Clinical Research

The creation of new and better ways to treat cancers of the head and neck is one of the program's most important goals. As a result, program staff meet weekly to evaluate patient profiles, review treatment plans, and discuss new developments in clinical and basic research. The close relationship among the program's participating institutions ensures that the latest research findings are translated into clinical results and practice-management guidelines as quickly as possible.

Physicians and researchers within the program have already broken new ground in improving the efficacy of treatment while retaining function and appearance. These initiatives have led to advances in areas such as:

• the use of chemotherapy and radiation with limited surgery to preserve speech or swallowing (organ preservation)
• hyperfractionated radiation therapy
• tissue transfers
• cranial-base imaging and surgery
• PET scanning
• gene therapy

Patients have access not only to studies developed by researchers within the Harvard Head and Neck Oncology Program, but also to those developed by specialists at other U.S. medical centers through national collaborative groups.