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Mosunetuzumab plus polatuzumab vedotin increased PFS and response rates vs R-GemOx in transplant-ineligible large B-cell lymphoma.

Mosunetuzumab/Polatuzumab Vedotin Triples PFS in LBCL

At SOHO 2025, Lorenzo Falchi, MD, highlighted the critical role of nurses in monitoring and educating patients on toxicities from novel lymphoma therapies.

Nurses Lead Toxicity Monitoring in Indolent Lymphoma Care

FLAURA2 data show osimertinib plus chemotherapy significantly improves overall survival vs osimertinib alone in frontline EGFR+ advanced NSCLC.

Osimertinib/Chemo Boosts Survival in Frontline EGFR+ NSCLC

Lutetium Li 177 dotatate was linked with partial responses in patients with metastatic bronchopulmonary neuroendocrine tumors, per real-world data.

Lutetium Lu 177 Dotatate Brings Partial Response in Metastatic BP-NETs

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Explore stories of oncology nurses who forge connections with patients, transforming challenges into triumphs in cancer care.

How Patients Shape Oncology Nurses' Lives

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When treating patients with bladder cancer using gemcitabine intravesical system, regular AE monitoring is necessary, said Gary Steinberg, MD.

What Should Nurses Know: Gemcitabine Intravesical System’s Approval

Nicole Ferreira, MSN, RN, NPD-BC, BMTCN, OCN, serves as a nursing professional development specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

How best can senior staff and leadership support nurses new to the field of oncology?

Transforming Oncology Nurse Education Through Fellowship Programs

Oncology Nursing News connects oncology nurses and APPs with updates on therapy advances, side effect management, and patient-centered cancer care.

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, Shawna Douglas, BSN, RN, a head and neck oncology nurse navigator with Allegheny Health Network, highlights the unique challenges that this population faces, including access to proper dental care, nutrition specialists, and postsurgery speech and swallow therapy. She draws from personal experience to share a story of how she used the resources available at her institution to help a patient find transportation to and from her appointment—highlighting the value that nurse navigators can provide their patients.

“My role as their oncology navigator is to help be that one point of contact and to guide them through their cancer journey. I provide additional information resources, referrals, and support.” 

“They always need a dietician to follow them, [they may have] possible feeding tube considerations, [and] they always need to see a dentist regardless of treatment options. Patients also need that dental clearance if they are going to be receiving radiation to the head and neck. Stemming from the dental evaluation, a lot of our patients need to see an oral surgeon for some extractions.” 

“There are sometimes issues with noncompliance because there are so many appointments that need to be scheduled. They get very overwhelmed. That's where I come in.” 

Advances in Head and Neck Cancers Yield New Clinical Implications for Nurses

Investigators Say HPV Vaccination Rates Are Suboptimal

Virtual Planning For Surgical Reconstruction May Improve Outcomes for Patients With Head and Neck Cancer

Defining and Quantifying the Oncology Nurse Navigator Role

Setting Boundaries Can Be a Challenge for Nurse Navigators

Confidence Is Key in Oncology Nurse Navigation

Referring Patients to the Right Support Group

Are Hearing Tests Necessary For Adult Cancer Survivors?

Access-Focused Care: The 4-1-1 on Oncology Phone Triage Programs

Shawna Douglas, BSN, RN, discusses the role that nurse navigators play in caring for patients with head and neck cancer. 

 Shawna Douglas On How Nurse Navigators Help Ease the Treatment Burden for Patients With Head and Neck Cancer 

The investigational BET inhibitor is being investigated combined with abemaciclib or cisplatin/etoposide in NUT carcinoma in 2 clinical trials.

ZEN-3694 Receives FDA Fast Track Status in Metastatic NUT Carcinoma

Oncologic therapies approved in June included indications in genitourinary, lung, hematologic, and head and neck cancers.

Oncology Drugs Approved by the FDA in June

The FDA approved a perioperative pembrolizumab regimen in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, marking the first approval in this cancer type in 6 years.

FDA Approves Perioperative Pembrolizumab in Head and Neck SCC

NIVOPOSTOP trial data demonstrate a reduction in the risk of recurrence or death with adjuvant nivolumab combined with cisplatin/radiotherapy in LA-SCCHN.

Adding Nivolumab to Chemo/RT Yields Higher DFS in Head/Neck Cancer

Belzutifan has become the first FDA-approved oral therapy for pheochromocytoma or paraganglioma. 

Belzutifan Granted FDA Approval for Pheochromocytoma or Paraganglioma 

Machine learning may have a growing role in predicting adverse events in patients undergoing cancer therapy, according to Meredith Cummings BSN, RN, OCN.

Cummings, who is a PhD student at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing, and who works in an outpatient infusion center with Allegheny Health Network Cancer Institute, recently presented on machine learning in a poster presentation, at the 48th Annual Oncology Nursing Society Congress.

The purpose of the review was to characterize the state of machine learning use in predicting treatment-related symptoms. The review was also designed to identify the gaps related to machine learning predictive models.

Investigators conducted their review in accordance with the Preferred Reporting for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines. They used PubMed to search for articles and selected those that evaluated machine learning to predict anticancer therapy symptoms for patients with head and neck cancer. Their initial search found 331 articles. After the abstracts were screened for eligibility, a total of 30 articles were evaluated.

Ultimately, a large proportion of articles included all patients with head and neck cancers (n = 11). Nine studies included patients with esophageal and nasopharyngeal cancers and 1 included patients with laryngeal cancer. The most explored treatment modality was radiation (62%). Of note, only 3 studies included external validation measures to assess the predictive models. In the synthesis of these studies, the most commonly predictive symptoms included radiation-induced xerostomia, radiation induced temporal lobe injury, and chemotherapy-induced myelosuppression. These models were able to predict treatment-related symptoms with an area under the curve (AUC) accuracy range of 0.65 to 0.85.

According to Cummings, machine learning may prove a useful tool to optimize symptom management in this patient population. She encourages nurses to familiarize themselves with machine learning and its potentially predictive capabilities.

Cummings M, Nilsen M, Bender C, Al-Zaiti S. Predicting anti-cancer treatment-related symptoms in patients with head and neck cancer using a machine learning approach: a scoping review. Poster presented at: 48th Annual Oncology Nursing Society Congress; April 26-30, 2023; San Antonio, TX. Accessed May 25, 2023. 

https://ons.confex.com/ons/2023/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/13510

Meredith Cummings BSN, RN, OCN, highlights her research on machine learning and its potential application in optimizing symptom management. 

Meredith Cummings on Using Machine Learning to Predict Treatment-Related Adverse Events

Elizabeth R. Cullen, MSN, ARNP, an advanced registered nurse practitioner at the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics, joins 

 to discuss the significance of the phase 3 ROMAN trial (NCT03689712).

During the 48th Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) Annual Congress, 

Cullen presented on the phase 3 ROMAN trial

—the findings of which demonstrated that 54% of patients with head and neck cancer who received avasopasem manganese reported severe oral mucositis (SOM) throughout their intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). In comparison, 64% of patients who received placebo experienced SOM with IMRT (relative risk [RR], 0.84; 

 = .045). This reduction in SOM was consistent across radiation therapy landmarks and after treatment.

As Cullen explains in the discussion, the standard of care for patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer is 7 weeks of IMRT, in addition to cisplatin chemotherapy. Unfortunately, 70% of patients will experience SOM during the course of treatment, which is typically categorized as either a grade 3 or 4 event. Patients who experience grade 3 SOM have oral ulcerations and are unable to eat solid foods, she says, and those who have grade 4 SOM are unable to consume solid or liquids. Despite this 

 to manage radiotherapy-induced severe oral mucositis in this patient population.

According to Cullen, avasopasem manganese demonstrated a promising efficacy in this setting. The experimental agent met its primary end point and induced a statistically significant decrease in SOM mucositis among this patient population. Moreover, the agent mitigated the effects of cisplatin on the kidneys, and so acute and chronic kidney disease was decreased in the investigative arm as well. Cullen notes that patients receiving avasopasem manganese experienced a slight increase in nausea and vomiting, but no grade 3 cases were reported. She also noted that patients can have transient drops in blood pressure while receiving the infusion, and that the care team can correct this by giving patients a prophylactic infusion to improve their hydration status prior to treatment.

Cullen E, Brown H, Carringer JR, Amado AE, Pitre L, Anderson CM. ROMAN: phase 3 trial of avasopasem manganese (GC4419) for severe oral mucositis (SOM) in patients receiving chemoradiotherapy (CRT) for locally advanced head and neck cancer (LAHNC). Presented at: 48th Annual Oncology Nursing Society Congress; April 25-30, 2023; San Antonio, TX. Accessed May 12, 2023. 

https://ons.confex.com/ons/2023/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/12846

Elizabeth R. Cullen, MSN, ARNP, provides an overview of avasopasem manganese and its potential role in reducing severe oral mucositis for patients undergoing radiotherapy. 

Elizabeth Cullen Discusses Avasopasem Manganese As A Potential Mucositis Management Strategy in Head and Neck Cancers

Immunotherapy (IO) has revolutionized the head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) space, but there are still avenues to explore to offer benefit to all patients, according to Ranee Mehra, MD.

 CFS®, Mehra, who is director of head and neck medical oncology and professor of medicine at the Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center, reviewed data from KEYNOTE-048 (NCT02358031) in HNSCC highlighting that PD-L1 positive patients have better outcomes with IO therapy of pembrolizumab (Keytruda), as either monotherapy, or with chemotherapy. She also touched on new data for IO in combination with radiation, which has not been as effective as investigators had hoped.

® following the presentation, Mehra recounted the main takeaways from her talk—underscoring the advantages and limitations of IO therapy in HNSCC, and where the field is continuing to focus.

“[Data from KEYNOTE-048 have] completely changed the course of the disease for patients,” Mehra said, adding that although not all patients derive benefit, clinicians are seeing more patients living longer with a good quality of life and without excessive toxicity. Moving forward, the field needs better biomarkers for monotherapy selection and better combination data, both upfront and in the refractory setting.

Interestingly, there may be opportunities in combining targeted therapies and IO therapies; however, these avenues have not been adequately explored, she noted. There has been interest in combining IO with targeted therapy and kinase inhibitors, such as lenvatinib (Lenvima) plus pembrolizumab is a regimen currently under exploration. Moreover, because many patients with HNSCC (up to 30%) exhibit 

 alterations, other research is focused on inhibitors in this space. It also crucial to recognize that not all patients will benefit from IO, she added, and that investigators continue to learn about the molecular biology of the different genomic profiles to provide more options to patients.

She concluded by noting that PD-L1 expression is a key factor in determining a frontline regimen for patients whether its chemotherapy alone, in combination with IO, or IO monotherapy.

“Involving the patient individual factors is important in the initiation of treatment as well as in [making] decisions about whether [a regimen] needs to be added—or reduced [because of] toxicity,” she summarized.

Burtness B, Rischin D, Greil R, et al. Pembrolizumab alone or with chemotherapy for recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma in KEYNOTE-048: subgroup analysis by programmed death ligand-1 combined positive score. 

. 2022;40(21):2321-2332. doi:10.1200/JCO.21.02198

Ranee Mehra, MD, discusses the link between PD-L1 expression and increased immunotherapy efficacy in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, and what future treatment options may look like for patients in this space. 

Immuno-Oncology

Mehra Details the Importance of PD-L1 Expression in HNSCC Treatment Selection 

Targeted therapy approvals in the last 10 years have changed the way oncology professionals treat patients with thyroid cancer, according to Marcia Brose, MD, PhD.

Brose, an associate professor of medicine and director of the Thyroid Cancer Therapeutics program at Penn Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, had the chance to speak with 

, on the important updates in thyroid cancer. Brose also discussed the different treatment options in thyroid cancer after the use of targeted therapies.   

It's been an amazing last 10 years for thyroid cancer because we've had basically multiple FDA approvals, mostly with targeted therapies. So, after that, we also needed additional therapies because when those stopped working patients need other options. The big story in thyroid cancer is also a big story in other cancers.

And the first is the fact that track inhibitors actually play a role in thyroid cancer, maybe more significant than other cancers, because track fusion cancers are found anywhere up to 5 or maybe even a little bit more of differentiated thyroid cancer patients who are refractory to radioactive iodine. When that got approved, that's actually been a big positive thing for our patients because now we actually have options where patients have good therapeutic responses with very, very little side effects. A really good side effect profile.

The past 10 years have shown significant updates for treatment of patients with thyroid cancer, beyond just targeted therapies. 

Expert Discusses Updates in Thyroid Cancer

The role of the oncology nurse is vital when it comes to treating patients with head and neck cancer, explained Michael G. Moore, MD, director of head and neck surgery at Indiana University Health and president of the 

The nurses' role is critical. They're the ones who are literally right beside the patient the whole way through, not only with regard to talking to them about their treatment and administering it, but really supporting them along the way. Many people outside of just the physician take care of people, and nurses are one of the primary groups of people that really help support people, hold their hands, and also really provide them with the second-to-second and minute-to-minute advice and support along the way of their treatment. 

Nurses are there for patients every step of the way.

Oncology Nurses Are Key in Head and Neck Cancer Care

A new kind of dressing may be able to help prevent and reduce the symptoms of radiation dermatitis in patients being treated for head and neck cancer, according to Raymond Chan, PhD, RN, BN, MAppSc, professor of cancer nursing at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia.

Chan and his team tested a non-steroidal, silicone-based clear gel that is applied to the radiation site. The product forms a dressing that prevents transdermal water loss and reduces inflammation. And while there was no statistically significant patient-reported outcomes regarding pain and itch, the product may be able to mitigate the severity of radiation dermatitis, thereby improving patients' quality of life.

Radiation dermatitis is a common adverse event for patients with head and neck cancer undergoing radiation therapy, but a new kind of dressing may help.

Head and Neck Cancers

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