Innovations in the Surgical Management of Oropharyngeal Cancer

UAB Med Cast

Prognoses for oropharyngeal cancers have improved dramatically over the past 20 years, reflecting physicians’ better understanding of the role of HPV in driving most of these cancers. Andrew Fuson, M.D., and Hari Jeyarajan, M.D, explain their shift to using surgery as the standard-of-care treatment for oropharyngeal cancers caused by HPV, which has resulted in survival rates of 85-90%. They discuss how robotic surgery and advanced screening methods have improved patient quality of life. Learn about an international clinical trial being conducted at UAB that explores a process for making cancer cells glow so that surgeons can more precisely define tumor removal boundaries.