Salvage of locoregionally recurrent head and neck cancer: an NRG oncology working group review.

Ward, Matthew C; Kang, Jung Julie; Saba, Nabil F; Campbell, Shauna R; Akhave, Neal S; Chang, Steven S; Spencer, Sharon A; Spreafico, Anna et al. · J Natl Cancer Inst · 2026

review · Level V

Where this comes from

Abstract

Despite decades of progress in the treatment of head and neck cancer, recurrence and second primary cancers continue to occur. The management of non-metastatic, locoregionally recurrent or second primary cancers is a complex multidisciplinary challenge that often occurs without guidance from robust clinical trials. In 2023, the NRG Oncology cooperative group created the Recurrent and Metastatic Working Group with the express directive to investigate how resources could optimally address the key questions for the recurrent and metastatic populations. Here, we present our view of the state of the science and present considerations for future investigations.