Ewing sarcoma (ES) occurs in the head and neck (HN) region in fewer than 10% of cases, presenting distinct therapeutic challenges.We retrospectively reviewed all ES cases diagnosed at our institution from 2000 to 2022.Of 131 patients, 10 (7.6%) had primary HN tumors (median age: 10 years). Tumor locations included the paranasal sinuses (n=6), jaw (n=2), and skull (n=2). Three patients presented with metastatic disease.All patients received first-line chemotherapy, except one who underwent upfront surgery. Local treatment included radiotherapy (RT) alone (n=4), surgery plus RT (n=4), and surgery alone (n=2). Resection was feasible in six cases, with five patients achieving R0 margins following delayed surgery after Busulfan-Melphalan (BuMel) consolidation. Reconstruction used autologous bone grafts (n=3) or free fibular flaps (n=2), with one graft failure.One patient had local recurrence at 24 months; three with initial metastases had distant relapse at 8, 29, and 44 months. Median event-free survival (EFS) was 27 months (range: 8-44), and median overall survival (OS) was 63 months (range: 12-159). At last follow-up, five patients were in complete remission, one was receiving third-line therapy, one was lost to follow-up, and three died in disease progression.In conclusion, metastatic disease at diagnosis remains the strongest predictor of poor outcome. Nevertheless, our findings highlight the importance of a multidisciplinary team approach, with close collaboration among radiation oncologists and maxillofacial surgeons. Such integrated teamwork may improve prognosis and help reduce long-term sequelae.

There is still a dearth of information on the prevalence and histological patterns of head and neck tumors (HNT) in Ghana, which emphasizes the need for regional studies to learn more about their distribution and clinical features. Thus, the present study aimed to describe the anatomical pattern and clinicopathological features among patients with HNT at some selected hospitals in Ghana. The study was retrospective in design, which consisted of laboratory analysis of archived HNT tissues. The study was conducted with 250 archived paraffin-embedded HNT tissue samples from the Pathology Department of Cape Coast Teaching Hospital and Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Ghana. The various tumor grades were analyzed using hematoxylin and eosin staining on tissue samples from a consecutive series of 150 HNT samples, out of 250 patients who underwent tumor resection over a 4-year period. There were 148 males and 102 females, giving a male-to-female ratio of 1.45:1. The age range was 10-89 years. The commonest anatomical site of patients with the HNT was the oral cavity (34%), followed by the nasal cavity (25.2%) and mandible (24%). The majority of the patients with HNT were recorded in 2018 (23%). This study reveals that the oral cavity is the commonest HNT in Ghana, with a higher occurrence observed in patients above 40 years old. Therefore, there is a need to undertake public health education to raise awareness to promote early detection and management of the disease.

The annual incidence of head and neck tumors (HNTs) is increasing, and their complex anatomical structure makes diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis assessment highly challenging. This narrative review aims to summarize the application status of digital medicine in the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis evaluation of HNTs. Digital medical technologies have advanced rapidly in recent years. Digital imaging (CT, MRI, and ultrasonography) is widely used for tumor localization, progression monitoring, and treatment efficacy evaluation. Artificial intelligence optimizes tumor detection and radiotherapy planning via deep learning models, improving diagnostic accuracy and therapeutic effects. 3D printing shows significant clinical value in preoperative planning and personalized surgical navigation. Current research limitations are also identified. Digital medicine is expected to further promote the early diagnosis of HNTs, support the establishment of personalized precision treatment strategies, and ultimately improve the quality of life and prognosis of patients.

Head and neck cancers (HNCs) are a significant health care issue worldwide. Insufficient data in Libya makes it difficult to fully comprehend its local impact. This study aims to provide a retrospective analysis of the epidemiology of head and neck cancer among cancer patients at the Sebha Oncology Centre (SOC) over a period of 9 years, and to compare the results locally and regionally. The patient’s medical records from 2016 to 2025 were obtained and examined. Age and sex information, as well as the tumor's location, were gathered. The study included 2460 patients’ files; 63 patients were diagnosed with head and neck cancers, with a percentage of 2.5%. The most common type of head and neck cancer was non-Hodgkin lymphoma (46%), followed by thyroid gland cancer (22.2%) and oral cancer (9.6%). The tongue and soft palate were the most anatomical sites for oral cancer (3.2% for each). The least frequent kind of HNCs was salivary gland cancer (3.2%). The male-to-female ratio was 0.75:1, with more female patients having thyroid gland cancer and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and more male cases having nasopharyngeal and laryngeal cancers. Patients ranged in age from 20 to 86, with the majority of cases occurring between 41 and 60, with predominance of females in this age group. The center had a lower rate of oral cancer compared with local and international studies. To increase public awareness of cancer risks, a comprehensive public education program must be established. Such programs are crucial for reducing prevalence, encouraging early detection, and guaranteeing prompt management.

To analyze the predictive value of oropharyngeal bacterial infection (the primary adverse radiotherapy outcome investigated in this study) in patients with head and neck tumors (HNTs), identify risk factors, and develop and validate a nomogram prediction model. A total of 260 HNT patients who underwent radiotherapy between January 2021 and January 2023 were enrolled. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to screen for factors influencing radiotherapy outcomes. A nomogram prediction model was constructed and validated using the concordance index (C-index), calibration curves, and decision curve analysis (DCA). The peripheral blood nCD64 index, peripheral blood CD14 index, neutrophil count, CRP, and serum albumin levels were identified as independent risk factors affecting radiotherapy outcomes (P < 0.05). The constructed nomogram prediction model exhibited excellent discriminative ability (C-index = 0.945, 0.873), good calibration curve agreement, and DCA confirmed its clinical utility. The peripheral blood nCD64 index, CD14 index, neutrophil count, CRP, and serum albumin levels influence radiotherapy outcomes. The established nomogram prediction model demonstrates high accuracy and clinical applicability. This study develops and validates a novel nomogram incorporating immune-inflammatory biomarkers (nCD64, CD14, neutrophils, CRP, and albumin) to predict radiotherapy outcomes in head and neck cancer, improving personalized prognostic assessment.

BackgroundRadiotherapy has become a fundamental treatment modality of head and neck (HN) malignancies, which provides a chance of long-term survival. However, radiation also amplifies the risk of developing radiation-induced sarcoma (RIS) in the irradiated tissue. Radiation-induced maxillary sinus sarcoma (RIMSS) is an extremely rare and highly lethal malignancy of the HN. RIS is mainly treated with surgery, but the anatomical district and the infiltrative nature of RIS make it challenging to achieve negative margins, resulting in high fatality rate with the mean survival time of approximately one year. Immunotherapy, as an effective treatment option is rapidly evolving for HN tumors. However, checkpoint Blockade Immunotherapy (CBI) combined with chemotherapy as maintenance therapy for RIS of HN is rarely reported.Case presentationThe study presents a 36-year-old female with numerous recurrences of RIMSS, who experienced a dramatic response to checkpoint blockade immunotherapy after rapidly progressing on involved-field radiotherapy and multiple surgeries. After using immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy, the patient had a nearly complete response (CR) and maintained with single-agent programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) inhibitors.ResultsThe patient achieved a durable response, with progression-free survival (PFS) lasting 18 months.ConclusionUsing CBI as maintenance therapy for RIMSS represents a novel treatment option, especially for unresectable patients. Further investigation is warranted to optimize a multimodal treatment and improve response.

Head and neck tumors (HNTs) are a diverse group of tumors that develop due to a variety of genetic and environmental risk factors with varying incidence rates. Nuclear factor &kappa;B (NF‑&kappa;B), is a transcription factor that has been linked to malignant tumors and chronic inflammation. However, there is a paucity of available data globally on NF‑&kappa;B (p65) in HNTs. The present study evaluated the association between clinicopathological features of patients with HNT and NF‑&kappa;B (p65) protein expression. Immunohistochemistry was used to examine NF‑&kappa;B (p65) expression in 112 HNT tissues comprising of 62 benign and 50 malignant tumors. The Chi‑square test and Fisher's exact test were employed to analyze the associatoin between NF‑&kappa;B (p65) protein expression patterns and the clinicopathological features of the patients. NF‑&kappa;B (p65) protein was expressed in 58.9% of head and neck tumors evaluated. There was a significant association between NF‑&kappa;B (p65), sex and tumor type. There was a high NF‑&kappa;B (p65) expression in malignant tumors, with its expression in malignant tumors being 2‑fold higher than that in benign tumors. NF‑&kappa;B (p65) expression in malignant tumors was associated with the male sex and tumor node metastasis (TNM) stage. On the whole, the present study emphasizes that NF‑&kappa;B (p65) protein expression levels may indeed be controlled by sex and TNM stage, with a higher NF‑&kappa;B (p65) activity observed in male patients with HNTs. Therefore, it may be explored as a potential prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target.&nbsp;

Epidemiologic data for pediatric head and neck (HN) cancers in the United States (US) have not been reported in many years. An update is essential to highlight trends to guide future treatment. We analyzed the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results database from 2000 to 2019. We included patients aged <1-21 years with a malignancy in the HN region. We also report trends in incidence rates over time. HN tumors encompassed 16.7% of all pediatric tumors with a mean age of 13.1 years. Females accounted for 59.0% of tumors. The female predominance is largely due to thyroid carcinoma; if thyroid malignancies are excluded male incidence is higher. The overall incidence (0-19 years) was found to be 3.29 malignancies per 100,000 person-years. The incidence from 2000 to 2004 was 2.84 [95% CI, 2.77, 2.91] while from 2015 to 2019 was 3.65 [3.57, 3.73]. This increase of 28.5% was greater than overall pediatric cancer, which increased by 13.7%. Incidence varies significantly by age group with 4.56 [4.35, 4.78] at age <1, 2.45 [2.37, 2.53] from 1 to 4 years, 1.46 [1.40, 1.51] from 5 to 9 years, 2.27 [2.21, 2.34] from 10 to 14 years, 4.81 [4.71, 4.90] from 15 to 19 years, and 7.35 [7.17, 7.40] from 20 to 21 years. Thus, there is a bimodal rise at the extremes of the pediatric age group. Pediatric HN tumors more commonly affect females. These tumors appear in a bimodal distribution; they most commonly present in very young patients and then during late adolescence The incidence has increased since 2000 and faster than overall incidence. Reporting of these data and trends will allow for advancement in treatment.

Goals and objectives: to identify niches for studying the Russian antitumor drug “AntionkoRAN-M” (INN Stimothimagen copolymerplasmid) within the framework of phase 2 and 3 clinical studies and further use in medical practice. Materials and methods: during the study, a review of the clinical recommendations of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation and NCCN for the management of a number of oncological diseases in the treatment of which the drug “AntionkoRAN-M” could potentially be used was carried out. Further analysis identified groups of patients that differed from each other in the number of available treatment options, as well as the level of strength of recommendations and the reliability of evidence for these options. Further, the description of the selected groups of patients was validated with oncologists from leading federal centers and the characteristics of patients most in dire need of new effective treatment options were noted. Then, according to statistics and epidemiology, the population size in each of the selected groups was predicted by the expected time of the drug entering the market. Results: it was found that the optimal niches for studying the drug “Antionko- RAN-M” within the framework of a phase 2 clinical trial will be the inoperable stages of the following malignant neoplasms: soft tissue sarcoma for use in the 3+ line and, partially, in the 2nd line; melanoma in combination with immunotherapy (IT) in 2+ lines in patients with unmutated BRAF and KIT status; head and neck tumors (HNT) as neoadjuvant therapy for platinum intolerance; cervical cancer (CC) in relapse at a locally advanced stage. The predicted number of patients in these groups who annually require innovative therapy may total more than 1,300 for orphan diseases: sarcoma and melanoma. There may be more than 5,000 patients in the general hospital and cervical cancer - potential candidates for therapy with the drug “AntionkoRAN-M”.

Abstract Head and neck tumors (HNT) are of paranasal sinuses origin (the salivary glands and the upper aerodigestive tract). It constitutes the sixth most common tumors. Studies have shown that, factors such as tobacco and alcohol intake and viral infections may increase the relative risk to the tumor. Notch1 pathways are frequently altered in many tumors, however, the clinical significance of NOTCH1dysregulation in head and neck tumors is poorly understood. METHOD: The aim of this study was to investigate the expression NOTCH1 in head and neck tumor and also to elucidate the various anatomical pattern of the head and neck tumors in selected hospitals in Ghana. NOTCH1 expression were analyzed using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and immunohistochemical staining on tissue samples from a consecutive series of head and neck tumor patients resections over a four-year period. RESULTS: The percentage of low expression of Notch1 were 71.4% in the malignant tissue (n=98) and 76.9% (n=52) in the benign tissue. The anatomical site with high of low expression of the NOTCH1 was found in oral cavity (37.1%) followed by respiratory (27.1%) followed by mandible (14.3%). CONCLUSION: There were low expression of NOTCH1 in head and neck tumour tissues suggesting that NOTCH1may be a tumor suppressor gene. We further propose that, NOTCH1 offers a potential tool as a target molecule in the development of therapies for head and neck tumors. Citation Format: Precious Barnes, Roland Osei Saahene. Expression of NOTCH1 in head and neck tumours at selected hospitals in Ghana [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference in Cancer Research: Expanding and Translating Cancer Synthetic Vulnerabilities; 2024 Jun 10-13; Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2024;23(6 Suppl):Abstract nr B028.

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the most common histological form of head and neck tumors (HNTs), which originate from the epithelium of the lips and oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, salivary glands, nasal cavity, and sinuses. The main risk factors include consumption of tobacco in all forms and alcohol, as well as infections with high-risk human papillomaviruses or the Epstein-Barr virus. Regardless of the etiological agent, the risk of developing different types of HNTs is from two to more than six times higher in males than in females. The reason for such disparities probably lies in a combination of both biological and psychosocial factors. Therefore, it is hypothesized that exposure to female sex hormones, primarily estrogen, provides women with protection against the formation and metastasis of HNTs. In this review, we synthesized available knowledge on the role of estrogen and estrogen receptors (ERs) in the development and progression of HNTs, with special emphasis on membrane ERs, which are much less studied. We can summarize that in addition to epidemiologic studies unequivocally pointing to the protective effect of estrogen in women, an increased expression of both nuclear ERs, ERα, and ERβ, and membrane ERs, ERα36, GPER1, and NaV1.2, was present in different types of HNSCC, for which anti-estrogens could be used as an effective therapeutic approach.

Head and neck tumors (HNT) are tumors of the paranasal sinuses, the salivary glands and the upper aerodigestive tract. RIN1 is a Ras effector protein regulating epithelial cell properties and has been implicated in a number of cancers. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of RIN1 in head and neck tumors. RIN1 expression was assessed using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and immunohistochemical staining on archival head and neck tissue samples between 2014 and 2020. RIN1 expression was low in tissue samples as compared with the normal head and neck tissues. High and low RIN1 levels were compared with ages ≤40, >40 in the head and neck tumors of p-value 0.02. There was a significant difference with p-values of 0.001 when poor and well-moderate malignant tumors were compared. Our data suggests that RIN1may play an important role in head and neck tumor progression and that its expression may provide baseline data to facilitate identification of new molecular targeted therapeutics.

Abstract Introduction: Understanding the molecular underpinnings of vulvar squamous cell carcinoma (vSCC) has strong potential for clinical impact, given the unmet need for this rare cancer. vSCCs have two main etiologies, including human papillomavirus (HPV) infection or skin conditions such as lichen sclerosis. Clinically, few treatment options with limited efficacy are available for recurrent vSCCs and large whole transcriptome disease subtyping studies are limited due to the rarity of this cancer type. Here, we present a whole transcriptome subtyping study of 244 vSCC clinical samples with DNA genomic profiling. Furthermore, we compared vSCCs to other SCC disease subtypes (pan-SCC), including lung, esophageal, skin, urothelial, anal, and head and neck (HN). Our goal was to gain novel insights into the molecular landscape of vSCCs to inform new routes of therapy. Methods: Deidentified records of SCC patients were selected from the Tempus clinico-genomic database. The vSCC cohort was predominantly composed of, but not exclusively, naive or pre-treatment primary tissue. The pan-SCC cohort was limited to randomly sampled primary pre-treatment female samples with paired RNA and DNA sequencing. To perform vSCC subtyping, we used bulk RNA-seq and clustered the samples using FastPG-CC, an internally developed consensus-clustering extension of FastPG, a graph-based parallelized clustering tool. We next performed differential expression, pathway analysis, and cell type abundance estimation. Results: Unbiased gene expression clustering analysis identified three vSCCs clusters; an HPV+ cluster (HPV+, 32% of vSCC samples), HPV- cluster (HPV-, 33%), and an intermediate cluster which contained both HPV+ and HPV- samples (Mix, 35%). The HPV- cluster was enriched for TP53 and TERT promoter mutations, EMT and tumor microenvironment gene expression-derived pathways, and was most similar to HPV- oral HN tumors. The HPV+ cluster was enriched with PIK3CA mutations, cell cycle gene expression and was most similar to other HPV+ SCC samples, including cervical, anal, and HN. The Mix cluster was enriched for neutrophils, fatty acid metabolism and was most similar to skin SCC. Conclusions: We performed a multi-modal molecular subtyping analysis on a large cohort of vSCCs and identified three molecular subtypes, which enabled us to identify heterogeneity within vSCC, and observe that a subset of vSCCs share features with SCC tumor types for which there are emerging therapy options. Thus, this approach identifies a subset vSCCs that may be responsive to existing SCC therapeutics. Citation Format: Sara R. Selitsky, Tasha Thong, Kimberley Roche, Justin Guinney, Praveen Sethupathy, Catherine Igartua. Genomic characterization of vulvar squamous cell carcinoma [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 6454.

Noncoplanar plans (NCPs) are commonly used for proton treatment of bilateral head and neck (HN) malignancies. NCP requires additional verification setup imaging between beams to correct residual errors of robotic couch motion, which increases imaging dose and total treatment time. This study compared the quality and robustness of NCPs with those of coplanar plans (CPs). Under an IRB-approved study, CPs were created retrospectively for 10 bilateral HN patients previously treated with NCPs maintaining identical beam geometry of the original plan but excluding couch rotations. Plan robustness to the inter-fractional variation (IV) of both plans was evaluated through the Dose Volume Histograms (DVH) of weekly quality assurance CT (QACT) sets (39 total). In addition, delivery efficiency for both plans was compared using total treatment time (TTT) and beam-on time (BOT). No significant differences in plan quality were observed in terms of clinical target volume (CTV) coverage (D95) or organ-at-risk (OAR) doses (p>0.4 for all CTVs and OARs). No significant advantage of NCPs in the robustness to IV was found over CP, either. Changes in D95 of QA plans showed a linear correlation (slope=1.006, R2 >0.99) between NCP and CP for three CTV data points (CTV1, CTV2, and CTV3) in each QA plan (117 data points for 39 QA plans). NCPs showed significantly higher beam delivery time than CPs for TTT (539±50vs. 897±142s; p<0.001); however, no significant differences were observed for BOT. NCPs are not more robust to IV than CPs when treating bilateral HN tumors with pencil-beam scanning proton beams. CPs showed plan quality and robustness similar to NCPs while reduced treatment time (∼6min). This suggests that CPs may be a more efficient planning technique for bilateral HN cancer proton therapy.

Mitotic Errors Increase Radiation Sensitivity in Multiple Cancer Cell Types and in Laryngeal Cancer Patients

Clinical Review on Head and Neck CBCT Images

Preoperative classification of head and neck (HN) tumors remains challenging, especially distinguishing early cancerogenic masses from benign lesions. Synthetic MRI offers a new way for quantitative analysis of tumors. The present study investigated the application of synthetic MRI and stimulus and fast spin echo diffusion-weighted imaging with periodically rotated overlapping parallel lines with enhanced reconstruction (FSE-PROPELLER DWI) to differentiate malignant from benign HN tumors. Forty-eight patients with pathologically confirmed HN tumors were retrospectively recruited between August 2022 and October 2022. The patients were divided into malignant (n = 28) and benign (n = 20) groups. All patients were scanned using synthetic MRI and FSE-PROPELLER DWI. T1, T2, and proton density (PD) values were acquired on the synthetic MRI and ADC values on the FSE-PROPELLER DWI. Benign tumors (ADC: 2.03 ± 0.31 × 10-3 mm2/s, T1: 1741.13 ± 662.64 ms, T2: 157.43 ± 72.23 ms) showed higher ADC, T1, and T2 values compared to malignant tumors (ADC: 1.46 ± 0.37 × 10-3 mm2/s, T1: 1390.06 ± 241.09 ms, T2: 97.64 ± 14.91 ms) (all P<0.05), while no differences were seen for PD values. ROC analysis showed that T2+ADC (cut-off value, > 0.55; AUC, 0.950) had optimal diagnostic performance vs. T1 (cut-off value, ≤ 1675.84 ms; AUC, 0.698), T2 (cut-off value, ≤ 113.24 ms; AUC, 0.855) and PD (cut off value, > 80.67 pu; AUC, 0.568) alone in differentiating malignant from benign lesions (all P<0.05); yet, the difference in AUC between ADC and T2+ADC or T2 did not reach statistical significance. Synthetic MRI and FSE-PROPELLER DWI can quantitatively differentiate malignant from benign HN tumors. T2 value is comparable to ADC value, and T2+ADC values could improve diagnostic efficacy., apparent diffusion coeffificient, head and neck tumors.

The impact of the temporal sequence by which cranial radiotherapy (CRT) and platin-based chemotherapy (PCth) are administered on sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) in pediatric and adolescent central nervous system (CNS) and head-and-neck (HN) cancer patients has not yet been studied in detail. We examined the ototoxic effects of sequentially applied CRT and PCth. This study included children and adolescents with CNS and HN tumors who participated in the multicountry PanCareLIFE (PCL) consortium. Audiological outcomes were compared between patients who received CRT prior to PCth and those who received it afterwards. The incidence, degree and posttreatment progression of SNHL, defined as Muenster classification grade ≥MS2b, were evaluated in 141 patients. One hundred and nineteen patients were included in a time-to-onset analysis. Eighty-eight patients received CRT prior to PCth (Group 1) and 53 patients received PCth before CRT (Group 2). Over a median follow-up time of 1.6 years, 72.7% of patients in Group 1 experienced SNHL ≥ MS2b compared to 33.9% in Group 2 (P < .01). A time-to-onset analysis was performed for 74 patients from Group 1 and 45 patients from Group 2. Median time to hearing loss (HL) ≥ MS2b was 1.2 years in Group 1 and 4.4 years in Group 2 (P < .01). Thus, audiological outcomes were better for patients who received CRT after PCth than before. This finding should be further evaluated and considered within clinical practice in order to minimize hearing loss in children and adolescents with CNS and HN tumors.

Background and purposeClinically localized Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) has been associated with high rates of disease relapse. This study examines how primary tumor anatomic site drives patterns of care and outcomes in a large cohort treated in the contemporary era. Materials and methodsPatterns of care and associated outcomes were evaluated for clinically Stage I-II MCC patients treated at our institution with adjuvant radiation therapy (RT) to the primary site and/or regional nodal basin as a component of their curative intent therapy between 2014–2021. ResultsOf 80 patients who met inclusion criteria, the primary tumor anatomic site was head and neck (HN) for 42 (53%) and non-head and neck (NHN) for 38 (47%). Primary tumor risk factors were similar between cohorts. Fewer patients with HN tumors had wide local excision (WLE; HN-81% vs. NHN-100% p < 0.01). Of those undergoing WLE, patients with HN tumors received higher dose adjuvant RT (>50 Gy: HN-70% vs. NHN-8%; p < 0.01). Patients with HN tumors were less likely to undergo sentinel lymph node biopsy (HN-62%vs. NHN-100%; p < 0.01) and more likely to have elective nodal RT (HN-48% vs. NHN-0%). Despite varying management strategies, there was no significant difference in local recurrence-free survival (3-yr LRFS HN-94% vs. NHN-94%; p = 0.97), nodal recurrence-free survival (3-yr NRFS HN-89% vs. NHN-85%; p = 0.71) or overall recurrence-free survival (3-yr RFS 73% HN vs. 80% NHN; p = 0.44). ConclusionsAmong patients with primary MCC who had RT as a component of their initial treatment strategy, anatomically-driven heterogeneous treatment approaches were associated with equally excellent locoregional disease control.

&lt;p class="abstract"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Background:&lt;/strong&gt; There is paucity of published data on head and neck tumours (HNTs) in Ghana, even the few studies available were conducted in the middle and southern belts of the country. The present study in northern Ghana, was conducted to study the histopathological characteristics of HNTs and offer recommendations.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="abstract"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Methods:&lt;/strong&gt; This retrospective study analysed HNTs for the past 10 years at the Tamale Teaching Hospital in northern Ghana. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="abstract"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Results:&lt;/strong&gt; There were 576 HNTs, with 66.0% benign and 34.0% malignant. The mean age (years) was 34.9±21.6. Females were commonly affected 53.6%. Benign tumours were diagnosed in relatively young patients with mean age of 29.6±19.2, compared to 44.9±22.6 for the malignant tumours. Patients commonly present late with HNTs. The common anatomical sites were: odontogenic and maxillofacial bone (18.4%), oral cavity and mobile tongue (18.1%), and hypopharynx and larynx (13.9%). The histopathological subtypes were: squamous papilloma (13.9%), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) (12.8%), and salivary gland pleomorphic adenoma (9.4%). The common benign tumours were; squamous papilloma (21.1%), salivary glands pleomorphic adenoma (14.2%), and benign vascular tumours (13.9%). For malignant tumours the order was; SCC (37.8%), lymphoma (11.2%) and olfactory neuroblastoma (10.2%). A significant number of patients had no history of cigarette smoking (p&amp;lt;0.0001).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="abstract"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Conclusions:&lt;/strong&gt; Benign tumours were the common neoplastic lesions within the head and neck region. HNTs were common in relatively young patients and in females. Benign tumours were diagnosed in relatively young patients compared to malignant tumours. Patient with malignant tumours presented early to health facilities, compared to those with benign tumours.&lt;/p&gt;