DR. AMANDA PSYRRI, Assistant Professor of Medical Oncology, has partnered with the Head and Neck Cancer Services group in the Department of Otolaryngology to benefit patients with head and neck cancer. Dr. Psyrri joins a team of experts assembled to care for patients including internationally recognized otolaryngologist, Clarence Sasaki, MD, other surgeons, care coordinators, nutritionists, and physical and speech therapists.
“I am excited about my collaboration with a world class head and neck surgeon and I am thrilled to be contributing to state of the art management of head and neck malignancies and a patient-oriented approach to clinical care”, Dr. Psyrri said.
Each year about 40,000 new cases of head and neck cancer are diagnosed nationally. Tobacco and alcohol abuse are the major risk factors for the development of head and neck cancer, although cancer of the oropharynx can also be caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV) in patients without alcohol or tobacco history. Standard treatments for head and neck cancer often lead to significant speech and swallowing impairment, which has prompted many researchers to investigate better methods for treatment.
Dr Psyrri has opened several new clinical trials using chemotherapy and radiation for larynx-preservation in patients with locally advanced, stage III and stage IV, head and neck cancer. Yale Cancer Center is one of the leading participating institutions in the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG), and as a result, many new cooperative group trials in head and neck cancer have been developed at Yale. Dr. Psyrri has designed trials, which utilize novel agents for patients with locally recurrent and metastatic disease.
Dr. Psyrri joined the faculty at Yale in 2002 and was promoted to Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine, Medical Oncology in July 2003. In addition to her clinical responsibilities, Dr. Psyrri spends a significant portion of her time conducting research in head and neck cancer. She is the laboratory chair in one of the ECOG trials and is researching molecular predictors of response to Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) inhibitors, which are promising agents in the treatment of solid tumors.
For more information or to schedule an appointment with her in the clinic, please call 203.785.4191 or contact her directly at diamando.psyrri@yale.edu. For more information on the clinical trials open for head and neck cancer patients, please contact at Clinical Trials Office at (203) 785-5702.
