Clinical trial design in head and neck cancer: what has the oncologist learned?

Chemotherapy has assumed an important role in multidisciplinary management of patients with head and neck cancer. Much recent progress is attributable to successful design and careful implementation of clinical trials. In addition to showing the efficacy of chemotherapy, trials also instruct about how to improve experimental design so that we can make the most of what is learned. In this Personal View, several important studies in head and neck cancer are reviewed, with focus on issues raised by their design, potential solutions to these difficulties, and challenges that future investigations of this disease will face.