Head and neck cancer survivors are at raised risk of lung cancer, yet screening status is often unknown

The edition in brief

An analysis of US national survey data on head and neck cancer survivors found that more than a third lacked enough smoking history to judge lung screening eligibility, and that CT screening was reported by 64% of those eligible under 2013 criteria, 40% under 2021 criteria and 32% of those ineligible under either. A meta-analysis of 32 studies found that worse pretreatment global quality of life and physical, role and social functioning were consistently associated with higher mortality in head and neck cancer, with hazard ratios per 10-point worsening of 1.09 to 1.16. A randomised trial of 24 patients found that prophylactic home-based exercises during radiotherapy preserved swallowing quality of life and neck mobility without worsening facial oedema. A trial of 78 patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss and anxiety or depression reported greater hearing gain and mood improvement when electroacupuncture was added to drug treatment, with limited reporting of effect sizes. A TriNetX cohort found more epistaxis, sinusitis, emergency visits and readmissions after septoplasty with turbinoplasty in patients with depression or anxiety. The pearl restates that sudden hearing loss in one ear is urgent.