PET-CT–guided surveillance may reduce need for surgery in some patients with advanced head and neck cancer

Patients with advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck who underwent PET-CT imaging after chemoradiation to determine if they still needed to have surgery had overall survival rates similar to those of patients who underwent planned neck dissection and chemoradiation. PET-CT imaging also resulted in fewer operations and was more cost-effective.

Read more from National Cancer Institute.

New England Journal of Medicine, April 14, 2016 (see the journal abstract).