Photo of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Banner for the 17th European Head and Neck Course 2025, Monday the 8th to Thursday the 11th of December 2025, Edgbaston Park Hotel, Birmingham. Logo of University of Bimringham.Logo of European Head and Neck Course. Logo of European Head and Neck Society. Logo of NHS University Hospitals Birmingham.

Full Course PROGRAMME


Please see the full course programme below. Please be aware that all programmes have been grouped together as follows:

  • Monday 8th December - Main Course Only 
  • Tuesday 9th December - Main Course and Functional Outcomes Programmes 
  • Wednesday 10th December - Main Course and Functional Outcomes Programmes 
  • Thursday 11th December - Thyroid Cancer Course Only 


Monday 8th December - Main Course Only

8:00 - 8:50Registration and refreshments
Session 1
Chair - Paul Nankivell
TimeFry Suite
8:50 - 9:00Welcome
Sat Parmar, Paul Pracy, René Leemans, Wojciech Golusiński
9:00 - 9:30Keynote Speaker: General concepts in the management of head and neck cancer
Gouri Pantvaidya
9:30 - 9:50State of the art imaging for head and neck cancer
Steve Colley
9:50  - 10:20Keynote Speaker: Optimising functional outcomes
Julia MacLean
10:20 - 11:00Refreshments and exhibition
Session 2
Chair - 
Hannah Nieto
TimeFry Suite
11:00 - 11:30Advances in radiation oncology
Sarah Hargreaves
11:30 - 12:00Advances in systemic therapies and future developments
Kevin Harrington
12:00 - 12:30Keynote Speaker: State of the art surgical reconstruction
Brett Miles
12:30 - 13:30Lunch and exhibition
Session 3: Robotics
 Chair - Paul Pracy
TimeFry Suite
13:30 - 13:50Robotics in head and neck cancer
Laura Warner
13:50 - 14:10Management of the unknown primary
René Leemans
14:10 - 14:30Refreshments and exhibition
Session 4: Oropharynx cancer
Chair - René Leemans
TimeFry Suite
14:30 - 15:00Contemporary management of the oropharynx cancer
Sarah Hargreaves
15:00 - 15:15Current challenges in the oropharyngeal cancer management
Gouri Pantvaidya
15:15 - 16:50Case discussions: Oropharyngeal Cancer
Kevin Harrington (Chair), Gouri Pantvaidya,Brett Miles, Julia MacLean, Christian Simon, Sarah Hargreaves
16:50 - 17:00Summary and future perspectives
Kevin Harrington
17:00 - 19:00Close and Networking drinks


Tuesday 9th December - Main Course and Functional Outcomes

8:00 - 8:25 Refreshments and exhibition
Session 5
Chair - Sat Parmar
Time Fry Suite
8:25 - 8:30Sponsor Talk 
Severn Healthcare Technologies Ltd
8:30 - 9:00 Contemporary management of oral cancer
Gouri Pantvaidya
9:00 - 9:15 Current challenges in oral cancer manager
Clare Schilling
9:15 - 10:45 Case Discussions: Oral Cancer
Brett Miles (Chair), Camilla Dawson, Gouri Pantvaidya, Clare Schilling, Kevin Harrington
10:45 - 10:55 Summary and future perspectives
Brett Miles
10:55 - 11:15 Refreshments and exhibition
Session 6
Time Fry Suite - Main Course
Chair - Wojciech Golusiński
Pevsner Room - Functional Outcomes
11:15 - 11:35Head and neck paraganglioma 
Paul Nankivell

Keynote Speaker: Addressing the needs of younger patients
with tongue cancer

Barbara Fountain
11:35 - 12:05 Keynote Speaker: Treatment with re-irradiation 
Vincent Gregoire 
Improving function following CRT and managing late effects
Jo Patterson
12:05 - 12:25 Management of lateral skull base cancers
Hannah Nieto
Cultural competence in head and neck practice
Nazrana Munsif
12:25 - 13:15 Lunch and exhibition
Session 7: Larynx & Hypopharynx Cancer
Chair - Hannah Nieto
Time Fry Suite
13:15 - 13:45 Contemporary Management of Larynx & Hypopharynx Cancer
Ralph Gilbert
13:45 - 14:00 Current challenges in larynx & hypopharynx cancer management
Jonathan Fussey
14:00 - 15:20 Case Discussions: Larynx & Hypopharynx Cancer
Christian Simon (Chair), Brett Miles, Laura Warner, Cesare Piazza, Georgina Casswell
15:20 - 15:30 Summary and future perspectives
Christian Simon
15:30 - 16:00 Refreshments and exhibition
Session 8: Nasopharynx and skull base
Chair - Jonathan Fussey
Time Fry Suite
16:00 - 16:30 Nasopharyngeal Cancer
Georgina Casswell
16:30 - 17:00 Online Presentation - Keynote Speaker: Contemporary management of anterior skull base tumours
Piero Nicolai
17:00 Close

Wednesday 10th December - Main Course and Functional Outcomes

8:00 - 8:45 Refreshments and exhibition
Session 9
8:45 - 9:30 The future of Head and Neck oncology training - an international challenge
Moderator - Dylan Chew
Leonor Cruz e Silva, Eduardo Ferrandis Pereperez, Patricia Marques, Arild Oesthus and Adam Pasz
Time Fry Suite - Main Course
Chair - René Leemans
Pevsner Room - Functional Outcomes
9:30 - 10:00 Keynote Speaker: Contemporary management of salivary
gland cancer
Cesare Piazza
Keynote Speaker: Contemporary management of surgical
voice restoration
Julia MacLean
10:00 - 10:15 Current challenges in salivary gland cancer management
Laura Warner
Current challenges in surgical voice restoration management
Margaret Coffey
10:15 - 11:45 Case discussions: Salivary Gland Cancer
Ralph Gilbert (Chair), Laura Warner, Robert Metcalf,
Vincent Gregoire, Piero Nicolai, Paweł Golusiński
Research update in surgical voice restoration-where next?
Freya Sparks
11:45 - 12:00 Summary and future perspectives
Ralph Gilbert
Case discussions: Surgical voice restoration
Camilla Dawson (Chair) Julia Maclean, Margaret Coffey,
Jo Wheeler, Freya Sparks, Paul Pracy
11:55 - 12:00
Summary and future perspectives
Camilla Dawson
12:00 - 13:00 Lunch and exhibition
Session 10
Chair - Wojciech Golusiński
Time Fry Suite
13:00 - 13:30 Complex reconstruction and principles in the salvage setting
Sat Parmar
13:30 - 13:55 State of the art prosthetics
Birmingham prosthetics team
13:55 - 14:15
Keynote Speaker: AI and machine learning in HNC
Christian Simon
14:15 - 14:45 Refreshments and exhibition
Session 11
Chair - Paul Nankivell
Time Fry Suite
14:45 - 15:05 Frailty in head and neck cancer - Selection and functional impact
Camilla Dawson
15:05 - 15:35 Palliative care - What every clinician should consider
John Speakman
15:35 - 16:00 A look to the future of HNC treatment
Brett Miles
16:00 Closing Comments and Course End

Thursday 11th December - Thyroid Cancer Course Only

8:30 - 9:00Registration and Refreshments                                                                                                                                                           
TimeFry Suite
9:00 - 9:05Introduction to the course
Neil Sharma
9:05 - 9:25Work up and management of lower risk cancers
Hannah Nieto
9:25 - 9:45Follow up for low-risk thyroid cancer and the impact of the new ATA guidelines
Kristien Boelaert
Session 1: Advanced Thyroid Cancer
TimeFry Suite
9:45 - 10:10Extended surgery for advanced thyroid cancer
Neil Sharma
10:10 - 10:35Neoadjuvant treatment for advanced thyroid cancer
Jillian Maclean
10:35 - 11:15Panel Discussion: Advanced Thyroid Cancer
Chair - Jonathan Fussey 
11:15 - 11:30Refreshment Break
Session 2: Recurrent Thyroid Cancer
TimeFry Suite
11:30 - 11:50Surgical management of recurrence 
Alison Waghorn
11:50 - 12:10Beyond the knife – Non surgical treatment of recurrent disease 
Jillian Maclean
12:10 - 12:30Panel Discussion: Recurrent thyroid cancer
Chair - Paul Nankivell
12:30 - 13:30Lunch
Session 3: Medullary Thyroid Cancer and Genetics
TimeFry Suite
13:30 - 13:50Genetic syndromes associated with thyroid cancer
Rebecca Igbokwe
13:50 - 14:20Decision making in treatment for MTC and surgical approaches for advanced disease
Brett Miles
14:20 - 15:00Panel Discussion: MTC
Chair - Nadia Schoenmakers
15:00 - 15:20Refreshment Break
15:20 - 16:30Final Panal Discussion
Chair - Neil Sharma
16:30Close

As part of the organisation of this conference, The University of Birmingham is collecting income via registration fees and sponsorships on behalf of the European Head and Neck Course 2025 organising committee.

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