Head and Neck Cancer Research
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Toripalimab Becomes First Immunotherapy Drug Approved for Nasopharyngeal Cancer
FDA approved toripalimab (Loqtorzi) based on the results of a large clinical trial showing that, when added to chemotherapy, the drug extended survival in people with nasopharyngeal cancer that returned after initial treatment or spread in the body.
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Study in India Could Make Immunotherapy More Affordable Worldwide
A study in India has found that an ultra-low dose of the immunotherapy drug nivolumab (Opdivo) helped people with advanced head and neck cancer live longer. Because the dose is 6% of what’s typically used in the United States and Europe, it is potentially more affordable.
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Treatments for Oropharyngeal Cancer Are Very Effective, But Are There Ways to Do Less Harm?
Can some people with HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer, a type of head and neck cancer, get less intense treatment without risking their cancer coming back? Researchers are trying to find out.
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HPV Vaccine May Provide Men with “Herd Immunity” against Oral HPV Infections
Oral HPV infections cause over 70% of all oropharyngeal cancers in the United States. In a new study of adults aged 18‒59, the rate of HPV vaccination rose from 0% to 6% for men, while oral HPV infections fell by 37% among unvaccinated men.
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Cetuximab with radiation found to be inferior to standard treatment in HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer
Results from a randomized clinical trial show patients with HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer treated with radiation and cetuximab had inferior survival compared to the current standard treatment with radiation and cisplatin. The trial’s goal was to find a less toxic treatment approach without compromising survival.
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HPV Vaccination Linked to Decreased Oral HPV Infections
A study of more than 2,600 young adults found that the prevalence of oral infection with four HPV types, including two cancer-causing types, was 88% lower in those who reported receiving at least one dose of an HPV vaccine than in those not vaccinated.
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Nivolumab Improves Survival for Patients with Recurrent Head and Neck Cancer
Results from a phase III trial showed that nivolumab (Opdivo®) improved overall survival compared with standard chemotherapy in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
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FDA Approves Nivolumab for Head and Neck Cancer
The FDA has approved nivolumab for squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck that has progressed during chemotherapy with a platinum-based drug or that has recurred or metastasized after platinum-based chemotherapy.
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FDA Approves Pembrolizumab for Head and Neck Cancer
FDA granted pembrolizumab an accelerated approval for patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer that has continued to progress despite standard treatment with chemotherapy.
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PET-CT–Guided Surveillance May Reduce Need for Surgery in Some Patients with Advanced Head and Neck Cancer
Patients with advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck who underwent PET-CT–guided surveillance after chemoradiation had overall survival rates similar to those of patients who underwent planned neck dissection and chemoradiation. But PET-CT imaging resulted in fewer operations and was more cost-effective than neck dissection.
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Prospective Study Links HPV Detection in the Mouth to Head and Neck Cancer
A new study confirms that infection with HPV 16 precedes the development of head and neck cancer.
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Genome Study Yields Clues to Head and Neck Cancers
Researchers have surveyed the genetic changes in nearly 300 head and neck cancers, revealing some previously unknown alterations that may play a role in the disease, including in patients whose cancer is associated with the human papillomavirus (HPV).
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NIH-funded study uncovers range of molecular alterations in head and neck cancers, new potential drug targets; TCGA tumor genome sequencing analyses offer new insights into the effects of HPV and smoking
Investigators with The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Research Network have discovered genomic differences – with potentially important clinical implications – in head and neck cancers caused by infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV).