American Head & Neck Society

Advancing Education, Research, and Quality of Care for the Head and Neck oncology patient.

  • About
    • Mission Statement and Purpose
    • Divisions & Services of the Society
      • Education
        • Scientific Program/Resident Courses
        • Surgical Videos
        • Journal Club
        • Journals
        • Global Outreach
        • Awards
          • Margaret F. Butler Award
      • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Division
      • Patient Care
        • Cancer Survivorship
          • Patient Education on Post-Treatment Care
          • Interviews with Cancer Survivors
        • Cancer Prevention
          • SLIDE DECK: HPV-Related Oropharyngeal Cancer
        • Guidelines/Position Statements
        • Find-A-Physician
      • Research
        • Grant Information
        • Clinical Trial
        • Tissue Banks
      • Administrative Division
        • AHNS Process for Evaluating Projects Requiring Funding
    • Leadership
    • History
      • Society Background
      • AHNS History Interviews
      • Past Presidents
      • In Memory
    • AHNS Newsletter
    • Professionalism & Ethics
    • AHNS Policies and Procedures (P&P) Manual
    • AHNS Foundation
    • AHNS Bylaws
    • AHNS Staff
    • AHNS News and Announcements
    • COVID-19 Bulletin Board
  • Heads Up!
  • Post a Job
  • Meetings
    • AHNS Virtual Education Series
      • TORS Webinar Series
    • AHNS Meetings Info
    • AHNS Call For Abstracts
    • Past Meetings
    • Related Meetings
  • For Patients
  • For Trainees
    • Fellowship Curriculum for FY2024-2025
      • For Current AHNS Fellows
      • Certificate of Completion Request
    • Accredited Fellowships
      • Directory of Fellowships
      • AHNS Fellowship Match
      • Fellowship Curriculum
      • Fellowship Graduates
      • For Program Directors
    • AHNS Surgical Videos
    • Fellows’ Virtual Tumor Boards
    • Cutaneous Cancer
  • Sections
    • Endocrine Surgery
    • Skull Base Surgery Section
    • Reconstructive Head & Neck Surgery
      • Head and Neck Reconstruction- Information for Patients
    • Mucosal Malignancy Section
      • Mucosal Malignancy Section Patient Information
    • Salivary Gland Section
      • Salivary Gland Section Patient Education Handout: Parotidectomy
    • Cutaneous Cancer
  • Find-A-Physician
  • Member Central
    • Join AHNS
    • Find-A-Physician
    • Mailing List Order
  • Login
    • Password Reset
  • Donate

Published on August 6, 2014 by AHNS Webmaster

AHNS Response to USPSTF Oral Cancer Recommendation

August 5, 2014

AHNS Response to USPSTF recommendation for screening of oral and oropharyngeal cancer

The AHNS is in agreement with the recent statement by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force regarding screening for oral cancer. The USPSTF “found no new good-quality evidence that screening for oral cancer leads to improved health outcomes for either high-risk adults (i.e., those over the age of 50 who use tobacco) or for average-risk adults in the general population… There is also no new evidence for the harms of screening. As a result, the USPSTF could not determine the balance between benefits and harms of screening for oral cancer.” (http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/3rduspstf/oralcan/oralcanrs.htm)

Current research regarding screening for head and neck cancers has focused on screening for oral cancers and oropharyngeal cancers. Oral cancers are located in the mouth, tongue, lips, gums, inside the cheek, and hard palate, and are often associated with smoking and alcohol use. Oropharyngeal cancers are cancers of the back or base of the tongue and tonsils, and are associated high risk human papilloma virus (HPV) and marijuana use, as well as smoking and alcohol use.1

In addition to this recent USPSTF recommendation, the AHNS supports the routine physical exam screening for oral and oropharyngeal cancers in a primary care setting as a part of routine examination. This performance of an oral and oropharyngeal physical examination and screening for disease is a part of a routine standard exam for primary dental and medical providers. The current standard of care examination represents ongoing opportunistic screening that may allow detection of early stage disease and may decrease oral and oropharyngeal cancer morbidity and mortality.2 Furthermore, the AHNS advocates the performance of a comprehensive oral and head and neck exam, particularly in symptomatic or at risk indviduals as the best known method of detecting oral and oropharyngeal cancers.

Secondly, the dramatic increase in incidence of HPV associated oropharyngeal cancers is evidence of an emerging epidemic. Primary prevention of HPV infection through vaccination has been shown to have an efficacy of 91-98% against persistent HPV 16/18 infection and the development of premalignant lesions in the cervix. Current FDA recommendations include use of the HPV vaccine for males age 9-26 years for genital wart prevention, but the efficacy of this vaccine for prevention of oropharyngeal cancer is undetermined. However, a recent randomized controlled trial of HPV vaccination in Costa Rica demonstrated a 93.3% vaccine efficacy when compared to the control

group at preventing persistent oral infection.3 The AHNS supports HPV vaccination of both sexes as approved by the FDA and actively supports efforts to improve vaccination rates in the US population.
Screening campaigns are not only important for disease detection but also for educating patients about the risk factors, and early signs and symptoms for head and neck cancer. Although smoking and alcohol are known risk factors, public awareness with regards to smokeless tobacco and HPV risk factors including marijuana use are very low. Hence, the AHNS supports screening campaigns for head and neck cancer in part for their additional educational value.
The AHNS also finds no new good quality definitive evidence supporting population based screening for other head and neck cancers in asymptomatic, otherwise healthy individuals by physical examination, laboratory, imaging, or other testing modalities. The AHNS agrees with the USPSTF analysis that the use of salivary HPV DNA detection assays to screen for oropharyngeal cancer in asymptomatic otherwise healthy individuals is not supported, given the high rate of salivary HPV DNA detection in the general population.4

Finally the AHNS concurs that there is a significant knowledge gap regarding useful screening techniques for tobacco and HPV related oral and oropharynx cancers including physical exam based and adjunctive tests. The AHNS supports additional research and resources dedicating to eliminating these knowledge gaps.

  1. Gillison ML(1), D’Souza G, Westra W, Sugar E, Xiao W, Begum S, Viscidi R J Natl Cancer Inst. 2008 Mar 19;100(6):407-20. Distinct risk factor profiles for human papillomavirus type 16-positive and humanpapillomavirus type 16-negative head and neck cancers.
  2. Speight PM, Palmer S, Moles DR, et al. The cost-effectiveness of screening for oral cancer in primary care. Health Technology Assessment. 2006;10(14):1-144.\
  3. Herrero R, Quint W, Hildesheim A, Gonzalez P, Struijk L, Katki HA, Porras C,
    Schiffman M, Rodriguez AC, Solomon D, Jimenez S, Schiller JT, Lowy DR, van Doorn LJ, Wacholder S, Kreimer AR; CVT Vaccine Group. Reduced prevalence of oral human papillomavirus (HPV) 4 years after bivalent HPV vaccination in a randomized clinical trial in Costa Rica. PLoS One. 2013 Jul 17;8(7):e68329. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0068329. Print 2013.
  4. Gillison et al. JAMA. 2012 Feb 15;307(7):693-703.doi:10.1001/jama.2012.101. Epub 2012 Jan 26 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22282321

Published on January 22, 2014 by AHNS Webmaster

Attention AHNS Active Members:

The 2014 Applicant list is ready for your review

Click here to view the list »

Following is a list of AHNS applicants for the 2014 membership cycle. Active members of the Society may elect to comment on a particular applicant.
Comments may be provided in writing from January 21 to March 21, 2014. Please email comments to: [email protected] or fax (310) 437-0585.

Published on February 27, 2012 by AHNS Webmaster

AHNS Quality of Care Statement

AHNS Quality of Care Article


The Prevention Committee has posted a position statement on Screening for Head and Neck Cancer located here.


FUTURE AND RELATED MEETINGS

  • New conferences have been added to our related meetings page.

MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION

  • Applications are now being accepted for consideration in 2013. The deadline for all required documents for 2013 is October 31, 2012. For more membership application information, please click here.
  • Members may order a membership certificate using this form (Active, Corresponding, and Associate members only).

ATTENTION: AHNS ACTIVE MEMBERS
2012 APPLICANT LIST FOR YOUR REVIEW »

Following is a list of AHNS applicants for the 2012 membership cycle. Active members of the Society may elect to comment on a particular applicant.
Comments may be provided in writing from January 9 – March 9, 2012.
Click here for 2012 list.


FOUNDATION AND CORPORATE INFORMATION

  • The AHNS Research and Education Foundation is accepting pledges and donations online.
    Read about the Foundation and send your pledge in here »
  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24

News and Announcements

  • AHNS Webinar Tomorrow! Genomics in Head and Neck Surgery June 24, 2025
  • KN689 Infographic June 9, 2025
  • Immunotherapy in Mucosal HNSCC: Key Takeaways from the AHNS Webinar June 4, 2025
  • World No Tobacco Day May 31, 2025
  • Journal Club May 2025 hosted by the Cutaneous Cancer Section for Skin Cancer Awareness Month May 23, 2025

AHNS Meetings and Events

AHNS Meetings and Events

AHNS 2026 International Conference on Head and Neck Cancer
July 18-22, 2026
Boston Convention and Exhibition Center
Boston, MA

learn more...

Contact Us

AHNS, 11300 W. Olympic Blvd, Suite 600
Los Angeles, CA 90064
ph: (310) 437-0559 / fx: (310) 437-0585
[email protected]

Welcome to the AHNS Virtual Repository of Scientific Research

Sections

  • Virtual Repository of Scientific Resources
  • Cell Lines Browse and Search
  • Omics Browse and Search
  • Patient Derived Xenografts Browse and Search
  • Plasmids Browse and Search
  • Pre-Clinical Models Browse and Search
  • Transferable Expertise Browse and Search
  • Transgenic Mice Browse and Search

© 2002–2025 American Head and Neck Society · Privacy and Return Policy
· Managed by BSC Management, Inc