Head and neck cancer accounts for only 4% of all cancers in the United States, but it continues to be a challenging disease with a high mortality rate.1 The majority of patients with head and neck cancer present with locally advanced disease, and local recurrence and development of metastatic disease are seen in up to 60% of these patients.2,3 In the past, those with unresectable local disease have been treated with radiotherapy alone. Treatment has evolved, however, first with chemoradiotherapy becoming the standard of care, and now with data supporting the use of combination induction chemotherapy prior to radiotherapy.3,4 This program will review the most recent clinical trial data in the treatment of advanced head and neck cancer and discuss ongoing trials and future treatment directions in an engaging case-based format.
This educational series will provide the latest clinical trial information and treatment guidelines for the management of some of the more challenging and prevalent advanced cancer types, including head & neck, gastric, non-small-cell-lung, prostate, and breast cancer. This educational program is intended for community oncologists and oncology nurses in order to provide their patients with the best care available.
1. Shaha A, Patel S. Head and Neck Cancer. In: Lenhard R, Osteen R, Gansler T, editors. Clinical Oncology.Atlanta: American Cancer Society; 2001.
2. Forastiere A, Koch W, Trotti A, Sidransky D. Head and neck cancer. N Engl J Med 2001 December 27;345(26):1890-900.
3. Posner MR. Paradigm shift in the treatment of head and neck cancer: the role of neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Oncologist 2005;10 Suppl 3:11-9.
4. Haddad R, Wirth L, Posner M. Emerging drugs for head and neck cancer. Expert Opin Emerg Drugs 2006 September;11(3):461-7.
Target Audience
This educational program is intended for community oncologists and oncology nurses.
Learning Objectives
At the conclusion of these activities participants should be able to:
- Assess the safety and efficacy of currently used chemotherapeutic regimens
- Evaluate the results of recent clinical trials and describe the schema for ongoing clinical trials
- Explore emerging treatment options for metastatic disease in some of the more challenging and prevalent types of advanced malignancies
- Discuss therapeutic decisions in a variety of case presentations in the treatment of solid metastatic tumors
- Determine the appropriate uses of traditional cytotoxic drugs and for targeted therapies in the treatment of advanced disease
The Potomac Center for Medical Education is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
The Potomac Center for Medical Education designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1.25 AMA PRA Category I credit(s)™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Physicians have the opportunity to earn up to 6.25 AMA PRA Category I credit(s)™ by completing this series.
Anthony J. Jannetti, Inc. (AJJ) is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Commission on Accreditation.
Educational design through the joint sponsorship of Anthony J. Jannetti, Inc. and Potomac Center for Medical Education.
Anthony J. Jannetti, Inc. designates this program for 1.25 CE contact hours. Participants should claim only those contact hours actually spent in the educational activity.
Dr. Marshall Posner is an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, and medical director of the Head and Neck Oncology Program at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and director of the Human Monoclonal Antibody Laboratory of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, both in Boston, Massachusetts. He also serves on the active staff of the divisions of hematology/oncology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Brigham and Women's Hospital, in Boston, and in the Department of Adult Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Dr. Posner received his MD from Tufts University School of Medicine, and completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at Boston City Hospital and a fellowship in medical oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
He is a member of the editorial board of several journals, including the Journal of Clinical Oncology, American Journal of Clinical Oncology, Oral Oncology, and Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology, and he serves as an ad hoc reviewer for, among others, The New England Journal of Medicine, Cancer, Journal of Immunology, Cancer Research, British Journal of Cancer, and Oncology. He has published over 160 peer-reviewed basic laboratory and clinical studies, as well as multiple reviews and abstracts.
Dr. Posner is a member of the National Institutes of Health Review Committees for the NIH Inter-Institute Program and the Specialized Programs of Research Excellence in Human Cancer, Head & Neck Cancer, and of the National Cancer Institute's Special Emphasis Panel for phase II Contracts. Dr. Posner has also been the principal investigator on numerous clinical and translational research trials as well as multiple phase 1 and 2 trials.
Ezra E.W. Cohen, MD is Assistant Professor of Medicine and Associate Director of the Head and Neck Cancer Program in the Section of Hematology/Oncology at the University of Chicago. He earned his bachelor's in psychology from the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, and his medical doctorate from the University of Toronto Medical School.
Dr. Cohen's specialties include medical oncology, upper aerodigestive tract malignancies, novel therapeutics, and signaling in head and neck cancer. He is a member of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, the American Association for Cancer Research, and the American Society of Clinical Oncology. He serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Clinical Oncology and has authored numerous journal articles, abstracts, and book chapters.
Everett E. Vokes, MD is Director of the Section of Hematology/Oncology and Deputy Director of the Cancer Research Center at the University of Chicago Medical Center in Chicago, IL. He also is the John E. Ultmann Professor of Medicine, Radiation, and Cellular Oncology, Director of the Head and Neck Oncology Program, and Vice-Chairman for Clinical Research in the Department of Medicine at the University of Chicago. Dr. Vokes earned his medical doctorate from the University of Bonn Medical School, West Germany. He began his residency in internal medicine at the Ravenswood Hospital in Chicago, IL, and completed it at the University of Southern California-Los Angeles County Hospital in Los Angeles, CA. He also completed a fellowship in hematology/oncology at the University of Chicago.
Named to several 2006 "Top Doctors" lists, including Chicago Magazine, Best Doctors Inc., and the Castle Connolly Medical Ltd. Premier Edition of America's Top Doctors, Dr. Vokes has authored more than 500 peer-reviewed journal articles.
Potomac Center for Medical Education (PCME) adheres to guidelines of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) and all other professional organizations, as applicable, stating those activities where continuing education credits are awarded must be balanced, independent, objective, and scientifically rigorous.
All faculty in a position to control the content of a continuing medical education program sponsored by the Potomac Center for Medical Education are required to disclose any relevant financial relationships with any commercial interest. All conflicts are identified and resolved by PCME in advance of delivery of the activity to learners.
Marshall R. Posner, MD
Honoraria:
- Amgen
- Bristol-Myers Squibb
- Sanofi-Aventis
Clinical Research:
- Amgen
- AstraZeneca
- Bristol-Myers Squibb
- Genentech
- MedImmune
- Millennium Pharmaceuticals
- National Cancer Institute
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
- OSI Pharmaceuticals
- Sanofi-Aventis
- Viventia Biotech
Consultant:
- Allos Therapeutics
- Amgen
- BioVex
- Bristol-Myers Squibb
- Boehringer Ingelheim
- GlaxoSmithKline
- Idera Pharmaceuticals
- ImClone
- Millenix
- National Cancer Institute
- Oxigene
- PharmArray
- Polaris
- Sanofi-Aventis
Ezra E.W. Cohen, MD
No significant financial relationships to disclose.
Everett E. Vokes, MD
Speaker:
- AstraZeneca
- Bristol-Myers Squibb
- Genentech
- ImClone
- OSI Pharmaceuticals
- Sanofi-Aventis
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