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.

Axitinib Demonstrates Survival Benefit in Heavily Pretreated Unresectable Recurrent, or Metastatic Head and Neck Cancer

November 1st 2020

Heavily pretreated patients with unresectable recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cancer experienced an improvement in survival following treatment with axitinib.

Dr. Cohen on the Design on the SPEARHEAD-2 Trial in Head and Neck Cancer

October 29th 2020

Ezra Cohen, MD, FRCPSC, FASCO, discusses the design of the phase 2 SPEARHEAD-2 trial with ADP-A2M4 plus pembrolizumab in patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer.

Dana-Farber Announces Center for Salivary and Rare Head and Neck Cancers

October 6th 2020

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute has launched the Center for Salivary and Rare Head and Neck Cancers to treat patients with rare and occasionally aggressive cancers arising from the head and neck.

Yale Cancer Center Awarded NIH SPORE for Head and Neck Cancer Research

October 1st 2020

Yale Cancer Center researchers were awarded a five-year, $11.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to fund the Yale Head and Neck Cancer Specialized Program of Research Excellence.

Pralsetinib Active in RET-Mutant Advanced Medullary Thyroid Cancer

September 20th 2020

Potent and durable clinical activity was shown with pralsetinib as treatment of patients with RET-mutant advanced medullary thyroid cancer, regardless of the line of therapy.

Updated Data Shows Xevinapant Significantly Improves OS in Locally Advanced Head and Neck Cancer

September 19th 2020

Three-year follow-up data for the phase 2 study of the first-in-class inhibitor of apoptosis protein antagonist, xevinapant, in combination with standard cisplatin-based concomitant fractionation chemoradiation therapy reduced the risk of mortality by half compared with CRT alone in patients with locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

FDA Grants Priority Review to Pralsetinib for Metastatic RET+ Thyroid Cancers

September 5th 2020

The FDA has granted pralsetinib a priority review for the treatment of patients with advanced or metastatic RET-mutant medullary thyroid cancer and RET fusion–positive thyroid cancer.

Dr. Ferris on the Safety Profile of Transoral Robotic Surgical Resection in Oropharynx Cancer

August 26th 2020

Robert L. Ferris, MD, PhD, discusses the safety profile of transoral robotic surgical resection in oropharynx cancer.

Dr. Saba on Scheduling Challenges With Cisplatin in Head and Neck Cancer

August 24th 2020

Nabil F. Saba, MD, FACP, discusses scheduling challenges with cisplatin in head and neck cancer.

Dr. Harrington on the KEYNOTE-048 Trial in Recurrent/Metastatic Head and Neck Cancer

August 20th 2020

Kevin Harrington, BSc, MBBS, PhD, MRCP, FRCP, FRCR, discusses the randomized phase 3 KEYNOTE-048 trial in recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Tipifarnib Exhibits Enriched Activity in HRAS-Mutant Head and Neck Cancer

August 20th 2020

Tipifarnib demonstrated encouraging antitumor activity in patients with recurrent and metastatic head and neck cancer with high HRAS-mutant variant allele frequency, surpassing historical competitors in the second- or later-line settings.

Dr. Saba on Emerging Sequencing Strategies in Head and Neck Cancer

August 19th 2020

Nabil F. Saba, MD, FACP, discusses emerging sequencing strategies in head and neck cancer.

Debio 1143 Significantly Boosts OS in High-Risk Head and Neck Cancer

August 13th 2020

Debio 1143 in combination with standard cisplatin-based concomitant fractionation chemoradiation therapy was found to induce a statistically and clinically significant improvement in overall survival compared with CRT alone in patients with high-risk locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

FDA Approval Sought for Pralsetinib in Advanced RET+ Thyroid Cancers

July 2nd 2020

A new drug application has been submitted to the FDA for pralsetinib (BLU-667) for the treatment of patients with advanced or metastatic RET-mutant medullary thyroid cancer and RET fusion–positive thyroid cancers.

Marvels in Medicine: Vokes’s Venture to Bring Combined Modality Care to Patients With Cancer

June 22nd 2020

In our exclusive interview, Everett Vokes, MD, discusses the path that led him to specialize in head and neck cancer and lung cancer, personal and professional challenges he encountered along the way, and the ultimate importance of bringing multimodality therapy to the forefront of treatment.

FDA Expands Gardasil 9 Indication for Prevention of Select HPV-Related Head and Neck Cancers

June 15th 2020

The FDA has approved an expanded indication for Gardasil 9 for the prevention of oropharyngeal and other head and neck cancers caused by human papillomavirus types 16, 18, 31, 33, 45, 52, and 58.

FDA Approves Selpercatinib for RET+ NSCLC and Thyroid Cancers

May 9th 2020

The FDA has approved selpercatinib (LOXO-292) for the treatment of patients with advanced RET fusion–positive non–small cell lung cancer, RET-mutant medullary thyroid cancer, and RET fusion–positive thyroid cancer.

Investigators Seek to Supplant Oropharyngeal SOC With Proton Therapy

April 30th 2020

Hoping to minimize the off-target effects associated with radiation in patients with oropharyngeal cancer, investigators are testing the hypothesis that intensitymodulated proton therapy can deliver doses as effectively as the current standard of care with less damage to surrounding tissue.

Dr. Ferris on Ongoing Research With STING Agonists/Checkpoint Inhibitors in Head and Neck Cancer

April 30th 2020

Robert L. Ferris, MD, PhD, discusses ongoing research with STING agonists and checkpoint inhibitors in head and neck cancer.

Dr. Ferris on a Trial Testing ADU-S100/MIW815/Pembrolizumab in Head and Neck Cancer

April 28th 2020

Robert L. Ferris, MD, PhD, director of University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Hillman Cancer Center, Hillman Professor of Oncology, associate vice chancellor for cancer research, professor of otolaryngology, immunology, and radiation oncology, co-director, Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, discusses a clinical trial testing ADU-S100/MIW815 plus pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in patients with head and neck cancer.