Survivorship for HPV+ Cancer Patients: A Population Requiring Personalized Care (2023 AMW)
2023 AAO-HNSF Annual Meeting & OTO Experience
There is an increasing incidence of head and neck cancer related to human papillomavirus (HPV). Patients with HPV mediated head and neck cancer tend to be younger and healthier than other head and neck cancer patients and have excellent survival outcomes. As such, there is a growing population of HPV positive cancer survivors. Current head and neck survivorship care guidelines include surveillance for cancer recurrence, early detection of second primary cancers, and management of late effects of treatment. These survivorship guidelines do not currently account for HPV status, which is associated with different epidemiology and patterns of recurrence. Furthermore, these patients’ younger age at time of diagnosis combined with improved oncologic outcomes result in increased need to address long term quality of life challenges. In this panel, we will review the unique needs of HPV positive patients during the post-treatment surveillance period. This will include a discussion of the different patterns of recurrence seen in this population, including late recurrences and metastases to rarer organs, as well as opportunities for salvage treatment. We will discuss emerging biomarkers that can be used for surveillance, early detection of recurrence, and how these assays might affect survival outcomes and quality of life. Finally, we will review assessment and management of late effects of treatment including hypothyroidism, dysphagia, velopharyngeal dysfunction, trismus and osteoradionecrosis.
Credits
CME:1.0, MOC:1.0