A study protocol for individualized prognostic counselling in the palliative phase.

Background: Head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) has a poor prognosis, with approximately 25-30% of patients transitioning into the palliative phase at some point. The length of this phase is relatively short, with a median duration of five months. Patients in this stage often have increased prognostic information needs.

Electronic Health in the Palliative Care Pathway for Patients With Head and Neck Cancer.

Importance: The Expert Center of Palliative Care for head and neck cancer offers structural attention to patients' complex physical and psychosocial care needs. Patients are offered remote care, including digital monitoring using patient-reported outcome measures, to enable them to stay as long as possible in their trusted home environment. There is limited literature on qualitative feedback and patient-reported experiences with palliative head and neck cancer care, especially for remote care.

Associations between hypopharyngeal defect closure and quality of life in long-term total laryngectomy survivors.

Background: Few studies have examined health-related quality of life (HRQOL) outcomes in long-term total laryngectomy survivors in relation to the type of hypopharyngeal defect.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed in long-term total laryngectomy survivors, treated between 2000 and 2020. The primary outcome was HRQOL, assessed using the FACE-Q Head and Neck Cancer Module, in relation to the type of hypopharyngeal closure (primary closure, partial or circumferential reconstruction).

Development of an Ex Vivo Functional Assay for Prediction of Irradiation Related Toxicity in Healthy Oral Mucosa Tissue.

Radiotherapy in the head-and-neck area is one of the main curative treatment options. However, this comes at the cost of varying levels of normal tissue toxicity, affecting up to 80% of patients. Mucositis can cause pain, weight loss and treatment delays, leading to worse outcomes and a decreased quality of life.

A New Proposal for Adequate Resection Margins in Larynx and Hypopharynx Tumor Surgery-Are the RCP Guidelines Feasible?

Background: Resection margins are an important prognostic factor for patients with head and neck cancer. In general, for head and neck surgery, a margin >5 mm is advised by the Royal College of Pathologists. However, this cannot always be achieved during laryngeal and hypopharyngeal surgery.

Clinical Relevance of Resection Margins in Patients with Total Laryngectomy or Laryngopharyngectomy.

Background: Laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancer is complex and resection margins are therefore constrained. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical relevance of resection margins in laryngeal and hypopharyngeal surgery.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed for patients treated with a total laryngectomy (TL) or laryngopharyngectomy (TLP) for laryngeal or hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC and HSCC, respectively).

Reconstruction of Partial Hypopharyngeal Defects following Total Laryngectomy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Various operative techniques exist to reconstruct partial hypopharyngeal defects following total laryngectomy. The current study aimed to investigate and compare complications and functional results following commonly used reconstructive techniques.

Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed using studies that investigated outcomes after the reconstruction of a partial hypopharyngeal defect.

Quality of life in 583 head and neck cancer survivors assessed with the FACE-Q head and neck cancer module.

Objectives: Long-term health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is frequently affected in head and neck cancer (HNC) survivors. Due to the shortage of studies investigating long-term patient-reported outcomes, we investigated long-term HRQOL using the novel FACE-Q HNC Module.

Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional single-center study was performed, including all patients who underwent curative treatment for HNC between 2006 and 2013.

Prognostic model for overall survival of head and neck cancer patients in the palliative phase.

Background: Patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) enter the palliative phase when cure is no longer possible or when they refuse curative treatment. The mean survival is five months, with a range of days until years. Realistic prognostic counseling enables patients to make well-considered end-of-life choices.

Causes and Ways of Death in Patients With Head and Neck Cancer.

Importance: There is limited literature on the exact causes and ways of death in patients with head and neck cancer. To provide optimal care, especially in the palliative phase, more information on this is needed.

Objective: To provide insights into the causes and ways of death among patients with head and neck cancer.

Quality of Life of Oligometastatic and Polymetastatic Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Patients.

Objective: Evidence suggests that distant metastasis in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma is a spectrum of disease. Previous studies show that oligometastasis has favorable survival compared with polymetastasis. The quality of life of patients with oligometastasis remains unknown.

Fasciocutaneous and jejunal free flaps for circumferential hypopharyngeal defect reconstruction: A 22-year multicenter cohort study.

Background: It remains unclear whether a tubed fasciocutaneous or jejunal free flap (FCFF and JFF) is preferable for reconstruction of circumferential pharyngolaryngoesophageal defects.

Methods: All consecutive patients with circumferential pharyngolaryngoesophageal defects reconstructed with an FCFF or JFF between 2000 and 2022 were included. Outcomes of interest were rates of fistulas, strictures, and donor-site complications.

The first steps in the development of a cancer-specific patient-reported experience measure item bank (PREM-item bank): towards dynamic evaluation of experiences.

Objective: Since the implementation of value-based healthcare, there has been a growing emphasis on utilizing patient-reported experience measures (PREMs) to enhance the quality of care. However, the current PREMs are primarily generic and static, whereas healthcare is constantly evolving and encompasses a wide variety of aspects that impact care quality. To continuously improve care requires a dynamic PREM.

Accounting for fractionation and heterogeneous dose distributions in the modelling of osteoradionecrosis in oropharyngeal carcinoma treatment.

Background And Purpose: Osteoradionecrosis (ORN) of the mandible is a severe complication following radiotherapy (RT). With a renewed interest in hypofractionation for head and neck radiotherapy, more information concerning ORN development after high fraction doses is important. The aim of this explorative study was to develop a model for ORN risk prediction applicable across different fractionation schemes using Equivalent Uniform Doses (EUD).

Long-term outcomes, quality of life, and costs of treatment modalities for T1-T2 lip carcinomas.

Purpose: Early stage lip squamous cell carcinoma (lip SCC) can be treated with conventional excision, Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS), or brachytherapy. The aim of this retrospective study was to describe the medical outcomes, patient-reported outcomes, and costs of these treatments.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study of T1-T2 lip SSCs treated between 1996 and 2019.

Raman spectroscopy to discriminate laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma from non-cancerous surrounding tissue.

As for many solid cancers, laryngeal cancer is treated surgically, and adequate resection margins are critical for survival. Raman spectroscopy has the capacity to accurately differentiate between cancer and non-cancerous tissue based on their molecular composition, which has been proven in previous work. The aim of this study is to investigate whether Raman spectroscopy can be used to discriminate laryngeal cancer from surrounding non-cancerous tissue.

Individualized Dynamic Prediction Model for Patient-Reported Voice Quality in Early-Stage Glottic Cancer.

Objective: Early-stage glottic cancer (ESGC) is a malignancy of the head and neck. Besides disease control, preservation and improvement of voice quality are essential. To enable expectation management and well-informed decision-making, patients should be sufficiently counseled with individualized information on expected voice quality.

Intraoperative assessment of resection margins by Raman spectroscopy to guide oral cancer surgery.

Patients with oral cavity cancer are almost always treated with surgery. The goal is to remove the tumor with a margin of more than 5 mm of surrounding healthy tissue. Unfortunately, this is only achieved in about 15% to 26% of cases.

Reconstruction of partial hypopharyngeal defects following total laryngectomy: Pectoralis major myofascial versus myocutaneous flaps.

Background: To date, few comparative studies exist for partial hypopharyngeal defect reconstruction following total laryngectomy. In the absence of objective evidence from comparative studies, the ideal flap choice remains controversial, leading to heterogeneity in institutional treatment protocols. Comparative studies between different reconstructive techniques are required.

Endoscopic screening of the upper gastrointestinal tract for second primary tumors in patients with head and neck cancer in a Western country.

Background: Patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) can develop second primary tumors (SPTs) in the esophagus. Endoscopic screening could lead to detection of SPTs at early stages and improve survival.

Methods: We performed a prospective endoscopic screening study in patients with curably treated HNSCC diagnosed between January 2017-July 2021 in a Western country.

Frailty in Non-geriatric Patients With Head and Neck cancer.

Objective: Patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) are characterized by a poor lifestyle and comorbidity. The Geriatric 8 (G8) is an established screening tool to identify frail older patients with cancer. However, studies evaluating frailty in younger HNC patients are lacking.

Oncological Outcome After Lymph Node Dissection for Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Background: Although cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is common, lymph node metastases are relatively rare and are usually treated with lymph node dissection (LND). The aim of this study was to describe the clinical course and prognosis after LND for cSCC at all anatomical locations.

Methods: A retrospective search at three centres was performed to identify patients with lymph node metastases of cSCC who were treated with LND.

Longitudinal Patient-Reported Voice Quality in Early-Stage Glottic Cancer.

Objective: Patient-reported voice quality is an important outcome during counseling in early-stage glottic cancer. However, there is a paucity of adequate longitudinal studies concerning voice outcomes. This study aimed to investigate longitudinal trajectories for patient-reported voice quality and associated risk factors for treatment modalities such as transoral CO laser microsurgery, single vocal cord irradiation, and local radiotherapy.