In the year 2004 we have introduced a new international Head and Neck cancer meeting. It will now be organized every two years and deals with different topics about malignant tumors of the upper aerodigestive tract. Internationally recognized experts working at different fields in the clinical as well as in the preclinical area will be asked for making their statements to actual themes in head and neck cancer.          

Each symposium has a special topic that we want to discuss. Two years ago it was "larynx preservation in advanced tumors of the larynx and hypopharynx", where experts in oncology, radiotherapy and surgery from the United States and Europe came together and spoke about their strategies. Because of our aim to concentrate on a special topic we had a deep discussion creating a clear take home message for the international audience. Therefore it was a big success.

This year our symposium is titled "Modern treatment options"w. The effects of biologic response modifiers, which have now been investigated in Phase II and III studies, will be introduced. New chemotherapy and chemoradiation protocols will be stated. Furthermore the role of surgery in newer treatment modalities will be discussed.

The symposium will be organized in form of 15 panels with different topics and titles. Each panel has 4 participants and will be guided by a moderator. One panelist will give a lecture before the discussion begins. After the discussion the panelists make their statements. The participants were asked to assume a strong stance defending their arguments, which should be based on objective data collected in form of multi- or monocentric evaluations so that the audience is able to recognize the grade of evidence based background on which the statement is made.

The meeting will be held on January 27th/28th 2006 in Frankfurt. You can reach this central city in Germany very easy by flight or fast train. Offering a lot of weekend arrangements this town is spoiling you besides the symposium.

We are pleased to welcoming you to our meeting and we are looking forward to making your stay as comfortable as possible.