Second primary tumors after HPV-associated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HPV + OPSCCa) are generally assumed to share the same HPV status as the index lesion, and current pathology guidelines discourage repeat HPV testing in recurrent disease. We retrospectively reviewed records from a tertiary academic center (2010-2024) to identify patients with a history of HPV + OPSCCa who subsequently developed an HPV-independent second primary head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. HPV status was determined by p16 immunohistochemistry, high-risk HPV DNA PCR, or RNA in situ hybridization. Eleven patients developed metachronous HPV-independent malignancies, representing an incidence of 2.5 %. The median interval between tumors was 8.8 years (range, 3.2-16.0 years). Second primaries most often arose in the contralateral base of tongue (55 %) or oral cavity (27 %). All patients had received definitive or adjuvant radiation for the initial tumor, and 73 % received concurrent chemotherapy. Four patients (36 %) reported a smoking history >10 pack-years. Most tumors at both time points were T1 or T2, but node-positive disease was more frequent in first primaries (82 % vs 18 %). Two patients developed a third HPV-independent primary tumor. These findings demonstrate that biologically discordant second primary head and neck cancers can emerge years after HPV + OPSCCa, challenging the assumption of HPV concordance and underscoring the need for long-term surveillance and reconsideration of repeat HPV testing in this population.

To compare the quality of online information about human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated oropharyngeal cancer generated by a large language model with content retrieved from conventional web search and authoritative guideline-based sources.

The number of older/frail patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) is increasing. They are more frail compared to patients with other malignancies. Therefore, geriatric care is increasingly integrated into the HNC care pathway. The aim of this study was to investigate how integrated geriatric care affects treatment outcomes in HNC patients irrespective of treatment intention.

This study aimed to evaluate the antitumor effect and safety of neoadjuvant chemotherapy plus tislelizumab (a programmed death-1 inhibitor) for the treatment of resectable locally advanced oral or oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LAOOPSCC).

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the sixth most common cancer worldwide, with over 700,000 new cases diagnosed annually. HPV-associated HNSCC patients generally respond well to standard therapies; however, about 15-20 % experience recurrence, while the rate is approximately 50 % in non-HPV-associated HNSCC. Identifying biomarkers for treatment failure is crucial for optimizing treatment strategies. Our lab's whole genome sequencing (WGS) data has identified NOTCH1 mutations as enriched in recurrent HPV-positive HNSCC cases. This study investigates whether NOTCH1 deletion confers treatment resistance in both HPV-positive and HPV-negative HNSCC models.

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) remains a therapeutic challenge owing to its marked heterogeneity and limited immunotherapy efficacy, underscoring the need for improved therapeutic strategies and preclinical systems supporting clinical translation.

This study aims to determine the optimal age cutoff for T1 papillary thyroid cancer (PTC), with a particular focus on the T1a and T1b subgroups.

The treatment of advanced-stage oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) often requires adjuvant radiotherapy to improve the survival rate. Accurately defining the clinical target volume (CTV) is critical for radiation treatment to maximize the radiation dose and minimize negative side effects. However, precise planning remains difficult because of postoperative anatomical changes, which may lead to oversized volumes with increased collateral damage to adjacent tissues. The aim of this study is to suggest a digital planning algorithm to improve the precision of CTV definition.

The learning curve for Transoral Robotic Surgery (TORS) in head and neck cancer (HNC) management remains incompletely characterized despite its increasing adoption. This systematic review evaluated the learning curves and required case volume for achieving proficiency and identified factors influencing the learning process.

The major risk factor for vermilion lip squamous cell carcinoma (vlSCC) is excessive sunlight exposure. Population-based studies on treatment and outcome are lacking.

CD103 intratumoral immune cell (ITIC) abundance in Human Papillomavirus associated Oropharyngeal Cancer (HPVOPC) primary tumors in patients treated with chemoradiation conveys an excellent prognosis, but data is lacking for nodal expression and surgical cohorts. High programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression predicts immunotherapy response, but its prognostic significance and correlation with CD103 expression in HPVOPC is unknown.

Overexpression of EGFR and MET occurs in a high proportion of recurrent and/or metastatic (R/M) head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Amivantamab, an EGFR-MET bispecific antibody with immune-cell directing activity, is approved in EGFR-mutated advanced non-small cell lung cancer and is being evaluated in phase 3 trials for other solid tumors. Cohort 1 of OrigAMI-4 (NCT06385080) enrolled adult participants with human papillomavirus-unrelated R/M HNSCC with disease progression on/after prior checkpoint inhibitor and platinum-based chemotherapy. Subcutaneous amivantamab was administered at 1600 mg (2240 mg for ≥ 80 kg body weight) on Cycle 1 Day 1 and 2400 mg (3360 mg for ≥ 80 kg body weight) thereafter. Primary end point was investigator-assessed objective response rate (ORR). As of July 1, 2025 (median follow-up, 3.5 months [range, 0-13.4]), 86 participants (median age, 63.5 years; 45 % Asian; 43 % White) received ≥ 1 dose of subcutaneous amivantamab. Subcutaneous amivantamab was well tolerated. Administration-related reactions were reported in 7 % (n = 6/86) of participants; no new safety signals were observed. In the efficacy population (n = 38; median follow-up, 8.3 months [range, 1.1-13.4]), confirmed ORR was 45 % (95 % CI, 29 %-62 %), median time to first response was 6.4 weeks (range, 5.7-18.3), and median duration of response was 7.2 months (95 % CI, 5.3-NE). The clinical benefit rate (responder or durable stable disease) was 76 % (95 % CI, 60 %-89 %). Median progression-free survival was 6.8 months (95 % CI, 4.2-9.0). Subcutaneous amivantamab as second-/third-line treatment among participants with R/M HNSCC demonstrated rapid and durable antitumor activity. The safety profile of subcutaneous amivantamab was consistent with previous studies.

We report our experience with resectable sinonasal squamous cell carcinoma (SNSCC) treated with pre-operative (preop-RT) or postoperative radiotherapy (postop-RT), focusing on oncologic outcomes and patient selection.

The objectives were to (1) conduct an electronic health records (EHRs) review of oropharyngeal cancer patients, (2) determine EHR stage documentation rates, and (3) compare staging accuracy within EHRs and by Cancer Center Coders.

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is characterized by frequentTP53mutations, which include gain-of-function (GOF) variants that drive tumor progression and chemoresistance. While genomic evidence across multiple specimens ranging from oral pre-malignant lesions (OPL) through invasive and metastatic HNSCC indicates that TP53 loss or mutation occurs relatively early in HNSCC carcinogenesis, it has been difficult to discern how mutation of this tumor suppressor drives further tumor cell evolution and influences the tumor microenvironment to drive tumor progression. To address this question, we generated an immortalized human oral keratinocyte (iHOK) cell line expressing wt TP53 as well as TP53 mutant forms to determine how mutations impact functional and genomic characteristics of HOKs that can in turn drive their evolution to neoplastic cells. We established a novel panel of iHOK cell lines harboring distinctTP53mutations, including the high-risk C238F variant. Key results revealed significant phenotypic and molecular divergence: high-risk lines exhibited enhanced invasiveness and chemoresistance compared to low-risk counterparts. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) linked high-risk mutations to pro-metastatic pathways and stress-response signatures, with the C238F line uniquely enriched for p53-related GOF mechanisms. Conversely, low-risk lines remained chemosensitive. These findings underscore the clinical relevance of mutation-specific iHOK models in determining the transcriptomic events that drive invasiveness and drug resistance and identify ways to intercept these phenotypes. By mirroring theTP53diversity observed in patient tumors, this cell line panel bridges a critical gap in head and neck carcinogenesis research, enabling mechanistic dissection of GOF phenotypes and preclinical evaluation of therapies in an array of TP53mutant cell models. Its significance lies in providing a validated, annotated resource that accelerates drug discovery and clarifies the role ofTP53mutational subtypes in HNSCC development and progression, offering a framework for future translational studies in genetically complex malignancies.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) status is a key prognostic factor in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), yet the precise immunological mechanisms and robust biomarkers for guiding personalized therapy remain elusive. This study aims to comprehensively delineate how HPV infection reprograms the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) and to develop a novel prognostic model for stratifying patient outcomes and therapeutic responses.