Sir Felix Semon was an outstanding clinician and exceptional laryngologist. The money raised by donations from his colleagues on his retirement in 1909 was used to establish the London University’s Semon Lecture. Semon’s Obituary in the BMJ, reads: “In Semon's...
A videofluroscopic swallow study (VFSS), also known as modified barium swallow (MBS) offers a dynamic view of swallow biomechanics and associated swallowing physiology. The authors of this paper investigated whether quantitative timing and displacement measures of key structures involved in...
This randomised controlled trial aimed to establish the impact of prophylactic swallowing exercises in patients undergoing chemoradiation therapy for head and neck cancer. The primary outcome was the functional oral intake scale (FOIS), although secondary measures for feeding tube use,...
Curative treatment of head and neck cancer (HNC) often requires surgery; however, outcomes are impacted by the complexity of the surgery and the patient population. Increasingly ‘Enhanced Recovery After Surgery’ (ERAS) protocols are being used to maximise patient outcomes and...
Approximately 40% of patients develop major depressive disorder (MDD) during diagnosis and treatment for head and neck cancer (HNC). Depressive symptoms in these patients have a significant effect on their rehabilitation and survival. Given the small number of studies in...
The aim of this study was to assess the safety of elective cervicofacial rhytidectomy following radiotherapy for head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC). A greater proportion of HNSCC patients are infected with certain strains of the human papillomavirus, which...
Head and neck cancer is the eighth most common malignancy and numbers are increasing. This has led to increasing number of suspected cancer referrals which, with imposition of the 28-day Faster Diagnosis Standard implemented in 2020, has further burdened the...
More than 500,000 people across the globe will die this year from head and neck cancer, which is the sixth most common cancer in the world and comprises malignancies of the nose, mouth, throat, larynx, and neck. Assuming current trends...
The COVID-19 pandemic caused unprecedented disruption of NHS services. This was compounded by patients’ reluctance to attend hospitals at that time. How this affected the presentation of patients with head and neck cancer is the subject of this study. Head...
Neck dissection in addition to surgery of the primary site is commonly recommended in head and neck cancer treatment. However, there has been no consensus on the number of nodes that need to be removed to constitute a sufficient neck...
Unfortunately we know that the recurrence rate for head and neck cancer can be high, up to 30-50% in some series. These recurrences tend to occur within the first two years following treatment. Optimal surveillance strategies to detect recurrences early...
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...