title: Value considerations in the treatment of head and neck cancer: radiation, chemotherapy, and supportive care.
abstract: The management of head and neck cancer has advanced in many areas, including but not limited to diagnostic imaging and response assessment, radiation delivery, surgical approaches, combined-modality therapy, as well as new drug discovery. These advances have become widely used, however, the associated improvements in outcomes of interest compared with other options may at times be modest in magnitude or supported by limited data. In addition, the price tag of these advancements is often high. There is a growing mandate to look at existing data to identify insights into how to improve the value of care and to better understand the comparative effectiveness of one intervention versus another with regard to tumor control, quality of life, and other important outcomes; such insights become particularly important when considerable disparities exist in related costs. We review selected issues in radiotherapy, chemotherapy and supportive care applicable to the management of head and neck cancer and relevant to ascertaining the value of care.
authors.affiliation: From the Head and Neck Oncology Service, Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY; Department of Medicine, Weil Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY; Department of Radiation Oncology, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: Shrujal S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Baxi
authors.affiliation: From the Head and Neck Oncology Service, Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY; Department of Medicine, Weil Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY; Department of Radiation Oncology, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Sher
authors.affiliation: From the Head and Neck Oncology Service, Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY; Department of Medicine, Weil Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY; Department of Radiation Oncology, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: David G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Pfister
mesh_terms: D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D059248:Chemoradiotherapy / Q000379:methods; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D006801:Humans; D061766:Proton Therapy; D011788:Quality of Life; D050397:Radiotherapy, Intensity-Modulated / Q000191:economics