[Special tumor entities in the head and neck region: nasopharyngeal, salivary gland, and thyroid cancer].

Abstract

At the meetings of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) in 2022, studies were presented which suggest changes in the clinical routine of nasopharyngeal, salivary gland, and thyroid cancer. Therapeutic innovations for special otorhinolaryngological tumor entities with potential clinical relevance were assessed after reviewing the studies presented at the ASCO2022/ESMO2022 meetings. The presented clinical phaseII and phaseIII studies were analyzed. Results were classified according to their potential clinical importance, taking into account current treatment standards. Three studies were presented that dealt with the topic of risk-adapted treatment stratification in advanced nasopharyngeal cancer. Dose-reduced radiotherapy (60 Gy) in low-risk patients resulted in afavorable toxicity profile with promising oncological results in asingle-arm phaseII study. In aphaseIII study, intensity-modulated radiotherapy alone showed comparable survival to combined radiochemotherapy with cisplatin in selected low-risk patients. In high-risk patients, addition of the EGFR antibody nimotuzumab to definitive radiochemotherapy showed an increased 5‑year survival rate compared to placebo (phaseIII study). Although an immediate change in clinical practice in Europe based on these studies is questionable, the concept of risk-adapted therapy taking into account biological characteristics (Epstein-Barr virus [EBV] DNA level) is future orientated. Similar to previous years, the contributions on recurrent/metastatic salivary gland and thyroid cancer emphasized the importance of targeted therapies based on vulnerable molecular target lesions.