Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.
Experts in the management of specific aspects of OD in HNC across Europe were delegated by their professional medical and multidisciplinary societies to contribute to this document. Evidence is based on s ystematic reviews, consensus-based position statements, and expert opinion. This European White Paper summarizes current best practice on management of OD in HNC, providing recommendations to support patients and health professionals. The body of literature and its level of evidence on diagnostics and treatment for OD in HNC remain poor.
This is in the context of an expected increase in the prevalence of OD due to HNC in the near future. Contributing factors to increased prevalence include aging of our European population including HNC patients and an increase in human papillomavirus HPV related cancer, despite the introduction of HPV vaccination in various countries.
Meanwhile, its management remains a challenge for European professional associations and policymakers. The state of the art and minimum standards of oropharyngeal dysphagia OD care will vary by country across Europe and will depend on the setting of the medical care [acute hospital, rehabilitation unit, community nursing home, speech-and-language pathologist SLP first-line practice, etc.
The purpose of this document is to inform key stakeholders including health professionals from the various disciplines involved in the management of OD associated with HNC about the state of the art with regard to the different aspects of care. It comprises 24 sections covering all aspects of head and neck oncology in a broad sense including legal and ethical issues. A concept document comprising HNC-related topics acted as a foundation for the mandated contributors to add topics or ideas from their professional perspective.
