Hisham Mehanna

Hisham Mehanna FMedSci
Education	University of Glasgow (MBChB, BMedSci)
Alma mater	Erasmus University Rotterdam (PhD)
Occupations	Professor of Head and Neck Surgery
Known for	Principal Investigator of the De-ESCALaTE HPV and PETNECK trials
Awards	Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (FMedSci)
Scientific career
Fields	Head and Neck Surgery, Oncology
Institutions	University of Birmingham, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust

Hisham Mehanna FMedSci is a British academic and surgeon specialising in Head and Neck Surgery and Oncology. He is Professor of Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Birmingham, Honorary Consultant Head and Neck and Thyroid Surgeon at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, and Director of the Institute of Head and Neck Studies and Education (InHANSE).

Mehanna is internationally recognised for his work in clinical trials and translational research, particularly relating to HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences.

Early life and education

Mehanna earned a Bachelor of Medical Sciences (Hons) from the University of Kuwait in 1990, followed by an MBChB (Hons) from the University of Glasgow in 1994. He completed fellowship training at the Auckland Head and Neck Surgery Unit in New Zealand in 2004, and was awarded the FRCS (1998) and FRCS (ORL-HNS) (2002) by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow. In 2010, he received a PhD from Erasmus University Rotterdam for research on quality-of-life assessment in patients with head and neck cancer. ^[1]

Career

Mehanna served as Consultant Head and Neck and Thyroid Surgeon at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust between 2004 and 2012.

He joined the University of Birmingham in 2012 as Professor of Head and Neck Surgery in the Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences. ^[1] He became Director of the Institute of Head and Neck Studies and Education (InHANSE). ^[2]

From 2020 to 2025, he served as Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor for Interdisciplinary Research at the University of Birmingham, where he oversaw the development and coordination of research strategy across the institution’s five colleges. ^[3] He previously directed the Institute for Global Innovation from 2018 to 2022 ^[4] and the Institute of Advanced Studies from 2019 to 2022. ^[5] He also served as the College of Medical and Dental Sciences’ Director of Business Engagement from 2014 to 2017.

Research

Mehanna’s research focuses on the epidemiology, prevention, and management of head and neck cancer, with particular emphasis on HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer (HPV-associated OPC). His clinical trials and translational research have informed head and neck cancer practice guidelines internationally, with impact reflected in national and multinational guideline updates across the USA, UK, Europe, and Asia. ^{[6] [7] [8]}

His research interests include:

Epidemiology and prevention of HPV-associated OPC: Mehanna has contributed to studies examining the rising incidence and geographical variation of HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer. He has also led research assessing the effectiveness of HPV vaccination in preventing oral HPV infection. ^[9]

Development and evaluation of treatments: He has led several multinational randomised trials—including PET-NECK (New England Journal of Medicine, 2016) and De-ESCALaTE HPV (The Lancet, 2019)—which evaluated treatment strategies for HPV-related head and neck cancer, including chemotherapy selection and PET-CT–guided reductions in routine neck dissection. ^[10]

Personalised treatment approaches: His work includes the EPIC international study, published in The Lancet Oncology (2023), investigating diagnostic approaches for HPV-associated OPC. ^[11] Mehanna has also contributed to the development of prognostic and predictive molecular biomarkers, including the PredICTR ^[12] and CorrelaTE classifiers, ^[13] some of which are under patent application.

Artificial intelligence and real-world data: Mehanna has collaborated on early applications of artificial intelligence and machine learning in head and neck cancer, including the development of algorithms for automated diagnosis and risk stratification. ^[14] He leads TacTIC, the first multinational trial evaluating AI-supported approaches in head and neck cancer.

Leadership and professional roles

Mehanna has held numerous national and international leadership roles, including:

• President, Head and Neck Cancer International Group (HNCIG) (2019–present) ^[15]
• Research Lead and Executive Committee Member, International Federation of Head and Neck Oncologic Societies (IFHNOS) (2023–present) ^[16]
• NIHR Senior Investigator (2019–2024) ^{[17] [18]}
• President, British Association of Head and Neck Oncologists (2017–2019) ^[19]

Honors and Awards

• Order of Merit, International Federation of Head and Neck Oncology Societies (2025) ^[20]
• Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (FMedSci) (2024) ^[21]
• University of Birmingham’s Founders’ Award for Excellence in Business Advancement (2015) ^[22]

Selected Publications

• Mehanna H, et al. PET-CT Surveillance versus Neck Dissection in Advanced Head and Neck Cancer. N Engl J Med. 2016;374(15):1444–1454.
• Mehanna H, et al. Radiotherapy plus cisplatin or cetuximab in low-risk HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer (De-ESCALaTE HPV). The Lancet. 2019;393(10166):51–60.
• Mehanna H, et al. Prognostic implications of p16 and HPV discordance in oropharyngeal cancer (HNCIG-EPIC-OPC). Lancet Oncol. 2023;24(3):239–251.
• Wilson JA, O'Hara J, Fouweather T, … Mehanna H, et al. Conservative management versus tonsillectomy in adults with recurrent acute tonsillitis (NATTINA). The Lancet. 2023;401(10393):2051–2059.
• Mehanna H, et al. Evaluation of US Elastography in Thyroid Nodule Diagnosis (ElaTION Trial). Radiology. 2024;313(1):e240705.
• Mehanna H, Moledina J, Travis J. Refeeding syndrome: what it is, and how to prevent and treat it. BMJ. 2008;336:1495–1498.
• Mehanna H, et al. Prevalence of human papillomavirus in head and neck cancer: systematic review and meta-analysis. Head Neck.

References

1. "Professor Hisham Mehanna". University of Birmingham.
2. "MEET THE LEADERSHIP". InHANSE.
3. "Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellors". University of Birmingham.
4. "Institute of Global Innovation and World Bank working together on cutting-edge development solutions". University of Birmingham.
5. "Institute of Advanced Studies". University of Birmingham.
6. Mehanna, Hisham (April 2024). "Head and Neck Cancer: United Kingdom National Multidisciplinary Guidelines, Sixth Edition". The Journal of Laryngology & Otology. 138 (S1): S1 –S224. doi:10.1017/S0022215123001615.
7. Mesia, R.; Iglesias, L.; Lambea, J.; Martínez-Trufero, J.; Soria, A.; Taberna, M.; Trigo, J.; Chaves, M.; García-Castaño, A.; Cruz, J. (1 May 2021). "SEOM clinical guidelines for the treatment of head and neck cancer (2020)". Clinical and Translational Oncology. 23 (5): 913–921. doi:10.1007/s12094-020-02533-1. ISSN   1699-3055.
8. Machiels, J.-P.; Leemans, C. René; Golusinski, W.; Grau, C.; Licitra, L.; Gregoire, V. (1 November 2020). "Squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity, larynx, oropharynx and hypopharynx: EHNS–ESMO–ESTRO Clinical Practice Guidelines for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up†". Annals of Oncology. 31 (11): 1462–1475. doi:10.1016/j.annonc.2020.07.011. ISSN   0923-7534.
9. Mehanna, Hisham; Bryant, Tyler S.; Babrah, Jaspreet; Louie, Karly; Bryant, Jennifer L.; Spruce, Rachel J.; Batis, Nikolaos; Olaleye, Oladejo; Jones, June; Struijk, Linda; Molijn, Anco; Vorsters, Alex; Rosillon, Dominique; Taylor, Sylvia; D'Souza, Gypsyamber (27 September 2019). "Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccine Effectiveness and Potential Herd Immunity for Reducing Oncogenic Oropharyngeal HPV-16 Prevalence in the United Kingdom: A Cross-sectional Study". Clinical Infectious Diseases.
10. "Cancer scans 'reduce risky operations'". BBC News. 24 March 2016.
11. Mehanna, Hisham; Taberna, Miren; von Buchwald, Christian; Tous, Sara; Brooks, Jill; Mena, Marisa; Morey, Francisca; Grønhøj, Christian; Rasmussen, Jacob Høygaard; Garset-Zamani, Martin; Bruni, Laia; Batis, Nikolaos; Brakenhoff, Ruud H.; Leemans, C. René; Baatenburg de Jong, Robert J.; Klussmann, Jens Peter; Wuerdemann, Nora; Wagner, Steffen; Dalianis, Tina; Marklund, Linda; Mirghani, Haïtham; Schache, Andrew; James, Jaqueline A.; Huang, Shao Hui; O'Sullivan, Brian; Nankivell, Paul; Broglie, Martina A.; Hoffmann, Markus; Quabius, Elgar Susanne; Alemany, Laia (March 2023). "Prognostic implications of p16 and HPV discordance in oropharyngeal cancer (HNCIG-EPIC-OPC): a multicentre, multinational, individual patient data analysis". The Lancet. Oncology. 24 (3): 239–251. doi:10.1016/S1470-2045(23)00013-X. ISSN   1474-5488.
12. Mehanna, Hisham; Rapozo, Davy; von Zeidler, Sandra V.; Harrington, Kevin J.; Winter, Stuart C.; Hartley, Andrew; Nankivell, Paul; Schache, Andrew G.; Sloan, Philip; Odell, Edward W.; Thavaraj, Selvam; Hunter, Keith D.; Shah, Ketan A.; Thomas, Gareth J.; Long, Anna; Amel-Kashipaz, Rasoul; Brown, Rachel M.; Conn, Brendan; Hall, Gillian L.; Matthews, Paul; Weir, Justin; Yeo, Yen; Pring, Miranda; West, Catharine M. L.; McCaul, James; Golusinski, Pawel; Sitch, Alice; Spruce, Rachel; Batis, Nikolaos; Bryant, Jennifer L.; Brooks, Jill M.; Jones, Terence M.; Buffa, Francesca; Haider, Syed; Robinson, Max (17 January 2024). "Developing and Validating a Multivariable Prognostic-Predictive Classifier for Treatment Escalation of Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma: The PREDICTR-OPC Study". Clinical Cancer Research: An Official Journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. 30 (2): 356–367. doi:10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-23-1013. ISSN   1557-3265.
13. Brooks, Jill M.; Menezes, Albert N.; Ibrahim, Maha; Archer, Lucinda; Lal, Neeraj; Bagnall, Christopher J.; von Zeidler, Sandra V.; Valentine, Helen R.; Spruce, Rachel J.; Batis, Nikolaos; Bryant, Jennifer L.; Hartley, Margaret; Kaul, Baksho; Ryan, Gordon B.; Bao, Riyue; Khattri, Arun; Lee, Steven P.; Ogbureke, Kalu U.E.; Middleton, Gary; Tennant, Daniel A.; Beggs, Andrew D.; Deeks, Jonathan; West, Catharine M. L.; Cazier, Jean-Baptiste; Willcox, Benjamin E.; Seiwert, Tanguy Y.; Mehanna, Hisham (1 September 2019). "Development and Validation of a Combined Hypoxia and Immune Prognostic Classifier for Head and Neck Cancer". Clinical Cancer Research. 25 (17): 5315–5328. doi:10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-18-3314.
14. Shephard, Adam J.; Mahmood, Hanya; Raza, Shan E. Ahmed; Araújo, Anna Luíza Damaceno; Santos-Silva, Alan Roger; Lopes, Marcio Ajudarte; Vargas, Pablo Agustin; McCombe, Kris D.; Craig, Stephanie G.; James, Jacqueline; Brooks, Jill; Nankivell, Paul; Mehanna, Hisham; Khurram, Syed Ali; Rajpoot, Nasir M. (20 May 2025). "Development and validation of an artificial intelligence-based pipeline for predicting oral epithelial dysplasia malignant transformation". Communications Medicine. 5 (1): 186. doi:10.1038/s43856-025-00873-z. ISSN   2730-664X.
15. "The Board". Head & Neck Cancer International Group.
16. "Executive Committee". IFHNOS.
17. "NIHR Funding and Awards". NIHR.
18. "Professor Hisham Mehanna". NIHR Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre.
19. "The President's Awards". British Association of Head & Neck Oncologists.
20. "IFHNOS ORDER OF MERIT". IFHNOS.
21. "Academy of Medical Sciences announces new Fellows for 2024". Academy of Medical Sciences.
22. "Award for Professor Mehanna". InHANSE.