5-fluorouracil – Oral Cancer News

These microbes found in tumours promote cancer. What if we just kill them?

Source: www.nationalgeographic.co.uk Author: Sanjay Mishra An unfathonable number of bacteria, live in and on our bodies; most providing some benefits. Now researchers have discovered that some species of bacteria are actually protecting cancer cells. This finding could inspire new strategies to fight cancer.Photograph by illustration by Russell Kightley, Science Photo Library Most bacteria living in the human body help us thrive, but recent studies show that some infiltrate tumours, helping them grow, spread, and become more difficult for the immune system to destroy. The human body contains 100 trillion or so microbial cells, almost as many, if not more, than the number of human cells in the body. Bacteria make up most of this microbiome, living in our gut, on our skin, in the respiratory and urogenital tracts, and in mammary glands. A number of recent studies have revealed that bacteria are also present in a wide variety of tumours, where they live not only between cells but even inside them. The bacteria were thought to be taking advantage of a favourable growing environment; scientists had no idea whether these microbes could alter cancer prognosis. Now a study published recently in Nature shows that bacteria in oral and colorectal tumors can directly promote cancer by suppressing the human immune response and helping cancer cells spread more rapidly. An accompanying study published in the journal Cell Reports finds that some anticancer drugs, such as 5-fluorouracil, may be effective because they also kill the bacteria which help the tumour develop. [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2023-04-21T06:31:54-07:00April, 2023|Oral Cancer News|

An effective and well-tolerated strategy in recurrent and/or metastatic head and neck cancer: successive lines of active chemotherapeutic agents

Source: 7thspace.com Author: staff The combination platinum, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and cetuximab is the standard first-line regimen of recurrent and/or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Due to the toxicity of this treatment, alternative therapies are often offered to patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the overall survival obtained with a first line chemotherapy adapted to patients functional status and the administration of all active drugs within successive lines of chemotherapy. Methods: This series included a total of 194 patients with recurrent and/or metastatic HNSCC treated from 2006 to 2011 in a single institution where the administration of successive lines of chemotherapies has been the standard clinical approach. Treatment was administered according to clinical practice guidelines. Results: Most patients received at least two treatment lines. Only 11 patients (6%) were treated with a combination of cisplatin, 5-FU and cetuximab in front line, but most patients received at least one platinum-based regimen (n = 154 patients, 78%); 162 (82%) received taxanes, 36 (18%) received 5-FU, 27 (14%) received capecitabine, 67 (34%) received methotrexate and 134 (68%) received cetuximab. The median overall survival was 9.8 months (95% CI: 8.1-11.4 months) and reached 13.1 months among the subgroup of 131 patients eligible for inclusion in a clinical trial. Conclusion: The survival outcomes of patients treated in the first-line setting with chemotherapy regimens adapted to their functional status, followed by several subsequent regimens were comparable with published outcomes of patients treated by platinum, 5-FU and cetuximab. Credits/Source: BMC Cancer 2014, [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2014-07-12T08:48:52-07:00July, 2014|Oral Cancer News|

Five genetic subgroups revealed in head and neck tumor analysis

Source: www.onclive.com Author: Ben Leach Oncologists who treat patients with head and neck cancer are aware that those whose disease has been caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) have significantly better outcomes than those whose disease is caused by other factors such as smoking. However, new research suggests that there may be five distinct subgroups in which specific genetic profiles may be utilized to guide treatment decisions in patients. “Currently, we treat all patients with head and neck cancer in essentially the same way,” said Ezra E. W. Cohen, MD, co-director of the Head and Neck Cancer Program at the University of Chicago Medical Center. “But we do know that the prognosis for patients who are HPV-positive is much better.” To determine whether patients’ genetic profiles differed, Cohen and his colleagues at the University of Chicago, led by researcher Tanguy Seiwert, MD, took approximately 130 tumor samples from patients with stage IV squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck and performed gene expression (mRNA) analysis. The samples were gathered before patients received therapy, and all of the participants subsequently were treated with a 5-fluorouracil, hydroxyurea, and concurrent radiation (FHX)-based regimen. This way, the researchers could determine the outcome as a function of gene expression in the groups identified through the analysis, since patients received the same treatment across all the subgroups eventually identified. Cohen said that patients were enrolled regardless of whether they were HPV-positive or HPV-negative. Based on these findings, the University of Chicago team was able to classify [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2013-03-01T15:37:52-07:00March, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

Ten year results of landmark neck cancer trial published

Source: www.modernmedicine.com Author: Gabriel Miller The latest data from a trial that opened in 1992 confirm that for locally advanced laryngeal cancer, sequential and concomitant chemoradiotherapy each produce similar survival rates, but the concomitant approach more often allows the larynx to be preserved. When the results of RTOG 91-11 were first published in 2003. "they changed the standard of care treatment for preserving the larynx from the sequential use of chemotherapy then radiotherapy to giving both together," said lead investigator Dr. Arlene Forastiere of Johns Hopkins University in an email to Reuters Health. "The results have held up over the last decade," she said, "...and this exact treatment remains the standard of care today because on average, 15% will ultimately require laryngectomy with the concomitant approach, compared to double that, or 30%, with either giving chemotherapy and radiation in sequence or giving radiotherapy alone." "There's no question that this study has changed the way we approach and treat this disease, so it is truly a landmark study," said Dr. Chris Holsinger, a head and neck cancer surgeon at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas who wasn't involved in the research. Between 1992 and 2000, 547 patients were randomly assigned to three treatment groups: induction chemotherapy followed by radiation; concomitant chemoradiotherapy; and radiotherapy alone. The induction group received up to three cycles of cisplatin 100 mg/m2 on day one and fluorouracil 1,000 mg/m2 per day for five days, every three weeks. Responders then received up to 70 Gy of radiotherapy [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-11-30T05:39:25-07:00November, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

CD4 counts predict chemo response in laryngeal cancer

Source: www.oncologyreport.com/ Author: Miriam E. Tucker Pretreatment CD4 levels predicted response to induction chemotherapy among 97 patients with advanced laryngeal cancer, but not for 66 patients with advanced oropharyngeal cancer, according to a retrospective analysis of data from two clinical trials. The two groups of head and neck cancer patients were enrolled in two identical prospective, phase II trials of induction chemotherapy and organ preservation, in which tumor response after one cycle of cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil was used to select those who would undergo surgery or definitive chemoradiation (J. Clin. Oncol. 2006;24:593-8 in laryngeal cancer; J. Clin. Oncol. 2008;26:3138-46 in oropharyngeal cancer). Several lymphocyte subsets were measured before treatment via routine flow cytometry in peripheral blood in the laryngeal cancer patients, but only CD4 (helper cell) levels were significantly associated with chemotherapy response. Both absolute CD4 counts and CD4 percentages were higher among induction chemotherapy responders than nonresponders (P = .006 and P = .04, respectively). Investigators also saw a trend for responders to have an increased percentage of CD3 cells (P = .13), decreased percentage of CD8 cells (P = .11), and higher CD4/CD8 ratios. "Host immune parameters are important factors in treatment outcome, and may be useful in identifying subsets of patients with cancers that are responsive to organ-preserving therapy," said Dr. Gregory T. Wolf, who presented the data at a head and neck cancer symposium sponsored by the American Society for Radiation Oncology. "It is likely that immunobiology of head and neck cancers differ significantly by tumor [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-02-26T09:53:59-07:00February, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

US FDA approval for expanded use of Erbitux

Source: www.pharmabiz.com Author: staff The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Erbitux (cetuximab), in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy with 5-fluorouracil (CT), for the first-line treatment of recurrent locoregional or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN). The approval, which is based on data from the landmark EXTREME (ErbituX in first-line Treatment of REcurrent or MEtastatic head & neck cancer) trial, makes Erbitux plus CT the first treatment regimen approved in 30 years with extended overall survival in patients with recurrent locoregional or metastatic SCCHN. Erbitux (cetuximab) is a monoclonal antibody (IgG1 Mab) designed to inhibit the function of a molecular structure expressed on the surface of normal and tumour cells called the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR, HER1, c-ErbB-1). In vitro assays and in vivo animal studies have shown that binding of ERBITU Erbitux GFR blocks phosphorylation and activation of receptor-associated kinases, resulting in induction of apoptosis (cell death), inhibition of cell growth, and decreased matrix metalloproteinase and vascular endothelial growth factor production. In vitro, Erbitux can mediate antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) against certain human tumor types. In vitro assays and in vivo animal studies have shown that Erbitux inhibits the growth and survival of tumour cells that express the EGFR. No anti-tumour effects of Erbitux were observed in human tumour xenografts lacking EGFR expression. EXTREME, which was previously published in the New England Journal of Medicine, was a phase III open label, randomized, multi-centre, controlled trial. This study was conducted outside the US by [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-11-09T06:24:41-07:00November, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Larynx preservation studies should consider treatment impact

Source: www.internalmedicinenews.com Author: Sara Freeman, Internal Medicine News Digital Network Almost one-quarter of patients who had been given induction chemotherapy before radiotherapy for head and neck cancer experienced long-term swallowing difficulties, with another 15% experiencing voice disabilities that correlated with the mobility of the vocal cords. Long-term data from the GORTEC (Groupe Oncologie Radiothérapie Tête et Cou) 2000-01 larynx preservation trial also show that approximately two-thirds of long-term head and neck cancer survivors experienced severe problems with sticky saliva and dry mouth, which were in turn linked to nutritional problems. These findings, reported May 9 at the European Society for Therapeutic Radiation Oncology (ESTRO) Anniversary Conference, further confirm that studies looking at the effects of chemoradiotherapy on the larynx in head and neck cancer need to consider prospective assessment of laryngeal function, rather than just looking at anatomical preservation, according to a French radiation oncologist. Dr. Gilles Calais of the Centre Hôpitalier Régional et Universitaire de Tours (France) presented data from a prospective analysis of 61 patients who had participated in the original 213-patient GORTEC 2000-01 trial. He also presented updated results from the trial using a recently developed composite end point. "Larynx preservation can be achieved for most of our [head and neck] patients by using three different strategies: induction chemotherapy, concomitant [chemoradiotherapy], or alternating chemoradiotherapy," Dr. Calais observed. Indeed, larynx preservation is a possibility in approximately 80% of patients, he said. However, anatomical preservation does not mean that laryngeal function is maintained, especially with respect to the ability [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-05-21T14:31:34-07:00May, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Induction with Docetaxel, Cisplatin, and 5-FU provides survival benefits beyond 5 years in head and neck cancer

Source: www.docguide.com/news Author: Chris Berrie Induction with docetaxel, cisplatin, and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) provides sustained significant survival advantages beyond 5 years compared with cisplatin and 5-FU in patients with locally advanced squamous cell cancer of the head and neck. Jochen Lorch, MD, Head and Neck Oncology Programme, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts, presented a 5-year follow-up analysis of the multicentre, randomised, open-label, phase 3 Cisplatin and Fluorouracil Alone or With Docetaxel in Head and Neck Cancer (TAX 324) at the joint 15th Congress of the European Cancer Organisation (ECCO) and 34th Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO). The benefits of docetaxel in combination with cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil (TPF) was shown in the original TAX 324 and TAX 323 studies. Results of the follow-up were presented here on September 22. TAX 324 included 501 patients with measurable, nonmetastatic stages III and IV squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, with a primary tumour location in the oral cavity, oropharynx, larynx or hypopharynx, and unresectable disease. A World Health Organization (WHO) performance status (PS) of 0/1 and no prior chemotherapy or radiotherapy were also specified. Patients were randomised to induction therapy of TPF (n = 255) or cisplatin plus 5-fluorouracil (PF) on days 1 to 4, every 3 weeks for 3 cycles (n = 246). The induction treatments were followed by chemoradiotherapy with carboplatin area under the curve (AUC) 1.5, weekly and daily radiotherapy (5 days/week). In the original study, there was a significant 13% improvement [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-09-25T04:48:30-07:00September, 2009|Oral Cancer News|