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Clinical Activities

Keywords: Thyroid Cancer, head and neck cancer, robotic surgery, microvascular reconstruction

Description of clinical activities:Dr. Nichols is a head and neck oncologist and microvascular reconstructive surgeon treating malignancies of the upper aerodigestive tract, thyroid and salivary glands.  He also performs minimally invasive transoral robotic surgery for select throat cancers.

Research Interests

Keywords: Head and neck cancer, biomarkers, circulating tumor cells, deep sequencing

Description of Research Activities: Dr. Nichols is the director of the Translational Head and Neck Cancer Research Program, which focuses on the identification of biomarkers of treatment sensitivity to radiation, surgery and chemotherapy in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), with the goal of personalizing cancer care for each patient that provides the maximal chance of cure with the minimal amount of toxicity.  A variety of studies are ongoing including:

Circulating Tumors Cells as Biomarkers of Distant Metastases

Human Papillomavirus Related HNSCC

Biomarkers of Radiation Failure in Oropharyngeal and Laryngeal Cancer

Deep Sequencing of Mutations in HNSCC

In Vitro Studies of Chemotherapy Sensitivity in HNSCC

Selected Publications

1. Nichols AC, Barrett JW, Lowes, L, et al.  Circulating Tumor Cells in Advanced Head and Neck Cancer. Submitted to Head and Neck. 2011.
2. Nichols AC, Finkelstein DM, Faquin WC, et al. Bcl2 and human papilloma virus 16 as predictors of outcome following concurrent chemoradiation for advanced oropharyngeal cancer. Clinical cancer research 2010;16(7):2138-46.
3. Nichols AC, Faquin WC, Westra WH, et al. HPV-16 infection predicts treatment outcome in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. Otolaryngology--head and neck surgery. 2009;140(2):228-34.
4. Michaud W a, Nichols AC, Mroz E a, et al. Bcl-2 blocks cisplatin-induced apoptosis and predicts poor outcome following chemoradiation treatment in advanced oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. Clinical cancer research 2009;15(5):1645-54.
5. Nichols AC, Bhattacharyya N. Racial differences in stage and survival in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. The Laryngoscope. 2007;117(5):770-5.