Schedule of Events

View the 2027 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancers Symposium schedule.
 

February 24, 2027
4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Registration Open
February 25, 2027
7:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Registration Open
7:00 a.m. - 7:50 a.m. Continental Breakfast and Poster Browsing
7:50 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. Welcome Address

Speaker: Maie St. John, MD, PhD, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore [S]
8:00 a.m. - 8:20 a.m. Patient Perspective
8:20 a.m. - 9:20 a.m. Session I: Neoadjuvant Therapy in Head & Neck Cancer: Game Changer or Hype?

Moderator: Aarti Bhatia, MD, MPH, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut [M]
  • Neoadjuvant Therapy in HNSCC: The Case for a New Treatment Paradigm
    • Trisha Wise-Draper, MD, PhD, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati [M]
  • Reconsidering the Neoadjuvant Approach in HNSCC
    • Luc Morris, MD, MSc, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York [S]
  • Neoadjuvant Therapy in HNSCC: Defining the Right Patient, the Right Treatement, and the Right Time
    • Adam Luginbuhl, MD, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia [M] 
9:20 a.m. - 10:05 a.m. Keynote I: Defining the Role of Immunotherapy in the Curative Treatment of Locoregionally Advanced Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma

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

Speaker: Danny Rischin, MD, MBBS, FRACP, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia [M]
10:05 a.m. - 10:35 a.m. Coffee Break and Poster Browsing
10:35 a.m. - 11:50 a.m. Session II: Back to the Basics

Moderator: Madelyn Stevens, MD, University Hospitals, Cleveland [S]
  • To Cut or Not to Cut: Principles in Pharyngeal Cancer Management
    • Matthew Spector, MD, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh [S]
  • Is Newer Better? Are Radiation Advances Improving Outcomes
    • Ali Hosni, MD, Princess Margaret Cancer, Center, Toronto, Ontario, Canada [R]
  • How to Select Your Systemic Agent in Definitive Non-Surgical Management
    • Jennifer Tseng, MD, Orlando Health, Orlando [M]
11:50 a.m. - 12:50 p.m. Lunch and Poster Browsing

Early Career and Trainee Networking Luncheon: Choosing Your Career Path
  • Zain Husain, MD, Southern California Permanente Medical Group, Ontario, California [R]
  • Samir Khariwala, MD, MS, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis [S]
  • Dan Zandberg, MD, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh [M]
12:50 p.m. - 2:20 p.m. K. Kian Ang, MD, PhD, FASTRO, Commemorative Plenary Session
2:20 p.m. - 2:50 p.m. Coffee Break and Poster Session I
2:50 p.m. - 4:05 p.m. Session III: AI Applications in Surgery, Radiation, Imaging Pathology and Clinical Decision-Making

Moderator: Maie St. John, MD, PhD, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore [S]

Speakers:
  • Barbara Burtness, MD, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut [M]
  • Chris Holsinger, MD, Stanford Medicine [S]
  • Harry Quon, MD, MS, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore [S]
4:05 p.m. - 5:20 p.m. Poster Session II and Networking Hour
February 26, 2027
7:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Registration Open
7:00 a.m. - 7:55 a.m. Continental Breakfast and Poster Browsing
7:55 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. Welcome Address

Speaker: Zain Husain, MD, Southern California Permanente Medical Group, Ontario, California [R]
8:00 a.m. - 8:20 a.m. Patient Perspective
8:20 a.m. - 9:50 a.m. Session IV: Rethinking Recurrent/Metastatic HNSCC: Biology, Novel Agents, and Metastasis-Directed Therapy

Moderator: C. Jillian Tsai, MD, PhD, MS, Princess Margaret Cancer Center, Toronto, Ontario, Canada [R]
  • Mechanisms of Recurrence and Metastasis in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Immunobiologic Determinants of Therapeutic Resistance
    • Nicole Schmitt, MD, PhD, Emory University, Atlanta [S]
  • Emerging Systemic Therapies for Recurrent/Metastatic Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Bispecific Antibodies, Therapeutic Vaccines, and Novel Agents in Clinical Development
    • Renata Ferrarotto, MD, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston [M]
  • Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy for Oligometastatic and Metastatic Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Evidence, Patient Selection, and Integration with Novel Systemic Therapies
    • Alexander Rühle, MD, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany [R]
9:50 a.m. - 10:20 a.m. Coffee Break and Poster Session III
10:20 a.m. - 11:05 a.m. Keynote II

Moderator: Jessica Geiger, MD, Cleveland Clinic Cancer Center, Cleveland [M]
11:05 a.m. - 12:35 p.m. Plenary II Session
12:35 p.m. - 1:35 p.m. Lunch and Poster Browsing

Early Career and Trainee Networking Luncheon: Launching Your Successful Career
  • Aarti Bhatia, MD, MPH, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut [M]
  • Michael Moore, MD, Indiana University, Indianapolis [S]
  • C. Jillian Tsai, MD, PhD, MS, Princess Margaret Cancer Center, Toronto, Ontario, Canada [R]
1:35 p.m. - 2:35 p.m. Session V: Emerging Toxicities for New Therapies

Moderator: Ari Rosenberg, MD, University of Chicago, Chicago [M]
  • Toxicities of Perioperative Immunotherapy in Resectable Head and Neck Cancer
    • Lova Sun, MD, MSCE, Penn Medicine, Philadelphia [M]
  • EGFR Bispecifics: Emerging Dermatologic Toxicity Considerations
    • Sruthi Renati, MD, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan [Dermatologist]
  • Antibody-drug Conjugates and Toxicity Management
    • Cesar Perez, MD, Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute, Orlando, Florida [M]
2:35 p.m. - 3:20 p.m. Coffee Break and Poster Session IV
3:20 p.m. - 4:20 p.m. Session VI: Optimizing the Head and Neck Cancer Care Continuum: Innovations in Prehabilitation, Supportive Care and Integrative Therapies

Moderator: Assuntina Sacco, MD, University of California, San Diego [M]
  • Oral Mucositis Mitigation: Incorporating Red-Light Therapy as a Billable Service in an SLP Clinic
    • Liza Blumenfeld, MA, CCC-SLP, BCSC, University of California, San Diego [SLP]
  • Acupuncture of Head and Neck Cancer Toxicities: The Why, When and How of Implementation
    • Weidong Lu, MB, MPH, PhD, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston [Oncology Acupuncturist]
  • Optimizing the Head and Neck Cancer Care Continuum: Standardizing Multimodal Prehabilitation with Digital Survivorship Tracking
    • Akina Natori, MD, University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, Miami [M]
4:20 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Break
4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. Session VII: Modern Considerations in Managing Salivary Gland Malignancy

Moderator: Samir Khariwala, MD, MS, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis [S]
  • Surgical Management of Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma
    • Sobia Khaja, MD, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis [S]
  • Proton vs. Photon Indications for Major Salivary Gland Malignancy
    • Nancy Lee, MD, FASTRO, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York [R]
  • Developments in Systemic Therapies for Salivary Malignancy
    • Alan Ho, MD, PhD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York [M]
February 27, 2027
7:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Registration Open
7:00 a.m. - 7:55 a.m. Continental Breakfast and Poster Browsing
7:55 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. Welcome Address

Speaker: Alexander Pearson, MD, PhD, University of Chicago, Chicago [M]
8:00 a.m. - 8:20 a.m. Patient Perspective
8:20 a.m. - 9:55 a.m. Session VIII: Right-Sizing Therapy for HPV-Positive Oropharyngeal Cancer: Biomarker-Guided Selection for De-escalation

Moderator: Pratyusha Yalamanchi, MD, MBA, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan [S]
  • Honor Dr. Maura Gillison
    • Faye Johnson, MD, PhD, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston [M]
  • Right-Sizing Radiation: Evidence Review of De-escalation Trials, Biomarkers, and Patient Selection
    • Michelle Mierzwa, MD, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan [R]
  • Surgery-First Pathways and Risk-Adapted Adjuvant Therapy: Patient Selection for Transoral Surgery per the 2025 ASCO Guideline, Lessons from E331 and PATHOS, and How/if Perioperative Pembrolizumab Changes the Multidisciplinary Sequencing Conversation
    • Michael Topf, MD, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville [S]
  • Circulating Tumor HPV DNA/Biomarker Selection: How Biomarker-guided Trials are Rebuilding the De-escalation Question, How to Handle a Positive Result and a False Positive, and What is Validated for Post-treatment Surveillance
    • Glenn Hanna, MD, Natera, Inc., Boston [M]
9:55 a.m. - 10:25 a.m. Coffee Break and Poster Browsing
10:25 a.m. - 11:25 a.m. Session IX: Biomarkers and Genomics
11:25 a.m. - 12:25 p.m. Session X: Intercepting Head and Neck Cancer: Prevention, Early Detection, and Transformative Innovation

Moderator: Vinita Takiar, MD, PhD, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania [R]
  • New and Innovative Diagnostic Technologies for Early Detection
  • Addressing Smoking Across the Continuum of Cancer Care to Improve Cancer Outcomes
    • Graham Warren, MD, PhD, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky [R]
  • HPV Prevention and Cancer Interception
    • Aimee Kreimer, PhD, National Cancer Institute, Shady Grove, Maryland [Senior Investigator]

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