Recommendations for head and neck surgical oncology practice in a setting of acute severe resource constraint during the COVID-19 pandemic: an international consensus.

The speed and scale of the global COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in unprecedented pressures on health services worldwide, requiring new methods of service delivery during the health crisis. In the setting of severe resource constraint and high risk of infection to patients and clinicians, there is an urgent need to identify consensus statements on head and neck surgical oncology practice. We completed a modified Delphi consensus process of three rounds with 40 international experts in head and neck cancer surgical, radiation, and medical oncology, representing 35 international professional societies and national clinical trial groups. Endorsed by 39 societies and professional bodies, these consensus practice recommendations aim to decrease inconsistency of practice, reduce uncertainty in care, and provide reassurance for clinicians worldwide for head and neck surgical oncology in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and in the setting of acute severe resource constraint and high risk of infection to patients and staff.

Survival of patients with head and neck cancer treated with definitive radiotherapy and concurrent cisplatin or concurrent cetuximab: A Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results-Medicare analysis.

BACKGROUND: Cisplatin and cetuximab are both systemic therapies commonly used in combination with radiation (RT) for the definitive treatment of head and neck cancers, but their comparative efficacy is unclear. METHODS: Patients with locoregionally advanced (American Joint Committee on Cancer stage III-IVB) squamous cell carcinomas of the oropharynx, larynx, or hypopharynx were identified in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results-Medicare database. Patients received either cisplatin or cetuximab concurrent with RT, as determined by Medicare claims. The primary study outcome was head and neck cancer-specific mortality (CSM) analyzed with competing risks. Filtering, propensity score matching, and multivariable Fine-Gray regression were used to adjust for differences between the cisplatin and cetuximab cohorts, including age, comorbidity, and cycles of systemic therapy received. RESULTS: The total cohort consisted of 1395 patients, of whom 786 (56%) received cisplatin and 609 (44%) received cetuximab; the median follow-up was 3.5 years in the patients who remained alive. In the cetuximab cohort, CSM was significantly higher than in the cisplatin cohort (39% vs 25% at 3 years; P < .0001). In the matched cohorts (n = 414), the adjusted hazard ratio of CSM for cetuximab was 1.65 (95% confidence interval, 1.30-2.09; P < .0001) relative to cisplatin, corresponding to an absolute difference of approximately 10% in both CSM and overall survival at 3 years. Cetuximab was associated with less dysphagia, more dermatitis, and a similar incidence of mucositis. CONCLUSIONS: In this sizeable, national patient population, treatment with cetuximab was associated with significantly higher CSM than cisplatin. These results suggest that cisplatin may be the preferred chemotherapeutic agent in this setting.

Transoral resection of pharyngeal cancer: summary of a National Cancer Institute Head and Neck Cancer Steering Committee Clinical Trials Planning Meeting, November 6-7, 2011, Arlington, Virginia.

Recent advances now permit resection of many pharyngeal tumors through the open mouth, an approach that can greatly reduce the morbidity of surgical exposure. These transoral techniques are being rapidly adopted by the surgical community and hold considerable promise. On November 6-7, 2011, the National Cancer Institute sponsored a Clinical Trials Planning Meeting to address how to further investigate the use of transoral surgery, both in the good prognosis human papillomavirus (HPV)-initiated oropharyngeal cancers, and in those with HPV-unrelated disease. The proceedings of this meeting are summarized.

Aspiration after supracricoid partial laryngectomy: Incidence, risk factors, management, and outcomes.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence, risk factors, management, and outcome of postoperative aspiration in patients managed with a supracricoid partial laryngectomy (SCPL) for selected invasive squamous carcinoma of the larynx. METHODS: In all, 457 patients underwent SCPL at an academic, tertiary referral care center, 1975-2000. The incidence of aspiration defined in accord with Pearson's scale was recorded. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed for potential statistical relation with various variables. The management and outcome of aspiration are presented. RESULTS: Normal swallowing without aspiration was noted in 259 patients (58.9%). Grades 1, 2, and 3 aspiration occurred in 87, 48, and 53 patients (19%, 10.5%, and 11.6%), respectively. A significant relationship was noted between aspiration and increased age, performing cricohyoidopexy, not repositioning the pyriform sinuses, and resecting an arytenoid cartilage. A prediction model, based on multinomial logistic regression, found that the probability that severe aspiration cases (grade 2-3) exceeded the subclinical ones (grade 0-1) occurred only when a cricohyoidopexy with partial or total arytenoid resection was performed in patients >70 years of age (p = .0000001). Management of aspiration required a temporary gastrostomy, a permanent gastrostomy, and a completion total laryngectomy in 65, 3, and 7 of 188 patients (34.5%, 1.6%, and 3.7%, respectively) who aspirated, and 65, 3, and 7 of 457 of the entire population (14.2%, 0.6%, and 1.5%, respectively). Aspiration-related death was not encountered in the current series. CONCLUSIONS: Aspiration after SCPL is a common but rarely severe event, with a low incidence for permanent gastrostomy or completion laryngectomy. Aspiration can be minimized with careful patient selection and precise surgical technique.

A shifting paradigm for patients with head and neck cancer: transoral robotic surgery (TORS).

The evolution of surgical oncologic technology has moved toward reducing patient morbidity without compromising oncologic resection. In head and neck surgery, organ-preserving techniques have paved the way for the development of transoral techniques that remove tumors of the upper aerodigestive tract without external incisions and potentially spare the patient adjuvant treatment. The introduction of transoral robotic surgery (TORS) improves upon current transoral techniques to the oropharynx and supraglottis. This review will report on the evolution of robotic-assisted surgery: We will cover its applications in head and neck surgery by examining early oncologic and functional outcomes, training of surgeons, costs, and future directions.