Head and Neck Cancers

Many Americans with health insurance are not fully covered for frontline procedures to treat lymphedema—a debilitating condition that often affects patients with cancer.

Shawna Douglas, a head and neck nurse navigator, weighs in on the unique needs of this patient population.

Selpercatinib led to improved progression-free survival in patients with advanced or metastatic RET-mutant medullary thyroid cancer.

The FDA has issued a complete response letter to the new drug application for avasopasem manganese to manage oral mucositis in patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer undergoing radiation.

ASP-1929, an antibody-dye conjugate, plus pembrolizumab, induced a 29.4% overall response rate in patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma who received primary radiotherapy or surgery demonstrated similar long-term patient-reported outcomes.

Manufacturers are pulling the pralsetinib indication for patients with medullary thyroid cancer. It is still under investigation as a treatment option for patients with non–small cell lung cancer.

Elizabeth R. Cullen, MSN, ARNP, talks severe oral mucositis management for patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer.

Meredith Cummings, BSN, RN, OCN, discusses the potential benefit of machine learning in predicting symptoms for patients with head and neck cancer.

Sintilimab plus chemoradiotherapy was associated with better event-free survival rates in locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma than chemoradiotherapy alone.

Research published in JAMA Oncology suggest that acute radiation dermatitis may be the result of a common skin bacterium and prevented with a low-cost topical treatment.

Elizabeth R. Cullen, MSN, ARNP, highlights the efficacy of avasopasem manganese in mitigating severe oral mucositis in patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer.

Ashley Marenyi, RN, BSN, OCN, highlights the importance of counseling patients with head and neck cancer on the short-term and long-term adverse effects of radiation treatment.

An estimated 54.5% of adolescents in the United States have received the recommended doses of the HPV vaccine, although the government established a goal of an 80% vaccination rate in this population.

Patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma continued to displayed a survival benefit with pembrolizumab at a 4-year follow-up.

Findings from a phase 2/3 trial found better disease-free and overall survival outcomes with radiation plus docetaxel vs radiation alone in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

There continues to be an unmet need for effective and tolerable frontline treatments for patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, according to investigators.

For patients with head and neck cancer who cannot access full-dose checkpoint inhibitors, adding low-dose nivolumab to metronomic chemotherapy may represent an acceptable alternative treatment approach.

Black mulberry extract may help patients manage oral mucositis, dry mouth, and weight gain, while receiving oral cancer medications.

As the treatment paradigm continues to evolve, nurses play a key role in educating patients, monitoring treatments, and watching for adverse effects.

Immunotherapy has changed the face of cancer treatment, but requires appropriate irAE management to reach full potential.

At a 5-year follow-up, the failure-free survival rate with capecitabine was 83.3% vs 72.2% with observation.

A presentation at the 2022 ESMO Congress found that xevinapant plus chemoradiotherapy decreased the risk of death by twice that of placebo for patients with unresectable, locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

The overall survival benefit associated with pembrolizumab for patients with head and neck cancer continued to be observed at a 4-year follow-up of the KEYNOTE-048 trial.

Structured preceptorships promote competence, confidence, and job satisfaction in new oncology nurse practitioners.

In the phase 1 SURPASS trial, 72% of patients with solid tumors developed any-grade cytokine release syndrome following an infusion of ADP-A2M4CD8. The median time to resolution was 5 days.

Mandible reconstruction and maxilla reconstruction surgeries might be optimized with virtual surgical planning, according to an expert speaker at the 2022 Supportive Care in Cancer Annual Meeting.

Avasopasem was associated with a significant reduction in severe oral mucositis in patients with locally nonmetastatic head and neck cancer undergoing chemoradiotherapy.

Kellie Zeichner, RN, BSN, OCN, discusses the production of biosimilars, their approval and naming processes, and why immunogenicity is important when discussing these agents.

The phase 3 RATIONALE 309 trial highlighted the combined efficacy of tislelizumab and chemotherapy in the frontline treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal cancer.