Submission Rules

The program committee will be responsible for selecting oral and poster presentations. Oral presentations will be presented throughout the main scientific session and a short video may be incorporated into an oral podium presentation. Accepted abstracts will be published in the Final Program.

• No Previously Presented Submissions (Encore Abstracts): The abstract submitted must present original work that has not and will not be presented prior to the AHNS 12^th Annual International Conference for Head and Neck Cancer. Presentations at investigators' own institution, or at local meetings are exempt from this rule.
• No Previously Published Submissions/No Submissions Under Consideration For Publication: The abstract submitted must present original work that has not and will not be published or presented prior to the AHNS 12^th Annual International Conference for Head and Neck Cancer, and is not currently under review for publication. Manuscripts may not be submitted to any journals for consideration until after AHNS abstract acceptance notification. If the manuscript has been submitted to any journal prior to AHNS abstract acceptance notifications, the Abstract Submitter, Presenter and Senior Author will forfeit the privilege to submit, present, or be listed as an author on abstracts for the 2027 and 2028 AHNS Annual Meetings.
• Trials in Progress and Case Reports may be submitted
• Abstract submissions are limited to 500 words or less.
• Images are allowed with abstract submissions. Images must be no larger than 1MB in file size, and no larger than 900x900 pixels.
• No reference to the authors or the institution should appear within the body of the abstract or in the abstract title.
• Abstracts can be edited until the submission site closes. After the submission site closes and the abstracts go into review, the content of the abstracts may not be edited in any way. Please make sure to proof read and double check your abstracts before submission. In addition, AHNS cannot update the content/text of your abstract to include new/updated data after acceptance notifications, although you will be allowed to include these updated findings in your actual presentation.

• Artificial Intelligence
• Behavioral Health
• Cancer Biology
• Cancer Engineering / Technology
• Care Delivery Innovation
• Education / Care Delivery
• Endocrine Surgery
• Functional Outcomes / Quality
• Hypopharynx / Larynx
• Imaging and Screening
• Immunotherapy / Systemic Therapy
• Nasopharynx / Paranasal Sinus / Skull Base
• Oral Cavity
• Oropharynx / HPV Related Disease
• Precision Medicine
• Radiation / Adjuvant Treatment
• Reconstruction / Microvascular Surgery
• Salivary Gland
• Skin Cancer
• Survivorship
• Translational Research/Science

AHNS AI Policy and Guidelines

Integrity

Ensuring data and research integrity should be a central consideration when using AI-based tools for scientific writing intended for publication.

• Authors of a manuscript are responsible for the accuracy, integrity, and originality of the work, and as such, chatbots or other AI-assisted technologies should not be listed as authors.
• Authors should carefully review and edit all materials produced through the use of AI, to prevent the submission of incorrect, incomplete, or biased content.
• Authors should be able to assert that there is no plagiarism of text or images in materials produced by AI. Authors must ensure that all quoted material is properly attributed, including full citations.

Transparency

Use of AI in abstract submission should be disclosed and detailed in its method of use

Authors must disclose at the time of submission as to whether AI-assisted technologies (such as large language models, or generative image models) were used to produce the submitted work. If so, the submitted work should include a description of the technologies used and what was produced. Examples of what to include in the brief description are below:

• Name of the AI tool or software platform (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini)
• Version/extension numbers (if available)
• Developer/manufacturer (e.g., OpenAI, Google, Anthropic)
• Date(s) of use
• Scope of use (e.g., drafting, statistical analysis, image editing)
• Confirmation that the author(s) take responsibility for the integrity of the content generated

Note this guidance does not apply to basic tools for checking grammar, spelling, references, and similar.

Reproducibility

AI output in research or abstract submission should be reproducible

• AI-assisted abstracts should provide the AI workflows including prompts, code, datasets, and model parameters, when possible.
• Authors should use version control and maintain detailed records of AI configurations used for submissions.

Prohibited practices

The following uses of AI are prohibited in abstract submission

• De novo generation of abstract material using generative AI platforms.
• AI-generated hypotheses or conclusions without human oversight
• The use of AI to manipulate or falsify data
• The use of AI generated code for data analysis without secondary validation
• Citation of AI-generated material as a primary source is not acceptable.

AHNS Policy on Owner/Employee of Ineligible Companies

The ACCME states 'the owners and employees of ineligible companies are considered to have unresolvable financial relationships and must be excluded from participating as planners or faculty, and must not be allowed to influence or control any aspect of the planning, delivery, or evaluation of accredited continuing education.' Therefore, AHNS declares that no employees/owners of an ineligible company may present in AHNS CME accredited sessions.

Please contact [email protected] with any questions regarding AHNS Policy on Owner/Employee of Ineligible Companies.

AWARDS

Authors are invited to compete for one of the following awards. Only abstracts selected for Podium Presentation will be eligible for awards.

• Robert Maxwell Byers Award in the amount of $1,000 US for the best clinical research paper submitted to the meeting
• Randal Weber, MD Award for Quality, Safety and Value in Head and Neck Oncology in the amount of $1000 for the best paper submitted to the meeting in these areas of academic/clinical interest
• Best Resident Basic Science Research Paper in the amount of $500 US. Only residents in training can compete for this award and must attest that he/she performed at least 80% of the work
• Best Resident Clinical Paper in the amount of $500 US. Only residents in training can compete for this award and must attest that he/she performed at least 80% of the work
• Best Prevention and Early Detection Papers in the amount of $500 US for first place and $250 for second place

To be considered for the awards noted above, you must submit a completed manuscript to the AHNS Office by Friday, May 15, 2026 to be eligible. Only previously unpublished manuscripts will be considered for awards. More details and instructions on manuscript submission for awards consideration will be sent out with Podium acceptance notifications in March 2026.

(Please Note: Submitting a manuscript to AHNS for award eligibility is unrelated to submitting a manuscript to the AHNS-affiliated journal.)

Contact Information

If you have any questions, please contact the AHNS office:

Email: [email protected]
Phone: 310-437-0559 (ext. 118)