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.

Frontline Pembrolizumab Improves Survival in HNSCC

July 25th 2018

Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) significantly improved overall survival compared with the standard frontline regimen of cetuximab (Erbitux) plus platinum chemotherapy and 5-FU in patients with recurrent or metastatic HNSCC.

Dr. Katzel on Why Women With Head and Neck Cancer are Undertreated

July 19th 2018

Jed A. Katzel, MD, hematology, Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara Medical Center, discusses why women with head and neck cancer are undertreated.

Palbociclib/Cetuximab Combo Highly Active in HPV-Unrelated HNSCC

July 10th 2018

The combination of the CDK4/6 inhibitor palbociclib and cetuximab induced an overall response rate of 39% in patients with platinum-resistant, HPV-unrelated recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Dr. Topalian on the Immunosuppressive Tumor Microenvironment of Nasopharyngeal Cancer

June 28th 2018

Suzanne L. Topalian, MD, director, Melanoma Program, professor of Surgery and Oncology, Johns Hopkins Medicine, discusses the immunosuppressive microenvironment of nasopharyngeal cancer.

Dr. Katzel on Women Being Undertreated for Head and Neck Cancer

June 27th 2018

Jed Katzel, MD, Hematology, Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara Medical Center, discusses research presented at the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting, which evaluated whether women are undertreated for head and neck cancer.

Dr. Hong on Advances in Head and Neck Cancer

June 25th 2018

Waun K. Hong, MD, FACP, DMSc, division head, American Cancer Society Professor, Samsung Distinguished University Chair in Cancer Medicine, Department of Thoracic Head and Neck Medical Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and 2018 Giant of Cancer Care® in Head and Neck Cancer, discusses advances in the treatment of patients with head and neck cancer.

Dr. Ferris Discusses Nivolumab in Head and Neck Cancer

June 21st 2018

Robert Ferris, MD, PhD, vice chair for Clinical Operations, associate director for Translational Research, and co-leader of the Cancer Immunology Program at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, discusses nivolumab (Opdivo) in the treatment of patients with head and neck cancer.

Dr. Wirth on the Use of Lenvatinib in Hypertensive Patients With Thyroid Cancer

June 18th 2018

Lori J. Wirth, MD, associate professor, Medicine, Harvard Medical School, medical director, Center for Head and Neck Cancers, Massachusetts General Hospital, discusses the use of lenvatinib in hypertensive patients with thyroid cancer.

Lenvatinib-Pembrolizumab Combo Has Promising Activity in Squamous Cell Head and Neck Cancer

June 3rd 2018

Lenvatinib added to pembrolizumab demonstrated promising activity in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck in an ongoing open-label phase Ib/II clinical trial.

LOXO-292 Shows Impressive Response Rates for RET-Positive Tumors

June 2nd 2018

The highly-selective RET inhibitor LOXO-292 demonstrated robust clinical activity across RET-altered solid tumors, including in patients with brain metastases and the RET V804M gatekeeper mutation.

Compared With Men, Women With Head and Neck Cancer Undertreated

June 1st 2018

Women with head and neck cancer may be severely undertreated and have higher death rates compared with their male counterparts.

Dr. Succaria on Combination Immunotherapy in Head and Neck Cancer

May 25th 2018

Farah Succaria, MD, postdoctoral fellow, Johns Hopkins Medicine, discusses the potential for combination immunotherapy in the treatment of patients with head and neck cancer.

Symptom Tracking System Reduces Severity in Patients With Head and Neck Cancer

May 17th 2018

Patients who used mobile and sensor technology to track their symptoms demonstrated reduced severity of their symptoms compared with patients who received standard care.

FDA Approves Dabrafenib/Trametinib Combo for BRAF+ Thyroid Cancer

May 4th 2018

The FDA has approved combination therapy with dabrafenib and trametinib for the treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic BRAF V600E–positive anaplastic thyroid cancer.

Lead Investigator Discusses Nivolumab Long-Term Survival Benefit in SCCHN

April 25th 2018

Robert L. Ferris, MD, PhD, discusses the implications of the updated findings from the phase III CheckMate-141 trial in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

Dr. Duffield on Implications for Immunotherapy in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

April 21st 2018

Amy Duffield, MD, PhD, assistant professor of pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, member, Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, discusses the implications for immunotherapy in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Dr. Topalian on the Treatment of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

April 19th 2018

Suzanne L. Topalian, MD, director, Melanoma Program, professor of Surgery and Oncology, Johns Hopkins Medicine, discusses the treatment of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Dr. Ferris on the Updated Data from CheckMate-141 in Head and Neck Cancer

April 19th 2018

Robert Ferris, MD, PhD, vice chair for Clinical Operations, associate director for Translational Research, and co-leader of the Cancer Immunology Program at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, discusses the updated findings from the CheckMate-141 trial in head and neck cancer.

Nivolumab OS Benefit Sustained in Long-Term Follow-Up for SCCHN

April 17th 2018

Treatment with nivolumab reduced the risk of death by 32% compared with investigator’s choice of therapy for patients with metastatic or recurrent squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

Dr. Subbiah on Safety and Efficacy of BLU-667 in RET-Altered Solid Tumors

April 16th 2018

Vivek Subbiah, MD, associate medical director, Clinical Center for Targeted Therapy, assistant professor, Department of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the safety and efficacy findings of BLU-667 in RET-altered solid tumors in an interview during the 2018 AACR Annual Meeting.