What's New in Head and Neck Cancer: Key Findings in 2015-2016 From ECCO/ESMO, ASTRO, and the Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium

Scientific investigation is extremely active in the treatment, management, and optimization of therapies for patients with head and neck cancer. These issues have undergone recent rapid evolution in response to a changing epidemiology based on an increasing proportion of HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer with advances in multimodality technologies to improve outcomes and reduce toxicity. Choices of definitive treatment of various anatomic subsites are being refined, balancing the relative indications and advantages of surgery or chemoradiation-based strategies. The major potential influence of HPV-associated etiology on therapy selection, prognostic factors, response to treatment, survival outcomes, and post-treatment surveillance has created a robust and distinct field of scientific inquiry around this patient subset. Meanwhile, for patient subsets where prognosis remains poor, therapeutic intensification is being explored, and for recurrent/metastatic disease, improved selection for salvage and novel systemic therapies are under development. For all patients with head and neck cancer, upholding principles of equity and access to the highly specialized care that results in optimal outcomes should be the goal.