Essential data variables for a minimum dataset for head and neck cancer trials and clinical research: HNCIG consensus recommendations and database.

The Head and Neck Cancer International Group (HNCIG) has undertaken an international modified Delphi process to reach consensus on the essential data variables to be included in a minimum database for HNC research. Endorsed by 19 research organisations representing 34 countries, these recommendations provide the framework to facilitate and harmonise data collection and sharing for HNC research. These variables have also been incorporated into a ready to use downloadable HNCIG minimum database, available from the HNCIG website.

Latin American Consensus on the Treatment of Head and Neck Cancer.

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is well known as a serious health problem worldwide, especially in low-income countries or those with limited resources, such as most countries in Latin America. International guidelines cannot always be applied to a population from a large region with specific conditions. This study established a Latin American guideline for care of patients with head and neck cancer and presented evidence of HNSCC management considering availability and oncologic benefit. A panel composed of 41 head and neck cancer experts systematically worked according to a modified Delphi process on (1) document compilation of evidence-based answers to different questions contextualized by resource availability and oncologic benefit regarding Latin America (region of limited resources and/or without access to all necessary health care system infrastructure), (2) revision of the answers and the classification of levels of evidence and degrees of recommendations of all recommendations, (3) validation of the consensus through two rounds of online surveys, and (4) manuscript composition. The consensus consists of 12 sections: Head and neck cancer staging, Histopathologic evaluation of head and neck cancer, Head and neck surgery-oral cavity, Clinical oncology-oral cavity, Head and neck surgery-oropharynx, Clinical oncology-oropharynx, Head and neck surgery-larynx, Head and neck surgery-larynx/hypopharynx, Clinical oncology-larynx/hypopharynx, Clinical oncology-recurrent and metastatic head and neck cancer, Head and neck surgery-reconstruction and rehabilitation, and Radiation therapy. The present consensus established 48 recommendations on HNSCC patient care considering the availability of resources and focusing on oncologic benefit. These recommendations could also be used to formulate strategies in other regions like Latin America countries.

Differentiated thyroid carcinoma: what the nonspecialists needs to know.

Differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) accounts for most cases of thyroid cancer, and the heterogeneity of DTC requires that management decisions be taken by a multidisciplinary team involving endocrinologists, head and neck surgeons, nuclear medicine physicians, pathologists, radiologists, radiation oncologists, and medical oncologists. It is important for nonspecialists to recognize and refer patients with DTC who will benefit from a specialized approach. Recent advances in knowledge and changes in management of DTC call for the need to raise awareness on the part of these nonspecialist physicians, including general endocrinologists and medical oncologists at large. We provide an overview of diagnostic and therapeutic principles in DTC, especially those that bear direct implication on day-to-day management of these patients by generalists. Patients with DTC may be broadly categorized as having localized, locally persistent/recurrent, or metastatic disease. Current recommendations for DTC include a three-tiered system that classifies patients with localized disease into low, intermediate, or high risk of persistent or recurrent disease. Risk stratification should be performed at baseline and repeated on an ongoing basis, depending on clinical evolution. One of the overarching goals in the management of DTC is the need to personalize treatment by tailoring its modality and intensity according to ongoing prognostic stratification, evolving knowledge about the disease, and patient characteristics and preference. In metastatic disease that is refractory to radioactive iodine, thyroid tumors are being reclassified into molecular subtypes that better reflect their biological properties and for which molecular alterations can be targeted with specific agents.

Ibero-American Expert Consensus on Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck Treatment in Patients Unable to Receive Cisplatin: Recommendations for Clinical Practice.

Cisplatin is the standard of treatment for squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) that has demonstrated efficacy, either in locally advanced disease when combined with radiotherapy at high doses, or in metastatic/recurrent disease when combined with other agents. However, the usual toxicities related to cisplatin, such as neurotoxicity, nephrotoxicity, ototoxicity, and hematologic toxicities, especially when high doses have been administered, have important implications in the patients' quality of life. The decision to administer cisplatin depends on several patient factors, such as age, performance status, weight loss, comorbidities, previous toxicities, chronic viral infection, or even the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. In order to establish recommendations for the management of patients with SCCHN, a group of experts in medical and radiation oncology from Spain and Latin-American discussed how to identify patients who are not candidates for cisplatin to offer them the most suitable therapeutic alternative.

Induction Chemotherapy for Advanced Oral Cavity Cancer.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Head and neck cancer is a heterogeneous disease, comprising multiple subsites with diverse etiologic factors, pathology and molecular features, response to treatment, and prognosis. Systemic treatment is usually incorporated in the management of locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, and the use of induction chemotherapy has theoretical benefits on reducing the risk of distant metastasis, provide an in vivo testing of response and tumor biology and the potential to allow a more personalized and less toxic local treatment after downstaging. The aim of this review is to access the role of induction chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced oral cavity cancer. RECENT FINDINGS: Clinical trials analyzing this treatment strategy in patients with resectable disease, followed by surgery, and in unresectable disease, followed by (chemo)radiotherapy or surgery are discussed, pointing out strengths and limitations of this data and highlighting the standard treatment in each clinical scenario. Future perspectives, including the incorporation of checkpoint inhibitors and biomarkers for patient selection are discussed. Surgery followed by (chemo)radiation is the standard of care for resectable oral cavity cancer patients, and chemoradiation is the standard for those considered as unresectable. Future trials with the incorporation of immunotherapy and better patient selection based on clinical and molecular biomarkers can bring new hopes for better therapeutic results in these patients.

Assessing Preferences in Patients with Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Phase I and II of Questionnaire Development.

Shared-decision making for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is challenged by the difficulty to integrate the patient perception of value within the framework of a multidisciplinary team approach. The aim of this study was to develop a questionnaire to assess the preferences of HNSCC patients with respect to the disease trajectory, expected treatment, and toxicities. In accordance with the standardized EORTC Quality of Life Group's methodology for the development of quality of life modules, a phase 1-2 study was envisaged. Following a systematic review of the literature, a consolidated list of 28 issues was administered through a semi-structured interview to 111 patients from 7 institutions in 5 countries. Overall, "cure of disease", "survival", and "trusting in health care professionals" were the 3 most common priorities, being chosen by 87.3%, 73.6% and 59.1% of patients, respectively. When assessing the correlation with the treatment subgroup, the issue of "being thoroughly and sincerely informed about treatments' efficacy and survival expectation" was highly prevalent in an independent manner (71.4%, 75% and 90% of patients in the follow-up, palliative and curative subgroups, respectively). Based on prespecified scoring criteria, a 24-item list was generated. Pending clinical applicability, further testing and validation of the questionnaire are warranted.

Global prevalence of human papillomavirus-driven oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma following the ASCO guidelines: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: to provide accurate information about the global prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas (OPSCC). MATERIAL AND METHODS: a systematic review was performed using three main electronic databases. Studies were independently assessed by two reviewers based on established eligibility criteria, to identify the prevalence of HPV-driven OPSCC following criteria defined by the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Risk of bias was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist. Statistical software MedCalc was used to perform meta-analyses. RESULTS: from 2215 records found, 15 were included, reporting data from 6009 patients (time period range: 1980-2016), distributed in 11 countries. Eleven studies were considered as presenting low risk, and four as moderate risk of bias. Using proportion meta-analysis, pooled prevalence of HPV-driven OPSCC was 44.8 % (95 %CI: 36.4-53.5 %; i2 = 97.6 %), with the highest rates in New Zealand (74.5 %; 95 %CI: 60.9-85.3 %), and the lowest in Brazil (11.1 %; 95 %CI: 4.5-21.5 %). HPV prevalence was similar between males (45.7 %; 95 %CI: 36.5-55.0 %; i2 = 96.4 %) and females (42.2 %; 95 %CI: 34.3-50.5 %; i2 = 85.4 %). Mean/median age ranged from 59.1-67.1 years in the HPV-negative group, and from 55.7-63.5 years in the HPV-positive group. There was an overall discordance between testing by p16 (49.4 %; 95 %CI, 38.2-60.5 %; i2 = 96.2 %) and p16+ISH/PCR (44.7 %; 95 %CI, 33.5-56.2 %; i2 = 96.4 %). CONCLUSION: Overall pooled prevalence of HPV-driven OPSCC was approximately 45 %, with similar distribution among males and females. Double p16/HPV-DNA/RNA testing may be considered to increase specificity and prognostic accuracy.

The roles of PTEN, cMET, and p16 in resistance to cetuximab in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

There is no established biomarker for cetuximab efficacy in recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prognostic and predictive impact of PTEN, cMET, and p16 expression in recurrent HNSCC. In this retrospective study, 112 patients with recurrent HNSCC received chemotherapy (CT) alone (n = 37) or chemotherapy with cetuximab (n = 75). PTEN, cMET, and p16 protein expression were evaluated by immunohistochemistry. The median overall survival (mOS) for the patients treated with cetuximab + CT versus CT alone was 11.4 months and 7.0 months, (p = 0.949). The median progression-free survival (mPFS) was 6.2 months versus 3.0 months (p = 0.154). Patients with PTEN loss exhibited a mOS of 5.8 months versus 10.5 months (p = 0.002) and a mPFS of 3.2 months versus 4.7 months (p = 0.019). A multivariate analysis identified an independent association between PTEN loss and OS (HR 2.27; 95% confidence 95% CI 1.27-4.08; p = 0.006) and with PFS (HR 1.85; 95% CI 1.09-2.99; p = 0.022). A negative prognostic impact of PTEN loss was observed in the patients treated with cetuximab + CT, and not in the CT only group. Expression of cMET and p16 showed no impact on OS or PFS. The present findings confirm that PTEN is a prognostic factor for metastatic HNSCC and they support further studies of PTEN expression to evaluate its predictive value to cetuximab response.

Early metabolic 18F-FDG PET/CT response of locally advanced squamous-cell carcinoma of head and neck to induction chemotherapy: A prospective pilot study.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to assess the clinical value of 18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) after the first cycle of induction chemotherapy (IC) in locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (LASCCHN). METHODS AND FINDINGS: A prospective, single-arm, single center study was performed, with patients enrolled between February 2010 and July 2013.Patients (n = 49) with stage III/IVA-B LASCCHN who underwent IC with taxanes, cisplatin, and fluorouracil were recruited. Staging procedures included loco-regional and chest imaging, endoscopic examination, and PET/CT scan. On day 14 of the first cycle, a second PET/CT scan was performed. Patients with no early increase in regional lymph node maximum 18F-FDG standard uptake value (SUV), detected using 18F-FDG PET/CT after first IC had better progression-free survival (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.18, 95%, confidence interval (CI) 0.056-0.585; p = 0.004) and overall survival (HR = 0.14, 95% CI 0.040-0.498; p = 0.002), and were considered responders. In this subgroup, patients who achieved a reduction of ≥ 45% maximum primary tumor SUV experienced improved progression-free (HR = 0.23, 95% CI 0.062-0.854; p = 0.028) and overall (HR = 0.11, 95% CI 0.013-0.96; p = 0.046) survival. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest a potential role for early response evaluation with PET/CT examination in patients with LASCCHN undergoing IC. Increased regional lymph node maximum SUV and insufficient decrease in primary tumor uptake predict poorer outcomes.

FIRST BRAZILIAN CONSENSUS ON MULTIMODAL TREATMENT OF COLORECTAL LIVER METASTASES. MODULE 1: PRE-TREATMENT EVALUATION.

BACKGROUND: Liver metastases of colorectal cancer are frequent and potentially fatal event in the evolution of patients with these tumors. AIM: In this module, was contextualized the clinical situations and parameterized epidemiological data and results of the various treatment modalities established. METHOD: Was realized deep discussion on detecting and staging metastatic colorectal cancer, as well as employment of imaging methods in the evaluation of response to instituted systemic therapy. RESULTS: The next step was based on the definition of which patients would have their metastases considered resectable and how to expand the amount of patients elegible for modalities with curative intent. CONCLUSION: Were presented clinical, pathological and molecular prognostic factors, validated to be taken into account in clinical practice.

Cytokeratin-based CTC counting unrelated to clinical follow up.

BACKGROUND: Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) have been reported to be a relevant prognostic biomarker in metastatic patients. However, their clinical use and impact is still under debate. We have thus comparatively and kinetically assessed two CTC detection methods according to the patient's clinical follow up. METHODS: CTC counting and characterization were repeatedly performed during follow up in a patient with metastatic undifferentiated non-small cell lung cancer by using cytokeratin (CK)-dependent immunomagnetic separation (Miltenyi) and CK-independent, size-based isolation [isolation by size of tumor cells (ISET)] (Rarecells). RESULTS: Comparison between the two methods showed a parallel increase of CTC detected by ISET and worsening of the clinical status, while CK-dependent CTC numbers were decreasing, misleadingly suggesting a response to treatment. ISET results were in agreement with the clinical follow up showing Circulating tumor microemboli (CTM) and CTC expressing a mesenchymal marker with absence of epithelial markers. CONCLUSIONS: This case report study shows the interest of a comparative and kinetic analysis of different methods for CTCs detection combined with their evaluation according to the clinical follow up. Our results should open up an area for future research and validation in larger clinical cohorts.