Annual Report 2024
Department of Head and Neck, Esophageal Medical Oncology
Ken Kato, Yoshitaka Honma, Shun Yamamoto, Hiroshi Imazeki, Hideaki Takahashi, Ryuichi Morita, Misa Nakamoto
Introduction
The Department of Head and Neck, Esophageal Medical Oncology focuses on the development of new drugs and establishment of standard chemotherapy regimens, including multimodality treatment with surgery and/or radiotherapy for advanced head and neck cancers (HNCs), consisting of malignancies arising from the oral cavity, nasopharynx, oropharynx, hypopharynx, larynx, nasal/paranasal cavity, salivary gland, ear canal, and thyroid, etc. We also focus on the multimodality treatment of esophageal cancer (EC), mainly chemotherapy and chemoradiotherapy. The main histology of HNC and EC is squamous cell carcinoma. However, there is still a wide variety of histological types, especially in the nasal/paranasal cavity, salivary glands, and gastroesophageal-junctional cancer. Therefore, the pathological diagnosis is essential, making a treatment strategy based on pathological findings significant in advanced HNCs and ECs.
The Team and What We Do
In fiscal year 2024, 231 new patients were referred to our department. Including patients referred from other departments for perioperative chemotherapy, induction chemotherapy, chemoradiotherapy, palliative chemotherapy, or consultation, a total of 549 patients were treated, of whom 413 received pharmacotherapy. The breakdown was as follows: 296 with esophageal or gastroesophageal junction cancer, 65 with oral cancer, 11 with nasopharyngeal cancer, 39 with oropharyngeal cancer (including 23 p16-positive cases), 43 with hypopharyngeal cancer, 8 with laryngeal cancer, 36 with major salivary gland cancer, 19 with paranasal sinus cancer, 17 with thyroid cancer, and 15 with other malignancies. In the head and neck field, compared with general proportions, rare cancers such as salivary gland and paranasal sinus primaries were more frequently referred to our department by other institutions, resulting in a greater accumulation of these cases.
Research Activities
With the aim of introducing novel therapies into clinical practice, we have been actively conducting clinical research. Our staff play a central role in the design of new studies within the Japan Clinical Oncology Group (JCOG), and as an institution, we further contribute to establishing new standards of care through active patient enrollment. In addition to participating in late-phase trials, we engage in domestic and international phase I–III clinical trials for drug development from the study planning stage. Furthermore, in collaboration with our research institute and other basic research facilities, we are actively engaged in translational research (TR), and we also propose new investigator-initiated trials to pharmaceutical companies.
We delivered 116 conference presentations, 67 of which were at international conferences. A total of 73 papers were published, including 61 original articles in English and 6 English-language review articles. Among these, 28 were authored by our department as the first or corresponding author.
Clinical Trials
In 2024, a total of 101 patients were enrolled in clinical trials (Table 1). Of these, 31 patients participated in 8 clinical trials for head and neck cancer, 70 patients in 12 trials for esophageal cancer.
Table 1. Clinical trials and the number of registered patients in the fiscal year 2024
Education
As a resident of the Department of Head and Neck, Esophageal Medical Oncology, Dr. Misa Nakamoto, originally trained in otorhinolaryngology at another university, is learning multidisciplinary treatment with a focus on pharmacotherapy for head and neck and esophageal cancers. Our department has established an educational system that enables even non-internists to become fully qualified medical oncologists. In addition, as a fellow in Head and Neck, Esophageal Medical Oncology, Dr. Ryuichi Morita, who is trained as a medical oncologist, is intensively studying multidisciplinary treatment including pharmacotherapy for esophageal cancer. He is trained from both clinical and research perspectives to become an opinion leader in his specialty.
Education is provided on the job through daily ward rounds and conferences involving residents and staff. Furthermore, at institutions where our former residents are currently working, as well as at affiliated hospitals, each staff member gives resident-oriented lectures every three months, which are distributed via Zoom and archived video. Regular case conferences and lectures are also held with other institutions using Zoom, thereby fostering academic exchange and promoting the discovery of new talent. Residents delivered 27 first-author conference presentations (15 domestic and 12 international) and published 12 English-language articles.
Future Prospects
In the treatment of head and neck cancer and esophageal cancer, standard therapies have yet to be fully established in many regions. In collaboration with the regional medical liaison office, we aim to increase referrals to our hospital. While standard treatment remains the foundation of our practice, we continuously strive for improvements that meet patients’ unmet needs, with the goal of building a reputation as the institution to which physicians wish to refer their patients.
On the research front, we actively engage with members of global teams from pharmaceutical companies at academic meetings, putting forward research proposals and highlighting the advantages of our hospital, which is recognized as one of the leading centers worldwide in terms of patient volume. We consistently propose investigator-initiated trials and pursue multinational clinical studies across Asia. In partnership with our Research Institute and the hospital’s Clinical Development Promotion Division, we focus on developing new therapies centered on translational research (TR).
In education, through resident training, we aim not only to cultivate expertise in cancer pharmacotherapy but also to nurture oncologists capable of multidisciplinary treatment, including surgery and radiotherapy. We are committed to fostering young medical oncologists who possess both specialized clinical skills and a strong research mindset, thereby developing the next generation of academic leaders.
List of papers published in 2024
Journal
1. Ohara A, Mori T, Itoyama M, Yokoyama K, Yamamoto S, Kato K, Honma Y. Relationship Between Short-Term Outcomes and PD-L1 Expression Based on Combined Positive Score and Tumor Proportion Score in Recurrent or Metastatic Head and Neck Cancers Treated With Anti-PD-1 Antibody Monotherapy. Cancer reports (Hoboken, N.J.), 8:e70125, 2025
2. Igaue S, Yamamoto S, Shiraishi K, Itoyama M, Imazeki H, Yokoyama K, Honma Y, Kashihara T, Kurita D, Ishiyama K, Oguma J, Daiko H, Kato K. Correlation Between Histopathological Response of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma to Neoadjuvant DCF Therapy and the Clinical Efficacy of Palliative Chemotherapy for Recurrence. Journal of gastrointestinal cancer, 56:60, 2025
3. Shiraishi K, Yamamoto S, Imazeki H, Kato K. Could combination immunotherapy give light to resectable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma? Journal of thoracic disease, 17:15-18, 2025
4. Shiraishi K, Okada M, Yamamoto S, Matsubara Y, Masuishi T, Shimozaki K, Yamamoto Y, Hirose S, Sugiyama K, Furuta M, Machida N, Takahashi N, Yoshii T, Kito Y, Tsuzuki T, Boku S, Tsuchihashi K, Sugaya A, Takayama T, Komori A, Mitani S, Matsumoto T, Nishimura T, Hirata K. The efficacy and safety of FOLFOX therapy for advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Scientific reports, 15:8031, 2025
5. Watanabe T, Oka H, Nagashima K, Nishi H, Kumai Y, Iijima H, Okami K, Shimizu Y, Kano S, Ito K, Yamazaki T, Takahashi H, Oridate N, Yokota T, Koyama T, Kiyota N, Sato Y, Takahashi S, Kato K, Kadowaki S, Honma Y. Clinical outcomes of recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer after failure of platinum and nivolumab: a multicenter retrospective study. The oncologist, 30:oyaf018, 2025
6. Kim SB, Van Cutsem E, Ajani J, Shen L, Barnes G, Ding N, Tao A, Xia T, Zhan L, Kato K. Tislelizumab in advanced/metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: health-related quality of life in Asian patients. Current medical research and opinion, 40:69-75, 2024
7. Yoshinami Y, Nishimura E, Hosokai T, Yamamoto S, Matsuda S, Nomura M, Kawakubo H, Kato K, Kitagawa Y. Rare malignant neoplasm of the esophagus: current status and future perspectives. Japanese journal of clinical oncology, 54:111-120, 2024
8. Ikeda G, Miyakoshi J, Yamamoto S, Kato K. Nivolumab in unresectable advanced, recurrent or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Future oncology (London, England), 20:665-677, 2024
9. Hara H, Satoh T, Kojima T, Tsushima T, Sunakawa Y, Okada M, Ding N, Wu H, Li L, Yu T, Barnes G, Kato K. Second-line tislelizumab versus chemotherapy in Japanese patients with advanced or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: subgroup analysis from RATIONALE-302. Esophagus, 21:102-110, 2024
10. Cho H, Abe S, Nonaka S, Suzuki H, Yoshinaga S, Okuma K, Yamamoto S, Daiko H, Kato K, Sekine S, Boku N, Saito Y. Long-term outcomes after non-curative endoscopic resection for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma followed by additional chemoradiotherapy. Diseases of the esophagus, 37:doae004, 2024
11. Oshima K, Tsushima T, Ito Y, Kato K. Recent progress in chemoradiotherapy for oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Japanese journal of clinical oncology, 54:395-402, 2024
12. Kitagawa Y, Matsuda S, Gotoda T, Kato K, Wijnhoven B, Lordick F, Bhandari P, Kawakubo H, Kodera Y, Terashima M, Muro K, Takeuchi H, Mansfield PF, Kurokawa Y, So J, Mönig SP, Shitara K, Rha SY, Janjigian Y, Takahari D, Chau I, Sharma P, Ji J, de Manzoni G, Nilsson M, Kassab P, Hofstetter WL, Smyth EC, Lorenzen S, Doki Y, Law S, Oh DY, Ho KY, Koike T, Shen L, van Hillegersberg R, Kawakami H, Xu RH, Wainberg Z, Yahagi N, Lee YY, Singh R, Ryu MH, Ishihara R, Xiao Z, Kusano C, Grabsch HI, Hara H, Mukaisho KI, Makino T, Kanda M, Booka E, Suzuki S, Hatta W, Kato M, Maekawa A, Kawazoe A, Yamamoto S, Nakayama I, Narita Y, Yang HK, Yoshida M, Sano T. Clinical practice guidelines for esophagogastric junction cancer: Upper GI Oncology Summit 2023. Gastric cancer, 27:401-425, 2024
13. Yada M, Yamamoto S, Honma Y, Hirano H, Okita N, Shoji H, Iwasa S, Takashima A, Nagahara A, Kato K. Retrospective Analysis of Definitive Chemoradiotherapy With FOLFOX in Patients With Esophageal Cancer Intolerant to Cisplatin. In vivo (Athens, Greece), 38:761-766, 2024
14. Hirose T, Yamamoto S, Honma Y, Yokoyama K, Hirano H, Okita N, Shoji H, Iwasa S, Takashima A, Ishiyama K, Oguma J, Daiko H, Maeda S, Kato K. Preoperative docetaxel, cisplatin, and 5-fluorouracil for resectable locally advanced esophageal and esophagogastric junctional adenocarcinoma. Esophagus, 21:328-335, 2024
15. Kato K, Kojima T, Hara H, Tsuji A, Yasui H, Muro K, Satoh T, Ogata T, Ishihara R, Goto M, Baba H, Nishina T, Han S, Iwakami K, Yatsuzuka N, Doi T. First-line pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy for advanced/metastatic esophageal cancer: 1-year extended follow-up in the Japanese subgroup of the phase 3 KEYNOTE-590 study. Esophagus, 21:306-318, 2024
16. Uehara T, Matsuzaki J, Yoshida H, Ogawa Y, Miura J, Fujimiya H, Yamamoto Y, Kawauchi J, Takizawa S, Yonemori K, Sakamoto H, Kato K, Ishikawa M, Ochiya T. Potential utility of pretreatment serum miRNAs for optimal treatment selection in advanced high-grade serous ovarian cancer. Japanese journal of clinical oncology, 54:917-925, 2024
17. Yamamoto K, Yamamoto S, Kato K. Pembrolizumab for recurrent locally advanced or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus: a drug safety evaluation. Expert opinion on drug safety, 23:667-675, 2024
18. Iwaki S, Kawakita D, Nagao T, Tada Y, Honma Y, Ando M, Matoba T, Minohara K, Nakano S, Murase T, Iwasaki S, Inagaki H. Comprehensive genomic profiling of salivary gland carcinoma: Analysis of the Center for Cancer Genomics and Advanced Therapeutics database in Japan. International journal of cancer, 155:871-882, 2024
19. Kato K, Doki Y, Chau I, Xu J, Wyrwicz L, Motoyama S, Ogata T, Kawakami H, Hsu CH, Adenis A, El Hajbi F, Di Bartolomeo M, Braghiroli MI, Holtved E, Makino T, Blum Murphy M, Amaya-Chanaga C, Patel A, Hu N, Matsumura Y, Kitagawa Y, Ajani J. Nivolumab plus chemotherapy or ipilimumab versus chemotherapy in patients with advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (CheckMate 648): 29-month follow-up from a randomized, open-label, phase III trial. Cancer medicine, 13:e7235, 2024
20. Mansoor W, Joo S, Norquist JM, Kato K, Sun JM, Shah MA, Enzinger P, Adenis A, Doi T, Kojima T, Metges JP, Li Z, Kim SB, Cho BC, Sunpaweravong P, Alsina M, Goekkurt E, Suryawanshi S, Shah S, Shen L. Health-related quality-of-life analysis from KEYNOTE-590: pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy versus chemotherapy for advanced esophageal cancer. The oncologist, 29:e1324-e1335, 2024
21. Ogura N, Yamamoto S, Kato K. Progress in second-line antibody therapies for advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Expert opinion on biological therapy, 24:503-509, 2024
22. Kadono T, Yamamoto S, Kato K. Development of perioperative immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy for locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Future oncology (London, England), 20:2097-2107, 2024
23. Kato K, Machida R, Ito Y, Daiko H, Ozawa S, Ogata T, Hara H, Kojima T, Abe T, Bamba T, Watanabe M, Kawakubo H, Shibuya Y, Tsubosa Y, Takegawa N, Kajiwara T, Baba H, Ueno M, Takeuchi H, Nakamura K, Kitagawa Y. Doublet chemotherapy, triplet chemotherapy, or doublet chemotherapy combined with radiotherapy as neoadjuvant treatment for locally advanced oesophageal cancer (JCOG1109 NExT): a randomised, controlled, open-label, phase 3 trial. Lancet (London, England), 404:55-66, 2024
24. Honma Y, Monden N, Yamazaki K, Kano S, Satake H, Kadowaki S, Utsumi Y, Nakatogawa T, Takano R, Fujii K, Koroki Y, Aoyama J, Ouchi S, Ogawa T, McCarthy S, Brookman-May SD, Mundle S, Li J, Thaper D, Nagao T, Tada Y. Apalutamide and Goserelin for Androgen Receptor-Positive Salivary Gland Carcinoma: A Phase II Nonrandomized Clinical Trial, YATAGARASU. Clinical cancer research, 30:3416-3427, 2024
25. Murashima Y, Yamamoto S, Hirose T, Kadono T, Ikeda G, Ohara A, Itoyama M, Yokoyama K, Honma Y, Ishiyama K, Oguma J, Daiko H, Kato K. Efficacy and Safety of Salvage-line Nivolumab Monotherapy for Advanced Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Comparison of 240 mg Versus 480 mg Doses. Journal of gastrointestinal cancer, 55:1345-1351, 2024
26. Hirata K, Yoshida K, Katada C, Watanabe A, Tsushima T, Yamaguchi T, Yamamoto S, Ishikawa H, Sato Y, Imamura CK, Tanigawara Y, Ito Y, Kato K, Kitagawa Y, Hamamoto Y. Definitive chemoradiotherapy with paclitaxel for locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in older patients (PARADISE-1): a phase I trial. BMC cancer, 24:873, 2024
27. Itoyama M, Ohara A, Yokoyama K, Yamamoto S, Kato K, Tada Y, Sugitani A, Sugino H, Yatabe Y, Kusumoto M, Nakamura K, Honma Y. An autopsy case of pulmonary tumor thrombotic microangiopathy that developed during chemotherapy for salivary duct carcinoma of the parotid gland. Auris, nasus, larynx, 51:829-833, 2024
28. Yokoyama K, Wasano K, Sasaki K, Machida R, Nakahira M, Kitamura K, Sakagami T, Takeshita N, Ohkoshi A, Suzuki M, Tateya I, Morishita Y, Sekimizu M, Nakayama M, Koyama T, Shibata H, Miyamaru S, Kiyota N, Hanai N, Homma A. Frequency of use and cost in Japan of first-line palliative chemotherapies for recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Japanese journal of clinical oncology, 54:1115-1122, 2024
29. Shiraishi K, Takeyasu Y, Yamamoto S, Oshima K, Imazeki H, Hirano H, Okita N, Shoji H, Honma Y, Iwasa S, Takasima A, Kato K. Impact of taxanes after PD-1 blockade exposure in advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Esophagus, 21:539-545, 2024
30. Yamamoto S, Kato K, Daiko H, Ito Y, Kajiwara T, Kojima T, Miyata H, Nakagawa S, Ueno M, Watanabe M, Tsunoda S, Abe T, Nagatani Y, Okada M, Morita M, Sato T, Mizusawa J, Nakamura K, Kitagawa Y. Factors influencing decision-making between surgery and chemoradiotherapy for esophageal carcinoma from the JCOG0502. Future oncology (London, England), 20:2849-2854, 2024
31. Kouno N, Takahashi S, Takasawa K, Komatsu M, Ishiguro N, Takeda K, Matsuoka A, Fujimori M, Yokoyama K, Yamamoto S, Honma Y, Kato K, Obama K, Hamamoto R. Analysis of Inertial Measurement Unit Data for an AI-Based Physical Function Assessment System Using In-Clinic-like Movements. Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland), 11:1232, 2024
32. Yokoyama K, Inamoto Y, Kubo Y, Yamamoto S, Takeda W, Ito A, Tanaka T, Kim S, Fukuda T, Ohe Y, Kato K, Honma Y. Increased adverse events associated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy in patients with second primary esophageal cancer after hematologic malignancy. Annals of Esophagus, 7:1-11, 2024
33. Ikeda G, Yamamoto S, Azuma I, Kadono T, Ohara A, Itoyama M, Hirose T, Yokoyama K, Honma Y, Hashimoto T, Sekine S, Ishiyama K, Oguma J, Daiko H, Iwakiri K, Kato K. Clinical utility of pegfilgrastim on day 3 of preoperative docetaxel, cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil chemotherapy in elderly patients with resectable esophageal cancer. Annals of Esophagus, 7:18, 2024