageable safety profile, and comparable quality of life in high-risk, locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma vs standard ...
JUPITER-02: Toripalimab Plus Chemotherapy Improved Survival Outcomes for Some Patients With Advanced Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma
In the final overall survival analysis of the phase III JUPITER-02 trial, first-line treatment with toripalimab plus gemcitabine and cisplatin resulted in a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in overall survival and progression-free survival vs chemotherapy alone in...
For Advanced Nasopharyngeal Cancer, Adjuvant Gemcitabine Plus Cisplatin Favored Over Fluorouracil Plus Cisplatin, Study Reports
In patients with N2 and N3 nasopharyngeal carcinoma, adjuvant treatment with concurrent gemcitabine and cisplatin significantly improved progression-free survival, with acceptable toxicity, over fluorouracil plus cisplatin, according to a phase III trial reported from Sun Yat-sen University Cancer...
Study Finds Durvalumab Plus Carboplatin and Paclitaxel Effective, Tolerable in Frail Patients With Head and Neck Cancer
As a first-line treatment of recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, the PD-L1 inhibitor durvalumab plus weekly carboplatin and paclitaxel provided clinically significant efficacy in the phase II FRAIL-IMMUNE (GORTEC 2018-03) trial.1 This regimen may prove to be an effective...
Quarterback Trial: De-escalation of Chemoradiotherapy for Subset of Patients With HPV-Positive Oropharyngeal Cancer
De-escalation of chemoradiotherapy after induction chemotherapy yields excellent oncologic outcomes in patients with high-risk oropharyngeal cancer associated with the human papillomavirus (HPV). Results of the nonrandomized phase II Quarterback trial suggest that this subset of patients may be...
Dysphagia-Optimized vs Standard IMRT in Newly Diagnosed Patients With Head and Neck Cancer
In the phase III DARS study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Nutting et al found that dysphagia-optimized intensity-modulated radiotherapy (DO-IMRT) was associated with improved patient-reported swallowing function vs standard IMRT in newly diagnosed patients with head and neck cancer.
Study...
