One of the most educational and entertaining sessions of the Annual Meeting of the Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery is the Great Debate Series. I am pleased to be moderating this year’s Great Debate on the Management of Early Laryngeal Cancer. The experts are Michael Hinni, MD from the Mayo Clinic, advocating for transoral resection and Nancy Lee, MD from Memorial Sloan Kettering advocating for external beam radiation therapy.
What are the highlights the attendees should take away from this presentation?
No one enjoys or gets much from long lectures. This is going to be a lively, case-based debate where the attendees will see real-world examples that highlight the nuances of surgical and radiation approaches to early laryngeal cancers. People will leave this with a much better understanding of which patients might benefit from each approach, to allow patient-specific optimization of care.
What is the central question that your study and/or presentation tries to answer?
What is the best treatment for early larynx cancers? It is a simple question with a complex answers. Answers that depend upon technology and surgical skills, patient and anatomic factors, comorbidities and patient preferences. We will address these issues during our debate to help Otolaryngologists manage these early laryngeal cancers.
How do these findings and/or conclusions potentially impact clinical practice?
After attending this debate, Otolaryngologists will better understand exciting new technologies and approaches to radiotherapy so they can better counsel their patients. Additionally, they will hear from one of the world’s best transoral surgeons on technical pearls and outcomes for this approach. Leaving the debate, attendees will feel more confident in their ability to guide their patients and optimally treat these tumors in a contemporary and evidence-based approach.
What else would you like attendees to know about your presentation?
Throughout this presentation, there will be some very provocative new technologies described. Taking advantage of technological gains in radiation delivery, Dr. Lee will be discussing some very unique approaches to localized radiation. Dr. Hinni will describe his patient selection criteria based on his vast experience, to assist surgeons in determining the tumors most appropriate for minimally-invasive surgical approaches. Helping attendees stay up to date on new approaches will ensure they stay cutting edge as they care for patients in their communities.
Dr. Farwell has no conflicts of interest to report.
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