Effect of Adding Motolimod to Standard Combination Chemotherapy and Cetuximab Treatment of Patients With Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck: The Active8 Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Immunotherapy for recurrent and/or metastatic (R/M) squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) is promising. The toll-like receptor 8 (TLR8) agonist motolimod may stimulate innate and adaptive immunity.

Objective: To determine whether motolimod improves outcomes for R/M SCCHN when combined with standard therapy.

Predictors of distant metastasis in human papillomavirus-associated oropharyngeal cancer.

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive oropharyngeal cancer is associated with favorable outcomes, prompting investigations into treatment deintensification. The purpose of this study was for us to present the predictors of distant metastases in patients with HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer treated with cisplatin-based chemoradiotherapy (CRT) or cetuximab-based bioradiotherapy (bio-RT).

Methods: In patients with stage III to IVb HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer, the Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to calculate distant metastases rates.

Impaired vocal cord mobility in T2N0 glottic carcinoma: Suboptimal local control with Radiation alone.

Background: T2 glottic cancer with impaired vocal cord mobility (T2b) is known to have higher local failure rates when compared with T2 cancers without impaired cord mobility (T2a) treated with radiotherapy (RT) alone.

Methods: In this retrospective review, we identified and compared the local control rates of 3 groups: T2aN0 treated with RT; T2bN0 treated with RT; and T2b-3N0-2 treated with chemoradiotherapy (CRT).

Results: The 3-year local control rate was 95.

Severe late dysphagia and cause of death after concurrent chemoradiation for larynx cancer in patients eligible for RTOG 91-11.

Purpose: The long-term results of RTOG 91-11 suggested increased deaths not attributed to larynx cancer after concomitant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) despite no apparent increase in late effects. Because the timing of events was not reported by RTOG 91-11, one possibility is that severe late dysphagia (SLD) develops beyond five years and leads to unreported treatment-related deaths. Here we explore the timing of SLD after CRT.

Split-Course Accelerated Hypofractionated Radiotherapy (SCAHRT): A Safe and Effective Option for Head and Neck Cancer in the Elderly or Infirm.

Background: Achieving locoregional control in high-risk patients with head and neck cancer who are poor candidates for standard continuous-course (chemo) radiotherapy due to advanced age, comorbidities, or very advanced disease is challenging. At our Institution, we have significant experience with a regimen of split-course, accelerated, hypofractionated radiotherapy (SCAHRT) for these patients.

Patients And Methods: The SCAHRT regimen consisted of 60-72 Gy in 20-24 fractions separated by several weeks mid-course to allow for toxicity recovery and disease reassessment.

Risk Factors Associated with Disease Recurrence in Patients with Stage III/IV Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Oral Cavity Treated with Surgery and Postoperative Radiotherapy.

Aim: The purpose of the present study was to identify variables associated with high risk of failure in patients with locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity (SCC-OC).

Patients And Methods: This retrospective study included 191 patients with stage III-IVb SCC-OC treated with post-operative radiotherapy (RT) or chemoradiotherapy (CRT) between 1995 and 2013. Disease-free (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were analyzed; variables associated with inferior DFS were identified.

Regional control is preserved after dose de-escalated radiotherapy to involved lymph nodes in HPV positive oropharyngeal cancer.

Objectives: To analyze a cohort of patients with HPV positive, oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) treated with lower radiation dose to clinically involved lymph nodes.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively identified patients with HPV positive, OPSCC treated with definitive chemoradiotherapy (70-74.4Gy) to the primary site and, since a post-radiation neck dissection was planned, 54Gy to the involved nodal areas.

Pharmacotherapy of head and neck cancer.

Introduction: There are over 55,000 new cases of head and neck cancer diagnosed annually in the United States. Historically surgical resection was the standard of care, but due to vital structures in the head and neck region this led to severe morbidity. The integration of pharmacotherapy has rapidly expanded over the years into a multimodality treatment paradigm for locally advanced head and neck cancer, allowing organ-sparing treatment approaches.

Early and Severe Radiation Toxicity Associated with Concurrent Sirolimus in an Organ Transplant Recipient with Head and Neck Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Case Report.

We present a case of a 71-year-old man with a history of liver transplantation who was treated with adjuvant radiotherapy with concurrent cisplatin for recurrent cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. The patient was transitioned from tacrolimus to sirolimus for immunosuppression immediately prior to the start of radiation therapy, with the goal of reducing the risk for further skin cancer recurrence. The patient developed severe normal tissue toxicity, disproportionate to the dose delivered.

Impact of feeding tube choice on severe late dysphagia after definitive chemoradiotherapy for human papillomavirus-negative head and neck cancer.

Background: Severe late dysphagia is common after chemoradiotherapy for cancers of the larynx and oropharynx. Options for reduction of severe late dysphagia are limited for human papillomavirus (HPV)-negative patients. In this study, the role of feeding tube choice in severe late dysphagia is investigated.

Effect of human papillomavirus on patterns of distant metastatic failure in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma treated with chemoradiotherapy.

Importance: Important differences exist in the pattern and timing of distant metastases between human papillomavirus-initiated (HPV+) and HPV- oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC). However, our understanding of the natural history of distant metastases in HPV+ OPSCC and its implications for surveillance is limited.

Objective: To investigate the rate, pattern, and timing of distant metastases in advanced-stage OPSCC treated definitively with concomitant chemoradiotherapy.

In squamous cell head and neck cancer: which platinum, how much and how often?

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma is the fifth most common cancer worldwide. Patients who present with locally advanced disease are usually treated with a combined modality approach, often including chemotherapy, and frequently using the platinum agents cisplatin or carboplatin. In locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, carboplatin and cisplatin have both been found to produce a survival benefit when added to radiation therapy.

Solitary dural metastasis at presentation in a patient with untreated human papillomavirus-associated squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx.

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is associated with high cure rates and distant metastases are rare.

Methods And Results: We report a case of a 61-year-old man presenting with acute left-sided weakness. An enhancing dural mass was noted and resected.

The role of chemotherapy in locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

The role of chemotherapy in multimodality treatment for locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, although firmly established, presents several unresolved issues. Concomitant platinum-based chemoradiation (CRT) is a standard treatment for unresectable, resectable but nonsurgically treated, and postoperative high-risk patients with locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. However, no clear conclusion can be drawn regarding the optimal platinum compound or combinations to use, the type of schedule, and number of cycles (ie, platinum total dose) to be delivered.

Crizotinib (PF02341066) as a ALK /MET inhibitor- Special Emphasis as a Therapeutic Drug Against Lung Cancer.

There are a number of molecular abnormalities that can occur in normal cells to induce a malignant phenotype. Recently, the receptor tyrosine kinase anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) has been shown to have gain-of-function when partnered with different proteins. As an example, on chromosome 2p, with inversion, there is translocation with generation of EML4-ALK tyrosine kinase in lung cancer.