US head and neck cooperative group trials: Current status and future directions.

Six trials evaluating curative therapies in newly diagnosed patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck are currently active within the U.S. cooperative groups. These span the areas of chemoprevention, organ preservation, adjuvant therapy for high risk resected disease and treatment of locally advanced, unresectable disease. A number of correlative laboratory studies are in progress. Studies for metastatic and recurrent squamous cell cancer focus on testing new drugs: single agents and combination regimens. Future directions center around combined modality approaches that incorporate new drugs with cytotoxic effects and radiosensitizing potential.