A Review of Controversial Issues in the Management of Head and Neck Cancer: A Swiss Multidisciplinary and Multi-Institutional Patterns of Care Study-Part 3 (Medical Oncology)

Marco Siano; Pavel Dulguerov; Martina A Broglie; Guido Henke; Paul Martin Putora; Christian Simon; Daniel Zwahlen; Gerhard F Huber; Giorgio Ballerini; Lorenza Beffa; Roland Giger; Sacha Rothschild; Sandro V Negri; Olgun Elicin

doi:10.3389/fonc.2019.01127

A Review of Controversial Issues in the Management of Head and Neck Cancer: A Swiss Multidisciplinary and Multi-Institutional Patterns of Care Study-Part 3 (Medical Oncology)

Front Oncol. 2019 Oct 24:9:1127. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2019.01127. eCollection 2019.

Authors

Marco Siano^{1

2}, Pavel Dulguerov³, Martina A Broglie^{4

5}, Guido Henke⁶, Paul Martin Putora^{6

7}, Christian Simon⁸, Daniel Zwahlen^{9

10}, Gerhard F Huber^{4

5}, Giorgio Ballerini¹¹, Lorenza Beffa¹², Roland Giger¹³, Sacha Rothschild¹⁴, Sandro V Negri¹⁵, Olgun Elicin⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medical Oncology, Cantonal Hospital St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland.
² Department of Medical Oncology, Hôpital Riviera-Chablais, Vevey, Switzerland.
³ Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Geneva University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland.
⁴ Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Cantonal Hospital St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland.
⁵ Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
⁶ Department of Radiation Oncology, Cantonal Hospital St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland.
⁷ Department of Radiation Oncology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
⁸ Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
⁹ Department of Radiation Oncology, Cantonal Hospital Graubünden, Chur, Switzerland.
¹⁰ Department of Radiation Oncology, Cantonal Hospital of Winterthur, Winterthur, Switzerland.
¹¹ Department of Radiation Oncology, Clinica Luganese SA, Lugano, Switzerland.
¹² Department of Radiation Oncology, Cantonal Hospital Lucerne, Lucerne, Switzerland.
¹³ Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland.
¹⁴ Department of Medical Oncology, University Hospital of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
¹⁵ Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Lindenhofspital, Bern, Switzerland.

Abstract

Background: The Head and Neck Cancer Working Group of Swiss Group for Clinical Cancer Research (SAKK) has investigated the level of consensus (LOC) and discrepancy in everyday practice of diagnosis and treatment in head and neck cancer. Materials and Methods: An online survey was iteratively generated with 10 Swiss university and teaching hospitals. LOC below 50% was defined as no agreement, while higher LOC were arbitrarily categorized as low (51-74%), moderate (75-84%), and high (≥85%). Results: Any LOC was achieved in 62% of topics (n = 60). High, moderate, and low LOC were found in 18, 20, and 23%, respectively. Regarding Head and Neck Surgery, Radiation Oncology, Medical Oncology, and biomarkers, LOC was achieved in 50, 57, 83, and 43%, respectively. Conclusions: Consensus on clinical topics is rather low for surgeons and radiation oncologists. The questions discussed might highlight discrepancies, stimulate standardization of practice, and prioritize topics for future clinical research.

Keywords: consensus; head and neck cancer; patterns of care; practice patterns; survey.