New treatments for head and neck cancer as cases rise | OSUCCC - James

With head and neck cancer diagnoses on the rise, doctors and researchers are exploring new areas of treatment while working to improve existing therapies through research and technology.
“The key is you need a huge support network to get patients through surgery, radiation, chemotherapy and immunotherapy,” says Matthew Old, MD, the director of the Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC - James). “We have a team of more than 200.”
The OSUCCC - James has one of the largest head and neck cancer departments in the country, featuring experts in robotic and reconstructive surgery, proton radiation, chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatments and cutting-edge clinical trials.
Cancers that develop above the clavicle - except for brain tumors - are considered head and neck cancers. Diagnoses in the U.S. are becoming more frequent, due in part to the prevalence of the human papillomavirus in adults.
“We’ll see an increased rate for the next 10 to 15 years because the HPV vaccine wasn’t available a few decades ago,” Old says. “HPV is the cause of about half the head and neck cancers we see.”
While advocating for more widespread HPV vaccination to prevent future cases, Old and his colleagues perform a variety of innovative surgeries to treat patients’ head and neck cancers, and to reconstruct affected areas of their bodies.
“We are all cross trained in reconstructive surgery,” Old says of the OSUCCC - James team. “We can take tissue and bone from a patient’s body and use it to reconstruct their tongue, mouth, jaw - any type of defect.”
Between 50 and 60 head and neck cancer patients receive radiation therapy daily at the OSUCCC - James, one of the few cancer hospitals that offers proton radiation, which “is more precise, and we think it minimizes the long-term consequences to the patient,” according to Old.
Qualifying patients may also have access to clinical research at Ohio State, including approximately 20 head and neck trials currently underway.
In one clinical trial initiated by OSUCCC - James head and neck cancer researchers, patients receive immunotherapy before surgery. “This is done to prime the immune system to recognize the cancer cells as foreign,” Old says. “Then after surgery, the patient receives a year of immunotherapy.”
In another Ohio State trial, doctors utilize circulating tumor DNA to determine the effectiveness of treatment for their patients. “We can watch their response and tailor the treatment accordingly,” Old says.
Learn more about head and neck cancers, including risks, symptoms and treatment options at The Ohio State University: go.osu.edu/CsUb
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