Quality assurance in head and neck cancer surgery: where are we, and where are we going?

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The scope of this review is to summarize current efforts in quality assurance for head and neck cancer surgery. National and international initiatives are summarized and progress in terms of identification of process indicators and outcome indicators delineated. RECENT FINDINGS: Massive efforts have been made in order to improve quality of head and neck cancer surgery. New guidelines for quality assurance of head and neck cancer surgery in clinical trials have recently been proposed by EORTC. SUMMARY: Quality assurance programs can be tested within the clearly defined environment of prospective clinical trials. If positive, such programs could be rolled out within national healthcare systems, if feasible. Testing quality programs in clinical trials could be a versatile tool to help head neck cancer patients benefit from such initiatives on a global level.