Study quality indicators	NCCN guidelines	AHNS quality indicators	Scottish Task Force v1 – quality indicators
Diagnosis and staging indicators
Pathological diagnosis (biopsy)†	+	+	+
Staging documentation†	+	+	+
MDT†	+	+	+
Appropriate imaging†	+	+‡	+‡
Smoking cessation support/counselling†	+	+	+
Dental assessment†	+		+
Nutritional assessment†	+		+
Speech pathology assessment†	+		+
Treatment indicators			+
Appropriate RT§	+
Appropriate IMRT†			+
Appropriate surgery§	+
Appropriate chemotherapy§	+
Surgical margins†			+
Time to PORT < 6 weeks†	+		+
Appropriate CRT†	+¶	+¶	+
30‐day mortality†			+
Post‐treatment indicators			+
Follow up – 1st year†	+	+††	+
Follow up – 2nd year†	+	+††	+
Follow up – years 3 – 5†	+	+††	+
Imaging†	+‡‡		+
Annual TSH†	+	+§§	+
Dental assessment§, ‡‡	+

NCCN (National Cancer Centre Network) Guidelines ¹⁰ – Provides guidelines for management of head and neck cancer.

AHNS (American Head and Neck Society) quality indicators ¹³ – First introduction to quality measures in head and neck cancers (oral cavity) in 2009.

Scottish Task Force v1 – First set of quality performance indicators developed and evaluated in 2016 in Scotland.

^† Nationally benchmarked.

^‡ Imaging of primary, neck and chest.

^§ Evaluated against guidelines.

^¶ Referral only.

^†† Frequency not stated, regular follow up.

^‡‡ Surveillance for lung metastasis not assessed.

^§§ Required only at/before 12 months.