[Special entities of the head and neck region: cancers of the nasopharynx, (para)nasal cavities, salivary glands, and the thyroid gland : Post ASCO 2024].

Background: Malignancies of the nasopharynx (NPC), the (para)nasal cavities, the salivary glands, and the thyroid gland are distinct to head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) in the oro-/hypopharynx and larynx in terms of etiology, tumor biology, and the therapeutic concept.

Objective: The contributions to the 2024 American Society of Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting provide insight into the latest developments in these "special entities of the head and neck region."

Methods: Abstracts were examined for their clinical relevance and placed into context with current therapeutic concepts.

Results and conclusion: In the treatment of locally advanced NPC, a randomized phase III study showed equivalence of induction (ICT) and adjuvant therapy (AT; NCT03306121). PD-1 inhibitors have become established in the palliative therapy of NPC in recent years and could now also play an increasing role in curation: the phase III study "Dipper" showed a significantly better 3‑year event-free survival in patients adjuvantly treated with camrelizumab versus placebo after IT and definitive platinum-containing chemoradiotherapy (dRCT; 89% vs. 80%; NCT03427827). The phase III study "Beacon" showed complete remission in 30.5% of patients after IT with gemcitabine/cisplatin and the PD‑1 inhibitor tislelizumab (three cycles), a rate almost twice as high as with gemcitabine/cisplatin alone (NCT05211232). Intensification of dRCT in NPC using EGFR and VEGF inhibitors appears promising (NCT04447326). Abstracts on salivary gland and nasal and sinus cancers emphasize the importance of targeted therapies. In anaplastic thyroid carcinoma, the combination of a PD‑1 inhibitor and a CTLA4 inhibitor showed a 50% response.