Indian clinical practice consensus guidelines for the management of squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck
Kumar Prabhash, Govind Babu, Pankaj Chaturvedi, Moni Abraham Kuriakose, Praveen Birur, Anil Kumar Anand, Ashish Kaushal, Abhishek Mahajan, Judita Syiemlieh, Manish Singhal, Munish Gairola, Prakash Ramachandra, Sumit Goyal, Subashini John, Rohit Nayyar, Vijay Patil, Vishal Rao, Vikas Roshan, Goura Kishor Rath
Abstract
Head and neck cancers (HNCs) are malignant tumors of the upper aerodigestive tract and are the sixth most common cancer worldwide. In India, around 30-40% of all cancers are HNCs. Even though there are global guidelines or recommendations for the management of HNCs, these may not be appropriate for Indian scenarios. In an effort to discuss current practices, latest developments and to come to a consensus to recommend management strategies for different anatomical subsites of HNCs for Indian patients, a group of experts (medical, surgical and radiation oncologists and dentists) was formed. A review of literature from medical databases was conducted to provide the best possible evidence base, which was reviewed by experts during a consensus group meeting (January, 2019) to provide recommendations.