# Hisham Mehanna

Source: https://onco.cc/people/hisham-mehanna/  
OnCo record `hisham-mehanna` (Person). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Surgeon who led De-ESCALaTE and PET-NECK, two trials that changed how HPV-positive throat cancer is treated and followed up.

## Summary

Hisham Mehanna was chief investigator of De-ESCALaTE HPV, which showed cetuximab is inferior to cisplatin with radiotherapy in HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer (mirroring RTOG 1016), and of PET-NECK, which showed PET-CT surveillance safely avoids neck dissection after chemoradiotherapy. He leads the UK's head and neck trials portfolio and the Institute of Head and Neck Studies and Education.

## Fields

- Kind: Person
- Last checked: 2026-09-10
- Tags: head-and-neck; surgery; de-escalation; uk
- Role: Professor of Head and Neck Surgery and Director, Institute of Head and Neck Studies and Education, University of Birmingham
- Specialisms: Head and neck surgery; HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer; De-escalation; PET-guided surveillance

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hisham_Mehanna
- PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Mehanna%20H%5BAuthor%5D%20oropharyngeal

## Connected records

- cancers: [Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/head-and-neck/)
- technologies: [FDG PET](https://onco.cc/technologies/fdg-pet/), [IMRT / IGRT (modern external beam)](https://onco.cc/technologies/imrt-igrt/)
- institutions: [University Hospitals Birmingham / University of Birmingham Cancer Research Centre](https://onco.cc/institutions/birmingham-cancer-centre/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/hisham-mehanna.json