Francesca Gaino, Medical Resident, Department of Otorhinolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Humanitas Research Hospital, Milan, Italy and Professor Hesham Negm, Cairo University, Egypt, Global Ambassador of ENT & Audiology News.
The 7th World Congress of the International Federation of Head and Neck Oncologic Societies (IFHNOS) was held in Rome, Italy, under the presidency of Giuseppe Spriano (below left), Chair of Otorhinolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at Humanitas University, Milan, Italy and with the great presence of the legendary Professor Jatin Shah, the founder of IFHNOS, and the symbol of head and neck oncological surgery. More than 500 speakers from diverse clinical and scientific backgrounds were invited to share their scientific and clinical expertise on head and neck oncology, including otolaryngology, head and neck surgery, maxillofacial and reconstructive surgery, endocrine surgery, medical oncology, radiation oncology, radiology, nuclear medicine and pathology as well as basic and translational research.
In the opening ceremony, Professor Shah thanked the previous director, Professor Cernea, and secretary general, Professor Chaturvedi, and members of the IFHNOS executive committee who finished their five-year term, awarding trophies in the names of Adilbay, Fliss, Hanna, Hosal, Negm, Nibu, Panizza, Porceddu, Patel, Spirano and Yu. A new executive board was announced for the next three years. Profosser Chaturvedi is the new director and Professor Hanna became the new secretary general.
During this five-day congress, the newest developments in surgical, diagnostic and rehabilitative techniques and technologies were presented, including artificial intelligence and machine learning applications, omics sciences, genetics, and the most recent clinical trials involving patients with head and neck cancer.
About 1300 participants from 86 countries attended and contributed by presenting more than 400 free papers, posters and videos. The organising committee aimed to be inclusive and involve people from all corners of the world, both as speakers and participants. They designed the programme to interest everyone, taking into the consideration variations in resources and available technologies, to create a truly ‘world’ congress.
The scientific programme was developed together with three programme chairmen: Lisa Licitra, Medical Oncologist at the National Cancer Institute, Milan, Italy; Sandro Porceddu, Radiation Oncologist at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Australia; and Richard J Wong, Head and Neck Surgeon at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, USA.
The first day was dedicated to Instructional courses, especially developed for young doctors, residents and fellows, while the rest of the congress was designated to panels, debates, symposia, round tables, lunches with professors, keynote lectures and dedicated lectures in the memory of great professors in head and neck oncology who have passed away. Notably, 40 national and international societies affiliated with IFHNOS came to present a Society Symposium of their own at the congress.
The keynote lectures were given by Luca Giovanella (Switzerland), talking on ‘Differentiated thyroid carcinoma: there is great disorder under the heavens! Is this situation excellent?’; Se-Heon Kim (Korea) on ‘Transcend the limitation of TORS’; Jean-Pascal Machiels (Belgium) on ‘Immunotherapy for head and neck cancer’; Quynh-Thu Le (USA) on ‘Management of cisplatin-unfit head and neck cancer (HNC) patients – current strategies and future directions’; Danny Rischin (Australia) on ‘Human papilloma virus associated oropharyngeal cancer: identification of prognostic groups beyond AJCC staging to facilitate investigation of optimal treatment strategies’ and, finally, the Jatin Shah's Lecture given by Barbara Wollenber (Germany) on ‘Platelets – friend or foe in cancer progression?’.
IFHNOS was established in 1987 and has continued to grow in its mission to share experiences, foster connections and friendships around the globe and educate the new generations of professionals on head and neck cancer through numerous initiatives.
The IFHNOS Council, with Jatin P Shah (Founder and CEO), Claudio Cernea (Director), Pankaj Chaturvedi (Secretary General), James Paul O’Neill (Treasurer), and Ashok R Shaha (Chair) had a key role in promoting the 7th World Congress and make it successful. Rome, the eternal city, was the perfect landscape for an outstanding event.
The 8th IFHNOS World Congress will take place in Brisbane, August 2026.
Right: Professor Hesham Negm receiving his IFHNOS award from Jatin Shah.
