New imaging guidelines for head and neck cancers pave the way for more tailored and less invasive treatment options for patients.
- New research published in The Lancet Oncology introduces imaging guidelines that can help determine the aggressiveness of head and neck cancers, leading to tailored therapies that are less invasive.
- The study, involving experts from 29 countries, focuses on the shift towards using imaging techniques like CT, PET, and MRI to guide treatment decisions, choosing radiation therapy over surgery in certain cases.
- Patients with HPV-related head and neck cancers can benefit from minimally invasive surgeries or radiation treatment due to better treatment response compared to tobacco-related cancers.
- Identifying extranodal extension through imaging tests can help avoid unnecessary surgeries and direct patients towards radiation and chemotherapy, resulting in equivalent outcomes with fewer side effects.
- The guidelines developed in the study will influence future staging protocols for head and neck cancers and play a crucial role in informing clinical trials for recurrent/metastatic head and neck cancers to establish standardized definitions of endpoints.
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Oncology,Radiology