Abstract
Multidisciplinary team (MDT) is of paramount importance in the approach to patients with head and neck cancer. Its aim is to provide the best diagnostic work-up, tumor staging, and treatment. Furthermore, the prognosis of patients who are managed by MDT is usually better. MDT has a great value in all presentation settings. The role of the pathologist in the team is of utmost importance, in particular with regards to information provided on Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) status, which has a well acknowledged independent prognostic value mainly in oropharyngeal carcinoma.
In early stage disease, namely in T1-2 N0 M0 patients, the meetings within the MDT mainly involve surgeons and radiation therapists. Surgery represents the mainstay of treatment, while radiation therapy is a suitable alternative, in particular in patients with advanced age, poor performance status and comorbidities.
In locally advanced disease, surgeons, medical oncologists and radiotherapists are the key people, since different approaches have been carried out. In operable patients, adjuvant chemoradiation is indicated when resection margins are involved or close, or in presence of extracapsular nodal spread. Concurrent chemoradiotherapy, preceeded or not by induction chemotherapy, is the favourite approach in this setting when surgery is strictly not indicated.
In recurrent/metastatic disease chemotherapy and best supportive care are the main options, although local treatments, such as reirradiation and salvage surgery, are also worth considering. The standard chemotherapy treatment has finally evolved after about 30 years, and strong efforts are being pursued to further improve the outcome, mainly with the addition of new drugs.
Keywords: Early stage, Head and neck cancer, Locally advanced disease, Multidisciplinary team, Pathologist, Recurrent/metastatic disease.
Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry
Title:Integrated Therapeutic Approaches in Head and Neck Cancer: The Importance of Multidisciplinary Team Management
Volume: 13 Issue: 6
Author(s): Francesco Perri, Paolo Muto, Corrado Aversa, Antonio Daponte, Giuseppina Della Vittoria, Stefano Pepe and Francesco Caponigro
Affiliation:
Keywords: Early stage, Head and neck cancer, Locally advanced disease, Multidisciplinary team, Pathologist, Recurrent/metastatic disease.
Abstract: Multidisciplinary team (MDT) is of paramount importance in the approach to patients with head and neck cancer. Its aim is to provide the best diagnostic work-up, tumor staging, and treatment. Furthermore, the prognosis of patients who are managed by MDT is usually better. MDT has a great value in all presentation settings. The role of the pathologist in the team is of utmost importance, in particular with regards to information provided on Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) status, which has a well acknowledged independent prognostic value mainly in oropharyngeal carcinoma.
In early stage disease, namely in T1-2 N0 M0 patients, the meetings within the MDT mainly involve surgeons and radiation therapists. Surgery represents the mainstay of treatment, while radiation therapy is a suitable alternative, in particular in patients with advanced age, poor performance status and comorbidities.
In locally advanced disease, surgeons, medical oncologists and radiotherapists are the key people, since different approaches have been carried out. In operable patients, adjuvant chemoradiation is indicated when resection margins are involved or close, or in presence of extracapsular nodal spread. Concurrent chemoradiotherapy, preceeded or not by induction chemotherapy, is the favourite approach in this setting when surgery is strictly not indicated.
In recurrent/metastatic disease chemotherapy and best supportive care are the main options, although local treatments, such as reirradiation and salvage surgery, are also worth considering. The standard chemotherapy treatment has finally evolved after about 30 years, and strong efforts are being pursued to further improve the outcome, mainly with the addition of new drugs.
Export Options
About this article
Cite this article as:
Perri Francesco, Muto Paolo, Aversa Corrado, Daponte Antonio, Vittoria Della Giuseppina, Pepe Stefano and Caponigro Francesco, Integrated Therapeutic Approaches in Head and Neck Cancer: The Importance of Multidisciplinary Team Management, Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry 2013; 13 (6) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/18715206113139990110
DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/18715206113139990110 |
Print ISSN 1871-5206 |
Publisher Name Bentham Science Publisher |
Online ISSN 1875-5992 |
Call for Papers in Thematic Issues
Induction of cell death in cancer cells by modulating telomerase activity using small molecule drugs
Telomeres are distinctive but short stretches present at the corners of chromosomes and aid in stabilizing chromosomal makeup. Resynthesis of telomeres supported by the activity of reverse transcriptase ribonucleoprotein complex telomerase. There is no any telomerase activity in human somatic cells, but the stem cells and germ cells undergone telomerase ...read more
Role of natural compounds as anti anti-cancer agents
Cancer is considered the leading cause of worldwide mortality, accounting for nearly 10 million deaths in 2022. Cancer outcome can be improved through an appropriate screening and early detection and through an efficient clinical treatment. Chemotherapy remains an important approach in treatment o f several types of cancers, even though ...read more
Signaling and enzymatic modulators in cancer treatment
Cancer accounts for nearly 10 million deaths in 2022 and is considered the leading cause of worldwide mortality. Cancer outcome can be improved through an appropriate screening and early detection and through an efficient clinical treatment. Chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery are the most important approach for the treatment of several ...read more
- Author Guidelines
- Graphical Abstracts
- Fabricating and Stating False Information
- Research Misconduct
- Post Publication Discussions and Corrections
- Publishing Ethics and Rectitude
- Increase Visibility of Your Article
- Archiving Policies
- Peer Review Workflow
- Order Your Article Before Print
- Promote Your Article
- Manuscript Transfer Facility
- Editorial Policies
- Allegations from Whistleblowers
Related Articles
-
Targeting the Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase/AKT Pathway for the Treatment of Multiple Myeloma
Current Medicinal Chemistry Annexin A5 Imaging: An Academic Research – Clinical Trials and Theses
Current Molecular Imaging (Discontinued) Role of Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase in Regulation of Cell Signaling Cascades Affecting Tumor Cell Growth: A Future Perspective as Anti-Cancer Drug Target
Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Modulators of Inhibitor of Growth (ING) Family Expression in Development and Disease
Current Drug Targets Nanobiotechnological Approaches to Overcome Drug Resistance in Breast Cancer
Current Cancer Drug Targets Application of dsRNA in Cancer Immunotherapy: Current Status and Future Trends
Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry Metformin Treatment Sensitizes Human Laryngeal Cancer Cell Line Hep- 2 to 5-Fluorouracil
Clinical Cancer Drugs Nutrition and NSCLC; Should We Administer Food Supplements?
Current Pharmaceutical Design Synthesis of Isoxazole Moiety Containing Thieno[2,3-d]pyrimidine Derivatives and Preliminarily in vitro Anticancer Activity (Part II)
Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry Synthetic Lethality and PARP-Inhibitors in Oral and Head & Neck Cancer
Current Pharmaceutical Design Omega-3 Fatty Acid Treatment Combined with Chemotherapy to Prevent Toxicity, Drug Resistance, and Metastasis in Cancer
Current Drug Targets Searching for New Targets and Treatments in the Battle Against Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck, with Specific Focus on Tumours of the Tongue
Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry New Developments in Systemic Therapy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Current Cancer Therapy Reviews Unraveling Potential Candidate Targets Associated with Expression of p16<sup>INK4a</sup> or p16 Truncated Fragment by Comparative Proteomics Analysis
Current Proteomics Hypoxia-Inducible Factors and Sphingosine 1-Phosphate Signaling
Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry Finding Appropriate Signal Peptides for Secretory Production of Recombinant Glucarpidase: An <i>In Silico</i> Method
Recent Patents on Biotechnology Is Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor 4 a Suitable Target of Cancer Therapy?
Current Pharmaceutical Design The Caveolin-1 Connection to Cell Death and Survival
Current Molecular Medicine Suicide Gene Therapy Mediated by the Herpes Simplex Virus Thymidine Kinase Gene / Ganciclovir System: Fifteen Years of Application
Current Gene Therapy Cancer Stem Cells of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Current Cancer Therapy Reviews