NCCN symposium on head and neck cancers held at UNMC

UNMC’s Bill Lydiatt, M.D., addresses participants on Friday during a National Comprehensive Cancer Network symposium on head and neck cancer care in the Durham Research Center.

A National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) symposium on head and neck cancers was held at UNMC on Friday.

Dozens of participants from around the country gathered in the Durham Research Center Auditorium to discuss the latest guidelines in head and neck cancer care. Some possible future developments also were discussed during the symposium.

The UNMC Eppley Cancer Center is among 21 top cancer centers from around the world that are part of the NCCN, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving care for cancer patients.

“It’s a great honor for UNMC to be asked to host this symposium,” said Bill Lydiatt, M.D., director of head and neck surgical oncology in the department of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery. “It shows the esteem UNMC holds within the network.”

Dr. Lydiatt was one of four experts to present during the seminar. The others were:

• Andy Trotti III, M.D., of the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute;
  
• David Pfister, M.D., of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; and
  
• Merrill Kies, M.D., of the The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Peter Coccia, M.D., vice chairman of the department of pediatrics at UNMC, chief of pediatric hematology/oncology at The Nebraska Medical Center and a member of the NCCN board of directors, delivered opening and closing remarks during the symposium.