Head and Neck Cancer: A Review of the Impact of Treatment Delay on Outcome

Andrés Coca-Pelaz; Robert P Takes; Kate Hutcheson; Nabil F Saba; Missak Haigentz Jr; Carol R Bradford; Remco de Bree; Primož Strojan; Valerie J Lund; William M Mendenhall; Iain J Nixon; Miquel Quer; Alessandra Rinaldo; Alfio Ferlito

doi:10.1007/s12325-018-0663-7

Head and Neck Cancer: A Review of the Impact of Treatment Delay on Outcome

Adv Ther. 2018 Feb;35(2):153-160. doi: 10.1007/s12325-018-0663-7. Epub 2018 Feb 2.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Otolaryngology, Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias, Oviedo, Spain. [email protected].
² Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
³ Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Section of Speech Pathology and Audiology, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.
⁴ Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, The Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
⁵ Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, Morristown Medical Center/Atlantic Health System, Morristown, NJ, USA.
⁶ Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
⁷ Department of Head and Neck Surgical Oncology, UMC Utrecht Cancer Center, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
⁸ Department of Radiation Oncology, Institute of Oncology, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
⁹ Professorial Unit, Ear Institute, University College London, London, UK.
¹⁰ Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
¹¹ Department of Surgery and Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Edinburgh University, Edinburgh, UK.
¹² Department of Otolaryngology, Hospital Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain.
¹³ University of Udine School of Medicine, Udine, Italy.
¹⁴ Coordinator of the International Head and Neck Scientific Group, Padua, Italy.

PMID: 29396681
DOI: 10.1007/s12325-018-0663-7

Abstract

Delay between the initial symptoms, diagnosis, and the definitive treatment of head and neck cancers is associated with tumor progression and upstaging. These delays may lead to poor outcomes and may mandate more aggressive treatments with unnecessary morbidity and even mortality. The multidisciplinary team approach for the treatment of patients with head and neck cancers has improved organization of standard clinical guidelines, but this development has yet to translate into a demonstrable impact on survival. We review the association between waiting times (time between diagnosis and initiation of treatment) and clinical outcomes in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).

Keywords: Head and neck cancer; Oncology; Prognosis; Survival; Treatment; Waiting time.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Patient Care Team
Practice Guidelines as Topic
Prognosis
Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck / diagnosis*
Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck / pathology
Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck / therapy*
Time-to-Treatment / statistics & numerical data*
Treatment Outcome