You searched for "head and neck"

175 results found

Less pain more gain: impact of prophylactic gabapentin on swallowing outcomes in head and neck cancer patients undergoing radiation treatment

Patients planned for chemoradiation to the head and neck are usually advised to expect some pain and soreness during their treatment and that pain relief will be offered as and when it is required. Uncontrolled pain and mucositis affect oral...

Importance of the time interval between surgery and postoperative radiation therapy in head and neck cancer

The ideal time to start postoperative radiation therapy (PORT) in head and neck cancer patients has been an issue of debate. In the USA, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) recommends initiating radiotherapy within six weeks from surgery. The six-week...

Diagnosis and treatment of snoring in adults – S2k Guideline of the German Society of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery

This article summarises the work done by the German Society of Otorhinolaryngology, who have developed guidelines for the management of snoring. ‘S2k’ is German nomenclature for a consensus based guideline, which (for those of you interested in such things), is...

Is a chest x-ray necessary in making urgent referrals for suspected head and neck cancer?

The article presents an audit on urgent referrals for suspected head and neck cancer in 2144 patients. Only 8.6% of cases proved positive for head and neck cancer. The Scottish Referral Guidelines were adhered only in 55.1% of cases. Interestingly,...

Elevated prevalence of late-onset dysphagia among head and neck cancer survivors and identifying risk factors

Dysphagia is one of the most common problems affecting head and neck cancer (HNC) survivors. There are few studies investigating late-onset dysphagia post-treatment. The authors set out to investigate the prevalence of dysphagia-related diagnoses and procedures five years’ post-treatment, changes...

How effective are our two-week-wait guidelines in picking up head and neck cancer?

With a 30% increase in the incidence of head and neck cancer since 1999 in the UK, it is important that the two-week wait referral guidelines safely encompass all risk factors but also render these urgent referrals based on signs...

Can we predict risk of adverse events preoperatively in patients undergoing head and neck cancer surgery?

Ed’s Choice reviews a paper aiming to create a reliable index to predict postoperative outcomes in head and neck cancer patients. This interesting study identifies variables that may assist in risk assessing prospective surgical candidates. There have been a few...

British Skull Base Society Clinical Consensus Document on Management of Head and Neck Paragangliomas (HNPGLs)

All forms of HNPGLs should be managed by a multidisciplinary team (MDT) of core members from skull base otolaryngology, head and neck surgery, clinical genetics, oncology, endocrinology, vascular surgery, radiology and pathology. Extended members include neurosurgery, endocrine surgery, nuclear medicine,...

Modifying two-week wait protocol for suspected head and neck cancer patients during COVID-19

As healthcare workers, we are committed to ensuring that our patients continue to receive the optimum care that we are set up to deliver. However, the last year has shown that we need to be mindful of balancing this with...

How do objective ratings of swallowing compare with patient-reported dysphagia QOL measures in the head and neck cancer population?

Swallowing may be assessed by a comprehensive battery of tools including instrumental/objective assessments, clinician-rated measures and patient-reported measures. The authors of this paper use secondary analysis to explore concordance between videofluoroscopy and a patient-reported dysphagia quality of life (QOL) measure....

Detecting cancer margins during robotic head and neck cancer surgery using ambient mass spectrometry

We have known about altered metabolism in cancer cells since Otto Warburg described it 97 years ago. But can we take advantage of this knowledge in curing cancer? Jim Higginson explains the value of smoke generated during cancer surgery. The...

Jarrod Homer and Stuart Winter: Development of the sixth edition of the UK multidisciplinary head and neck cancer guidelines

Head and neck cancer care is a complex and constantly evolving field. What’s new and how are national guidelines on the subject produced? We spoke to Professors Homer and Winter, the lead authors of the most recent edition of the...