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NCCN Updates Head and Neck Cancers Guidelines

JENKINTOWN, Pa., May 22, 2007 — The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) announces updates to the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology™ - Head and Neck Cancers. The NCCN Guidelines are updated continuously by panels of world-renowned experts and are widely recognized and applied as the standard of care in oncology in the United States in both the community and the academic practice settings.

The NCCN Guidelines contain a newly modified risk categorization to assess whether patients should receive post-operative chemoradiation. The risk categorization lists potential major and minor risk features of the disease. Post-operative chemoradiation is indicated based on how many of these risk features a patient exhibits.

For cancers of the oropharynx, hypopharynx, and glottic and supraglottic larynx, cisplatin (Platinol® - AQ, Bristol-Myers Squibb) is now listed as the preferred agent if using the treatment option of concurrent systemic/radiation therapy. Cetuximab (Erbitux®, ImClone/Bristol-Myers Squibb) plus concurrent radiation therapy has been added as a systemic therapy option for unresectable and recurrent disease and for specific sites (eg, oropharynx, hypopharynx, glottic and supraglottic larynx). Definitive radiation therapy plus cetuximab was added for patients with advanced head and neck cancer not able to tolerate cytotoxic chemotherapy.

The NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology™ are available free of charge at www.nccn.org.