Introduction: Leaps and bounds

Abstract The landscape of managing head and neck malignancies has changed greatly over the last several decades. With improvements in treatment and adjuvant options, improved survival rates and decreasing morbidity are widely seen. Earlier detection of malignancies and new operative technologies has shifted the focus from needlessly aggressive open surgical resections to minimally invasive surgery, while preserving or improving oncologic outcomes. Advancements in targeted radiation therapy delivery have decreased radiation-induced toxicity to adjacent healthy tissue with, for example, the adaptation of intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT) for head and neck cancers showing promise in further limiting radiation-related morbidity. Perhaps the most exciting advancement in managing cancer is the advent of a new era of precision medicine in the form of immunotherapy. Targeted checkpoint inhibitors and monoclonal antibodies are currently being used for locoregionally advanced, recurrent, and metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. The future of head and neck cancer treatment is evolving and appears brighter now and in the future than it did in the past. In this chapter, we review ongoing advances in head and neck cancer treatment with the hope of serving as a roadmap for new frontiers in head and neck cancer care.