Head and Neck Cancer Surgery: Risk Stratification, Reconstruction, and Survivors

Head and neck cancer surgery encompasses increasingly integrated approaches to oncologic control, reconstruction, functional recovery, and survivorship. Contemporary evidence indicates that margin status, extranodal extension, nodal burden, and other clinicopathological features influence recurrence risk and the need for adjuvant treatment, while advances in imaging, pathology, molecular profiling, and intraoperative assessment are refining risk stratification. However, important questions remain regarding the consistency and clinical utility of margin assessment, the selection of patients for sentinel node biopsy or different forms of neck dissection, and the extent to which predictive models can guide individualized treatment. Reconstructive progress, including free-flap and microsurgical techniques, has improved restoration of form and function, but speech, swallowing, airway outcomes, complications, and quality of life remain variable. As survival improves, further investigation is needed to connect surgical decision-making with long-term patient-reported outcomes and comprehensive survivorship care.This Research Topic aims to evaluate how risk stratification, surgical planning, reconstruction, and multidisciplinary perioperative management can improve both oncologic and functional outcomes in patients undergoing surgery for head and neck cancer. It will examine how clinical, pathological, radiological, and molecular factors can support more precise decisions regarding resection margins, nodal management, adjuvant therapy, and follow-up. The Research Topic will also address whether contemporary reconstructive strategies provide durable benefits for speech, swallowing, airway preservation, appearance, and health-related quality of life. In addition, it seeks to identify effective approaches for preventing and managing complications, accelerating recovery, reducing treatment-related disability, and integrating patient priorities into survivorship pathways.To gather further insights across the continuum of surgical care for head and neck cancer-from preoperative risk assessment and ablative treatment to reconstruction, rehabilitation, and long-term survivorship-this Research Topic welcomes articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:• Surgical margin assessment, intraoperative guidance, and associations with local recurrence and survival;• Sentinel node biopsy and selective, extended, or comprehensive neck dissection;• Clinical, pathological, radiological, and molecular risk stratification models;• Indications, outcomes, and innovations in free-flap, pedicled-flap, and microsurgical reconstruction;• Functional outcomes involving speech, swallowing, airway preservation, mastication, and appearance;• Prevention, detection, and multidisciplinary management of postoperative complications;• Enhanced recovery, rehabilitation, and strategies for optimizing functional restoration;• Patient-reported outcomes, health-related quality of life, and value-based surgical care;• Survivorship models, surveillance, late effects, recurrence management, and supportive care;• Multidisciplinary decision-making and personalized treatment planning.The Research Topic welcomes, but is not limited to, original research, reviews, and clinical studies. Topic editors: Marcel Mayer, Elena Hofmann, Mussab Kouka Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/84587/head-and-neck-cancer-surgery-risk-stratification-reconstruction-and-survivors