Schedule of Events

Preview the 2026 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancers Symposium schedule.
 

February 18, 2026
4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Registration Open
February 19, 2026
7:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Registration Open
7:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. Continental Breakfast
Sinatra Ballroom Foyer
7:50 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. Day One Welcome
Sinatra Ballroom 1-8

Speaker: Julie Bauman, MD, MPH, George Washington Cancer Center, Washington, DC [M]
8:00 a.m. - 8:20 a.m. Patient Perspective
Sinatra Ballroom 1-8

Speaker: Hector Rojas [Patient Speaker]
8:20 a.m. - 9:50 a.m. Session I: HPV-Negative Head and Neck Cancer: The Next Frontier
Sinatra Ballroom 1-8

Moderator: Maie St. John, MD, PhD, University of California, Los Angeles [S]
  • Incorporating Checkpoint Inhibitors into the Perioperative Management of Locally Advanced Head and Neck Cancer
    • Robert Haddad, MD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston [M]
  • Post-operative Management of Locoregionally Advance HPV(-) Head and Neck Cancer
    • Quynh-Thu Le, MD, FASTRO, Stanford Medicine, Stanford, California [R]
  • HPV Negative Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Lots of Scientific Progress-Limited Improvement in Clinical Outcomes
    • Jeffrey Myers, MD, PhD, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston [S]
  • Q&A
9:50 a.m. - 10:35 a.m. Keynote I: Neoadjuvant Immunotherapy: A Road to Progress - How Far Can It Take Us?
Sinatra Ballroom 1-8

Moderator: Dan Zandberg, MD, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh [M]

Speaker: Sana Karam, MD, PhD, Washington University, St. Louis [R]
10:35 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Coffee Break and Poster Browsing
Springs Ballroom
11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Session II: Burning Issues with Head and Neck Cutaneous Oncology
Sinatra Ballroom 1-8

Moderator: Kelly Malloy, MD, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan [S]
  • Role of Sentinel Node Biopsy in Cutaneous Malignancy: Current Evidence and Shared Decision Making
    • Kevin Emerick, MD, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston [S]
  • Adjuvant Immunoncology Approaches for Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma in 2025
    • Danny Rischin, MD, Peter MacCallum Cancer Center, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia [M]
  • Response-adpative Surgery for Cutaneous Malignancies: What is the Evidence?
  • Evolving Role of Radiation Therapy in Cutaneous Oncology
    • Shlomo Koyfman, MD, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland [R]
12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. Lunch and Poster Browsing
Springs Ballroom and Terrace

Early Career and Trainee Networking Luncheon: Choosing Your Career Path
Santa Rosa Ballroom
  • Musaddiq Awan, MD, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin [R]
  • Julie Bauman, MD, MPH, George Washington Cancer Center, Washington, DC [M]
  • Michael Moore, MD, Indiana University, Indianapolis [S]
1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. K. Kian Ang, MD, PhD, FASTRO, Commemorative Plenary Session
Sinatra Ballroom 1-8
3:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Coffee Break and Poster Session I
Springs Ballroom
3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Session III: New Advances and Contemporary Management of Recurrent/Metastatic Head and Neck Cancer
Sinatra Ballroom

Moderator: C. Jillian Tsai, MD, PhD, MS, Princess Margaret Cancer Center, Toronto, Ontario, Canada [R]
  • Integrating New Re-irradiation Paradigms into the Evolving World of Recurrent/Metastatic HNSCC
    • Nadeem Riaz, MD, MS, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York [R]
  • Rethinking Resectability with Modern Chemotherapy/Immunotherapy for Recurrent/Metastatic Head and Neck Cancer
    • John de Almeida, MD, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada [S]
  • Emerging Therapeutics in Recurrent/Metastatic HPV Negative HNSCC
    • Paul Swiecicki, MD, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan [M]
  • Q&A
4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. Poster Session II and Networking Hour
Springs Ballroom
February 20, 2026
7:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Registration Open
7:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. Continental Breakfast and Poster Browsing
Springs Ballroom and Terrace
7:55 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. Day Two Welcome
Sinatra Ballroom 1-8

Speaker: Maie St. John, MD, PhD, University of California, Los Angeles [S]
8:00 a.m. - 8:20 a.m. Patient Perspective
Sinatra Ballroom 1-8
8:20 a.m. - 9:40 a.m. Session IV: Going Viral: Leveraging Emerging Data for the Treatment of HPV and EBC-related Head and Neck Cancers
Sinatra Ballroom 1-8

Moderator: Musaddiq Awan, MD, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin [R]

Speakers:
Nancy Lee, MD, FASTRO, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York [R]
Carole Fakhry, MD, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore [S]
Keiko Akagi, PhD, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston [M]
9:40 a.m. - 10:25 a.m. Keynote II: Rethinking Elective Nodal Treatment in SCC of the Head and Neck
Sinatra Ballroom 1-8

Moderator: Zain Husain, MD, Southern California Permanente Medical Group, Ontario, California [R]

Speaker: David Sher, MD, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas [R]
10:25 a.m. - 10:50 a.m. Coffee Break and Poster Session III
Springs Ballroom
10:50 a.m. - 12:20 p.m. Plenary II Session
Sinatra Ballroom 1-8
12:20 p.m. - 1:20 p.m. Lunch and Poster Browsing
Springs Ballroom and Terrace

Early Career and Trainee Networking Luncheon: Launching Your Successful Career
Santa Rosa Ballroom
  • Samir Khariwala, MD, MS, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis [S]
  • C. Jillian Tsai, MD, PhD, MS, Princess Margaret Cancer Center, Toronto, Ontario, Canada [R]
  • Dan Zandberg, MD, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh [M]
1:20 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Session V: Contemporary Considerations in Managing Thyroid Malignancy
Sinatra Ballroom 1-8

Moderator: Samir Khariwala, MD, MS, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis [S]
  • Management of Anaplastic Cancer in the BRAF Era
    • Ashok Jethwa, MD, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis [R]
  • Considerations Around Medullary Thyroid Cancer in the GLP-1 Era
    • Kristen Otto, MD, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa [S]
  • Ordering and Incorporating Genetic Testing into Surgical Decision Making for WDTC
    • Joseph Scharpf, MD, Cleveland Clinic Cancer Center, Cleveland [S]
  • Contemporary Management of WDTC: Patient Counseling, RAI and Surveillance
    • Maria Cabanillas, MD, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston [Endocrinologist]
  • Systemic Treatment Options and Indications in ATC
    • Francis Worden, MD, University of Michigan Health, Ann Arbor, Michigan [M]
  • Q&A
3:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Coffee Break and Poster Session IV
Springs Ballroom
3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Session VI: Salivary Tumor Board: An Update on Multidisciplinary Management of Salivary Cancer
Sinatra Balloom 1-8

Moderator: Michael Moore, MD, Indiana University, Indianapolis [S]

Speakers:
Patrick Ha, MD, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco [S]
Trisha Wise-Draper, MD, PhD, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio [M]
Sue Yom, MD, PhD, UCSF Health, San Francisco [R]

4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. Session VII: Toxicities in Survivorship
Sinatra Ballroom 1-8

Moderator: Jessica Geiger, MD, Cleveland Clinic Cancer Center, Cleveland [M]
  • Addressing Mental Health and Suicide Risk in Patients with Head/Neck Cancer
    • Olga Slavin-Spenny, PhD, Henry Ford Health, Detroit [Psychologist]
  • Building a Survivorship Clinic
    • Joanna Bodmann, MSN, NP-C, AOCNP, Cleveland Clinic Cancer Center, Cleveland [Nurse Practitioner]
    • Bridgett Harr, DNP, AOCNP, Cleveland Clinic Cancer Center, Cleveland [Radiation Oncology Nurse Practitioner]
    • Regina Kahnert, CNP, Cleveland Clinic Cancer Center, Cleveland [Head and Neck Surgical Oncology Nurse Practitioner]
  • Osteoradionecrosis: Managing A Complex Long-term Toxicity
    • Michael Fritz, MD, Cleveland Clinic Cancer Center, Cleveland [S]
  • Q&A
February 21, 2026
7:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. Registration Open
7:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. Continental Breakfast and Poster Browsing
Springs Ballroom and Terrace
7:55 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. Day Three Welcome
Sinatra Ballroom 1-8

Speaker: Faye Johnson, MD, PhD, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston [M]
8:00 a.m. - 8:20 a.m. Patient Perspective
Sinatra Ballroom 1-8

Speaker: Jeff White [Patient Speaker]
8:20 a.m. - 9:45 a.m. Session VIII: Deploying Emerging Technologies to Improve Patient Care
Sinatra Ballroom 1-8

Moderator: Alexander Pearson, MD, PhD, University of Chicago, Chicago [M]
  • Deep Learning for Radiation Oncology Applications in Head/Neck Cancer
  • Artificial Intelligence for Rapid Margin Assessment
    • Maie St. John, MD, PhD, University of California, Los Angeles [S]
  • Adaptive Systemic Antineoplastic Therapies Based on Non-HPV ctDNA Dynamics
    • Ari Rosenberg, MD, University of Chicago, Chicago [M]
  • Q&A
9:45 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. Session IX: Advances in Multimodal Management of Skull Base Sinonasal Tumors
Sinatra Ballroom 1-8

Moderator: Ari Rosenberg, MD, University of Chicago, Chicago [M]
  • Neoadjuvant Therapy in Sinonasal Tumors
    • Siddharth Sheth, DO, MPH, UNC Health, Chapel Hill North Carolina [M]
  • Organ-Preserving Surgery for Skull Base Tumors
    • Marc Cohen, MD, MPH, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York [S]
  • Update on Radiotherapy Approaches in Sinonasal Malignancies
    • Nikhil Joshi, MD, Rush University, Chicago [R]
  • Q&A
10:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. Coffee Break and Poster Browsing
Springs Ballroom
10:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. Session X: Innovations in Action: Emerging Clinical Trials in Head and Neck Cancers
Sinatra Ballroom 1-8

Moderator: Faye Johnson, MD, PhD, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston [M]
  • Expanding the Arsenal: Novel Systematic Strategies for Head and Neck Cancer
    • Renata Ferrarotto, MD, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston [M]
  • Immunotherapy Frontiers in HNSCC: Emerging Clinical Trials
    • R. Bryan Bell, MD, DDS, Providence Cancer Institute Franz Head and Neck Clinic, Portland, Oregon [S]
  • Precision De-escalation: Tailored Therapy Trials in HNSCC
    • Jonathan Schoenfeld, MD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston [R]
  • Q&A

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