Introduction to Indian clinical practice consensus guidelines for the management of squamous cell carcinoma the head-and-neck: Update 2022

Abstract

Head-and-neck cancer (HNC), a malignant tumor of the upper aerodigestive tract, is the sixth most common cancer worldwide. In India, around 30-40% of all cancers are HNCs. Even though there are global guidelines and recommendations for the management of HNCs, these may not be appropriate for the Indian scenario. In order to discuss current practices, and latest developments, and to come to a consensus on management strategies for different anatomical subsites of HNCs for Indian patients, a group of experts (medical, surgical, and radiation oncologists, and dentists) came together. A review of literature from medical databases (PubMed, Google Scholar) was conducted to provide the best possible evidence, which was reviewed by experts in 2019 when the first consensus guidelines were developed. These guidelines were published in the Indian Journal of Cancer in February 2020. To update these guidelines regularly, the experts reconvened on July 27, 2022, and updated the recommendations for all subsites based on the recent evidence.