Head & Neck Cancers | Specialty

The OncLive Head and Neck Cancer condition center page is a comprehensive resource for clinical news and expert insights on treatment for patients with head and neck cancer. This page features news articles, interviews in written and video format, and podcasts that focus on unmet needs, treatment advances, and ongoing research within head and neck cancer.

Pepinemab Plus Pembrolizumab Promotes Antitumor Activity in Recurrent/Metastatic Head and Neck Cancer

April 11th 2022

The combination of pepinemab and pembrolizumab elicited encouraging responses and tolerability as frontline therapy in patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer.

Ramucirumab/Pembrolizumab Produces Encouraging ORR in Recurrent or Metastatic HNSCC

January 17th 2022

The addition of ramucirumab to pembrolizumab elicited an encouraging response rate when used in the frontline treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Pembrolizumab/Pepinemab Combo Safe, Well Tolerated in Advanced, Recurrent, or Metastatic HNSCC

January 7th 2022

The combination of pembrolizumab and pepinemab showcased encouraging safety and tolerability when given as first-line treatment in patients with advanced, recurrent, or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

FDA Accepts IND for RM-1995 Photoimmunotherapy in Advanced Cutaneous or Head and Neck SCC

January 6th 2022

The FDA has accepted an investigational new drug application for the photoimmunotherapy treatment, RM-1995, for patients with advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma or head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Dr. Posner on Leveraging Tipifarnib in HRAS-Mutant Head and Neck Cancer

January 4th 2022

Marshall Posner, MD, shares his clinical experience with the use of tipifarnib in patients with head and neck cancer whose tumors harbor HRAS mutations.

Dr. Wirth on the Utility of Tipifarnib in Head and Neck Cancer

January 4th 2022

Lori J. Wirth, MD, discusses the utility of tipifarnib in patients with head and neck cancer whose tumors harbor HRAS mutations.

Novel Combination Looks to Capitalize on Synergy of B7-H3/PD-1 Blockade

December 30th 2021

The investigational monoclonal antibody enoblituzumab has demonstrated activity in preclinical studies and in combination with pembrolizumab in phase 1/2 studies in patients with checkpoint inhibitor–naïve head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and non–small cell lung cancer.

Treatment Paradigms Are Shifting for Locally Advanced HPV-Positive Head and Neck Cancers

November 18th 2021

A personalized treatment paradigm based on hypoxia imaging is promising and may yield a successful, personalized de-escalation strategy for patients with HPV-associated oropharynx cancer.

Investigators Aim to Identify New Treatment Targets with Cancer Cell Map Initiative

November 16th 2021

The Cancer Cell Map Initiative, developed by investigators at the University of California San Francisco and the University of California San Diego, has successfully charted how hundreds of genetic mutations involved in breast cancer and cancers of the head and neck affect the activity of proteins that ultimately lead to disease.

Dr. Hanna on the Efficacy of Tipifarnib in HRAS-Mutated Head and Neck Cancer

November 10th 2021

Glenn J. Hanna, MD, discusses promising data reported with tipifarnib in patients with HRAS-mutated head and neck cancer.

Dr. Hanna on the Role of Second-Line Cetuximab in Head and Neck Cancer

November 4th 2021

Glenn J. Hanna, MD, discusses the role of second-line cetuximab (Erbitux) in head and neck cancer.

FDA Grants Priority Review to Toripalimab for Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

November 1st 2021

The FDA has accepted for review a biologics license application for the use of toripalimab in combination with gemcitabine and cisplatin in the frontline treatment of patients with advanced recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and for use as a single agent in the second- or later-line treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma following platinum-containing chemotherapy.

Recruitment to Phase 2 Trial Examining PDS0101 Triplet in HPV Cancers Temporarily Suspended

October 29th 2021

The clinical-stage immunotherapy company PDS Biotechnology Corporation has announced the temporary suspension of recruitment to the National Cancer Institute–led phase 2 trial, which is evaluating a novel triplet combination comprised of PDS0101 and 2 immunomodulating agents in patients with advanced human papillomavirus cancers.

Radiotherapy-Activated NBTXR3 Shows Survival Benefit in Elderly Patients With Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

October 26th 2021

The administration of NBTXR3 monotherapy activated by radiotherapy resulted in encouraging survival improvements in difficult-to-treat elderly and frail patients with locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma who are ineligible for cisplatin and intolerant to cetuximab.

EC-18 Reduces Duration and Incidence of Chemoradiation-Induced Oral Mucositis in Head and Neck Cancer

October 21st 2021

Treatment with the small molecule oral immunomodulator EC-18 resulted in a reduction in both the duration and incidence of severe oral mucositis in patients with head and neck cancer who are undergoing concurrent chemoradiation.

Implementable Changes Could Improve QOL With Radiation-Related Mucositis in Head and Neck Cancer

October 20th 2021

Anurag Singh, MD, discussed the potential advantage to treating patients with radiation therapy at specific times of day, how the utilization of prophylactic gabapentin has decreased the need for narcotics in managing oral mucositis in patients with head and neck cancer, and the potential use of single-fraction radiation therapy in oncology.

Avasopasem Misses the Mark for Radiotherapy-Induced Severe Oral Mucositis in Head and Neck Cancer

October 19th 2021

The dismutase mimetic avasopasem manganese was not found to significantly reduce the incidence of severe oral mucositis in patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer who were receiving standard-of-care radiotherapy, missing the primary end point of the phase 3 ROMAN trial.

Dr. Singh on the Potential Effects of Radiation Timing in Head and Neck Cancer

October 18th 2021

Anurag Singh, MD, discusses the potential effects of radiation timing in head and neck cancer.

Cabozantinib Maintains PFS Advantage in Pretreated Differentiated Thyroid Cancer

September 29th 2021

Cabozantinib demonstrated a sustained benefit in progression-free survival vs placebo in patients with previously treated, radioactive iodine–refractory differentiated thyroid cancer, regardless of prior exposure to sorafenib or lenvatinib.

FDA Approves Cabozantinib for Previously Treated Radioactive Iodine-Refractory Differentiated Thyroid Cancer

September 17th 2021

The FDA has approved cabozantinib for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients aged 12 years and older with locally advanced or metastatic differentiated thyroid cancer that has progressed after prior VEGF-targeted therapy and who are radioactive iodine–refractory or ineligible.