Net Guides: Head and Neck Cancers

//THE ONLINE ONCOLOGIST™

Organization Specializes in Head and Neck Cancers

The American Head and Neck Society (AHNS) is the largest organization in America dedicated to advancing head and neck cancer research and education. The AHNS official Website features a number of resources for clinicians, including a link to the society’s official publication, Archives of Otolarynogology — Head & Neck Surgery, which also has a collection of videos and CME courses. In the clinical resources section of the site, visitors can find practice guidelines for many head and neck cancer topics, including general guidelines for surgery, chemotherapy, imaging, and radiotherapy, as well as guidelines for tumors of the upper aerodigestive tract, tumors of major salivary glands, tumors of the thyroid, and other head and neck tumors. The site also has a job board, where clinicians involved in the treatment of head and neck cancers are able to seek or offer positions for head and neck oncology programs. Information on the society’s annual meeting may be found in the meetings and events section, which also contains downloadable programs for previous AHNS and other head and neck cancer conferences and meetings. www.ahns.info

//THE EDUCATED PATIENT®

MedicineNet.com — “Head and Neck Cancer”

MedicineNet.com is a Website designed to provide detailed and accurate information to nonprofessionals on a wide range of medical topics, including head and neck cancer. The section on head and neck cancer discusses a number of issues that patients or their loved ones might have questions about, including what cancer is, what kinds are considered head and neck cancers, what causes them, what their common symptoms are, how they are diagnosed and treated, whether follow-up treatment is necessary, and more. There are also links to articles recommended by MedicineNet. com’s medical professionals that cover related diseases and conditions, medications, procedures and tests, expert views, and other subjects. Key terms throughout the information found on the site are highlighted and serve as direct links to their definitions in MedicineNet. com’s glossary.

www.medicinenet.com/head_and_neck_cancer/article.htm

//ONLINE CME

NCCN 2010 Congress

Series: Respiratory Tract Cancers

Credits: 1.25

Fee: None

Expires: December 30, 2011

This CME activity is based on highlights from the 2010 NCCN Respiratory Tract Cancers Congress and focuses on the management of head and neck cancers, lung cancers, and metastases to the central nervous system. The activity includes a Webcast of multiple experts presenting the various points covered in the activity. These presentations are accompanied by a slideshow (which may also be downloaded separately) containing relevant charts, diagrams, and information. The topics in this CME concerning head and neck cancer include the role of induction chemotherapy in its primary treatment, its surgical management, its biomarkers, how it is connected to the human papillomavirus, and how advanced head and neck cancers are managed. The other parts of the CME focus on choosing the best therapies for patients with localized and advanced non-small cell lung cancer, limited-stage and extensive-stage small cell lung cancer, and patients with metastases to the central nervous system. www.medscape.org/viewarticle/734689

//eABSTRACT

Brachytherapy With Permanent Gold Grain Seeds for Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Lip

Journal: Radiotherapy and Oncology

Authors: Lock M, Cao JQ, D’Souza DP, et al.

Purpose: This study evaluated the use of radioactive gold grain implantation for the treatment of squamous cell carcinoma of the lip. For this study, 51 patients who had been treated with permanent gold grain implant brachytherapy were retrospectively reviewed. The seeds delivered a dose of 5500cGy at 0.5 cm from a single plane. The primary endpoints of the study were local recurrence and cosmetic outcome. Results: The median follow-up and age was 27 months and 69 years, respectively. In all, 90% of the cases reviewed were T1 lesions; 12 of the patients had recurrent disease with prior surgery and 5 patients had previous head and neck radiation. None had evidence of regional lymph node or distant metastasis. Of the 51 patients reviewed, local control was achieved in 49 and acceptable cosmetic outcome was achieved in 48. Two-year actuarial estimates for progression-free survival, disease-free survival, and overall survival were 97.9%, 94.1%, and 87.9%, respectively. There were no deaths attributable to lip cancer. The authors of the study concluded that gold grain interstitial low-dose rate brachytherapy is highly successful in treating patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the lip and preserving patients’ appearance. They also noted that this treatment method is especially useful for patients who are elderly or live in a remote location, and for treating lesions that are small, in previously radiated areas, or treated with prior surgery.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21262547

//CLINICAL TRIAL

Chemotherapy With or Without Bevacizumab in Treating Patients With Recurrent or Metastatic Head and Neck Cancer

Study Type: Interventional

Age/Sex Requirements: ≥18 years

Sponsor: Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00588770

Purpose: This clinical trial will test whether combination chemotherapy is more effective in treating patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer when given with or without the monoclonal antibody bevacizumab. The chemotherapy regimen being tested consists of cisplatin, docetaxel, and fluorouracil. The primary outcome measure of the study will be overall survival. Secondary measures include toxicity, objective response rate, progression-free survival, and impact of comorbidity.

http://bit.ly/eKHM9I