Jonathan Fussey, Consultant ENT Head & Neck Surgeon, University Hospitals Birmingham
This year marked the 11th European Congress on Head and Neck Oncology, held in the impressive Beurs Van Berlage in the centre of Amsterdam. Delegates from around the world convened in the Dutch capital to catch up, share ideas and experiences, and benefit from an impressive programme with a clear focus on new developments in head and neck cancer care.
After a welcome address by Congress chair René Leemans and a reminder of the origins and growth of the European Head and Neck Society by Giovani Succo, the programme kicked off with the presidential lecture delivered by Ehab Hanna from the MD Anderson Cancer Centre. His talk covered a wide range of recent advances in the management of sinonasal cancers including proton beam therapy, neoadjuvant chemotherapy and targeted therapy, and ultimately highlighted the importance of multidisciplinary team working in the ongoing quest to improve outcomes in these patients.
There was an inspiring session of talks on AI. Christian Simon highlighted the importance of data quality, and Christophe Le Tourneau explored its use in identifying molecular targets for novel therapeutic agents, and supporting personalised medicine in head and neck cancer care. Throughout the conference there was a rich choice of parallel sessions to attend, with topics covering the whole range of surgical, non-surgical and holistic care in head and neck cancer.
Chris Holsinger gave an infectiously enthusiastic keynote talk on the current state and future of AI in the operating theatre. His work in Stamford on videomics in surgery was particularly interesting, and he finished his talk with a plea to colleagues to recognise the value of video footage of operations, and record and store it for educational and quality improvement purposes. There was an excellent session on reconstruction, with talks by Sat Parmar on the Birmingham experience with virtual planning and 3D printing, Vincent Vanderpoorten on reconstruction of TORS defects, Piero Nicolai on his extensive experience in reconstruction of skull base defects and Ralph Gilbert on the reconstruction of laryngectomy defects.
Outside of the scientific programme, there was a relaxed an enjoyable atmosphere of conviviality. This, along with the focus on cutting-edge techniques and technology made it an enjoyable and thought-provoking meeting.
The next ECHNO will be in Berlin, 3 – 6 March 2027.
