Search Results

Thyroid cancer is common but rarely deadly. Unfortunately, when the disease becomes refractory to radioactive iodine (RAI), few effective treatment options remain. This situation is changing, however, with the availability of multitargeted tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Cabozantanib and vandetanib, both recently FDA-approved for advanced or metastatic disease, have more than doubled progression-free survival in medullary thyroid cancer. New agents in the pipeline may yield even better outcomes, as discussed by Dr. Robert I. Haddad at the NCCN 18th Annual Conference.

Immunotherapy has changed the game in the treatment of head and neck cancer (HNC). Practice-changing results from the phase III KEYNOTE-048 trial led to the approval of pembrolizumab immunotherapy alone or in combination with chemotherapy for the treatment of recurrent/metastatic HNC in the first-line setting. Testing for combined positive score (CPS) is now part of routine practice, because patients with CPS ≥1 can be started on single-agent immunotherapy in the first-line. Pembrolizumab replaces the “old” standard of care established by the EXTREME study, as trials looking at targets besides immunotherapy have proved “disappointing.” Additionally, nivolumab and pembrolizumab are both approved for use in the second-line.

This selection from the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines) for Thyroid Carcinoma focuses on anaplastic carcinoma because substantial changes were made to the systemic therapy recommendations for the 2015 update. Dosages and frequency of administration are now provided, docetaxel/doxorubicin regimens were added, and single-agent cisplatin was deleted because it is not recommended for patients with advanced or metastatic anaplastic thyroid cancer.

These NCCN Guidelines Insights focus on some of the major updates to the 2014 NCCN Guidelines for Thyroid Carcinoma. Kinase inhibitor therapy may be used to treat thyroid carcinoma that is symptomatic and/or progressive and not amenable to treatment with radioactive iodine. Sorafenib may be considered for select patients with metastatic differentiated thyroid carcinoma, whereas vandetanib or cabozantinib may be recommended for select patients with metastatic medullary thyroid carcinoma. Other kinase inhibitors may be considered for select patients with either type of thyroid carcinoma. A new section on “Principles of Kinase Inhibitor Therapy in Advanced Thyroid Cancer” was added to the NCCN Guidelines to assist with using these novel targeted agents.

The NCCN Guidelines for Head and Neck (H&N) Cancers provide treatment recommendations for cancers of the lip, oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, ethmoid and maxillary sinuses, and salivary glands. Recommendations are also provided for occult primary of the H&N, and separate algorithms have been developed by the panel for very advanced H&N cancers. These NCCN Guidelines Insights summarize the panel's discussion and most recent recommendations regarding evaluation and treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

The NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines) for Head and Neck Cancers provide treatment recommendations for cancers of the lip, oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, ethmoid and maxillary sinuses, and salivary glands. Recommendations are also provided for occult primary of the head and neck (H&N), and separate algorithms have been developed by the panel for very advanced H&N cancers. These NCCN Guidelines Insights summarize the panel's discussion and most recent recommendations regarding the increase in human papillomavirus–associated oropharyngeal cancer and the availability of immunotherapy agents for treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic H&N cancer.