base of tongue – Oral Cancer News

Which cancers have increased over the past decade?

Source: www.mdlinx.com Author: Naveed Saleh, MD, MS, for MDLinx The incidence of cancers at the level of the oral cavity and pharynx increased between 2007 and 2016, according to a recent report by researchers from the CDC published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. This rise occurred despite respective decreases in the incidence of cancers at various anatomic sites. Cancers of the oral cavity and pharynx make up 3% of cancers diagnosed in the United States each year, with risk factors including tobacco use, HPV infection, and excessive alcohol intake. “The overall increase appears to be driven by increases in cancers of the tonsil, base of tongue, oropharynx, and other cancers of the oral cavity and pharynx, which are HPV-associated, as well as by those of gum and anterior tongue,” wrote the authors. Breaking down the numbers On average, the incidence rates for cancers of the oral cavity and pharynx combined increased by 0.6% per year between 2007 and 2016, with specific increases as follows: Oral cavity and pharynx (3.4%) Base of tongue (1.8%) Anterior tongue (1.8%) Gum (1.9%) Tonsil (2.4%) Oropharynx (1.9%) For the following cancers, however, incidence rates decreased: Soft palate and uvula (−3.7%) Hard palate (−0.9%) Floor of mouth (−3.1%) Lip (−2.7%) Hypopharynx (−2.4%) Nasopharynx (−1.3%) Of note, the incidence of cheek and other mouth and salivary gland cancers remained unchanged.

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2020-04-26T12:43:31-07:00April, 2020|Oral Cancer News|

The New Face of Oral Cancer

Source: nursing.advanceweb.comBy Jonathan BassettPosted on: April 22, 2013 For decades tobacco was the primary cause of oral cancer but a more insidious culprit has emerged. Jerry Wilck had no reason to suspect anything. Why would he? He only smoked for a couple of years and gave it up more than 40 years ago. He didn't drink excessively, didn't have a family history of cancer, and took good care of himself. In fact, maybe the only reason the 59-year-old consulted an oral surgeon about the small sore on his tongue - the result of a habit of running this particular spot along his teeth - was that there happened to be such a specialist right there in his office. Wilck was a general practice dentist in Langhorne, Pa., and particularly attuned to anomalies of the soft tissues of the mouth. His oral surgeon took no chances and ordered a biopsy. Wilck was "floored" the night in March 2005 when the lab report arrived by fax from the oral pathology department at Temple University in Philadelphia - squamous cell carcinoma. Wilck immediately consulted with John Ridge, MD, PhD, FACS, chief of head and neck surgery at Temple's Fox Chase Cancer Center. After surgical removal of part of his tongue and lymph nodes from his neck, along with a round of physical and speech therapy, Wilck is now cancer free and has full use of his jaw, throat and voice. "I was lucky," confessed Wilck, who retired from practice in 2009 and now spends a [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-06-10T12:26:21-07:00June, 2013|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

HPV-associated base of tongue squamous cell carcinoma incidence increasing in Sweden

Source: www.hemonctoday.com Author: staff The incidence for base of tongue squamous cell carcinoma increased significantly in Sweden between 1998 and 2007, and by 2007, more than 80% of these cases were HPV-positive. Various studies during the past 20 years have indicated that HPV is a risk factor for oropharyngeal cancer. However, few studies have assessed the specific sub-sites of the oropharynx. In this study, researchers assessed the increased incidence of base of tongue cancer and the association of HPV in 109 patients diagnosed with base of tongue cancer between 1998 and 2007 in Stockholm, Sweden. The researchers obtained diagnostic pretreatment paraffin-embedded tumor biopsies from 95 patients. DNA samples were obtained from 30-mcm paraffin-embedded base of tongue biopsy slices. Age at diagnosis ranged from 41 to 85 years. From 1970 to 2007, the age-standardized incidence of base of tongue squamous cell carcinoma increased from 0.15 per 100,000 person-years between 1970 and 1974 to 0.47 per 100,000 person-years between 2005 and 2007. HPV DNA was found in 75% of base of tongue cancer cases during this time. Of the HPV-positive tumors, 86% were HPV-16–positive and seven were HPV-33–positive. During the study period, the incidence of HPV-positive base of tongue cancers persistently increased (see chart). A significant increase was found in the proportion of HPV-positive cancer between 1998 and 2001 compared with 2004 and 2007 (58% vs. 84%; P<.05). When compared with patients with HPV-negative tumors, patients with HPV-positive tumors were likely to be stage IV (P<.02) and had less advanced T-stage (P<.05 [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-02-05T22:20:41-07:00February, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Laser microsurgery for tongue cancer is as effective as invasive open surgery, according to new study

Source: www.sciencedaily.com Author: press release Transoral (through-the-mouth) laser surgery to remove cancer at the base of the tongue is as effective as more invasive open surgery and may improve quality of life according to a new study by Rush University Medical Center. The study is published in the July issue of the scientific journal Otolaryngology –Head and Neck Surgery. The study involved a retrospective chart review of 71 patients who underwent transoral laser microsurgery for squamous cell carcinoma of the base of the tongue. At 24 months, overall survival was 90 percent and disease specific survival was 94 percent. Quality-of-life data, obtained for 46 patients, revealed the majority had mild or no pain, minimally impaired to normal swallowing, and normal speech. Historically, the tongue base could only be safely accessed through complicated open surgical approaches through the neck. Delicate structures in the neck, such as the voice box, the trachea, the esophagus, lymph nodes, muscles and large nerves make surgical resection difficult with significant complications including speech and swallowing impairment. Advances in transoral laser microsurgery have transformed the surgeon's ability to treat cancer that was not otherwise amenable to surgical therapy. The surgery is performed through the opening of the mouth using an endoscope with a lighted camera and microscopic lens to view the area. Using a CO-2 laser and micro-staging, surgeons carefully remove the tumor in small pieces minimizing disruption to nearby tissues, thereby reducing complications and the likelihood of infections. With magnification of normal and abnormal tissue the [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-07-21T04:17:23-07:00July, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Doctors pleased with robotic technique

Source: www.postbulletin.com Author: staff People heal faster with robotic throat-cancer surgery and have no major complications, Mayo Clinic research shows. The part of the throat behind the mouth can be difficult to reach for surgeons, says a Mayo statement. Surgery for throat tumor removal typically requires a hospital stay of seven to 10 days. But researchers say using a "da Vinci robotic surgical system" instead of traditional surgery led to average hospital stays of 2.3 days for 45 patients studied. Robotic surgery is now Mayo's "technique of choice" after more than 100 such procedures, Moore said. "The results of this research were even more positive than we expected. We found great advantages to using transoral robotic surgery for tonsil and base-of-the-tongue cancers," said head and neck surgeon Dr. Eric Moore.

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-03-07T23:20:33-07:00March, 2009|Oral Cancer News|