Head and Neck Cancer Audit
There has been no effective head and neck cancer audit since the original audit, DAHNO, closed in 2016. The UK Head and Neck Cancer Coalition has strongly supported efforts to promote a new one because of the benefits it can bring in improving the patient care pathway.
There are four long-established audits in lung, bowel, prostate and stomach cancer. Six new audits have produced their first reports and these cover kidney, pancreatic, ovarian, primary breast and metastatic breast cancers, along with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. Appeals for the introduction of an audit in head and neck have not succeeded to date.
The UK Head and Neck Cancer Coalition has now had some success, working with partners, to establish a feasibility study which if successful would lead to a permanent audit funded by the NHS.
There are 9 national datasets for cancer patients covering such areas as treatment received, waiting times and outcomes.
The aims of the feasibility study are
- To assess how well national cancer datasets can be used for a national clinical audit of head and neck cancer
- To identify areas of greatest potential for improvement
- Focus on 3 most common sites (~90% of all cancers)
- Oral cavity, oropharynx, and larynx
- Extend to less common sites
- Salivary gland, nasopharynx, and others
Reports will be produced at regular intervals between August 2025 and August 2026. Hopefully the work will demonstrate the existing datasets can successfully produce the sort of information needed to justify a permanent head and neck audit, alongside those for other cancer sites.