biomarker – Oral Cancer News

Best practices for immunotherapy for metastatic head and neck cancer

Source: www.medpagetoday.com Author: Mark L. Fuerst , Contributing Writer, MedPage Today This Reading Room is a collaboration between MedPage Today® and: Medpage Today Immunotherapy with anti–programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) is now an essential treatment for patients with recurrent and metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), and ICIs also show promise for patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma and other rare head and neck cancer types. A recently released ASCO Guideline on immunotherapy and biomarker testing in recurrent and metastatic HNSCCs provided evidence-based recommendations. A new related document by expert panel co-chairs Emrullah Yilmaz, MD, PhD, of the Cleveland Clinic, and Loren K. Mell, MD, of the University of San Diego, and colleagues poses questions and answers about the guideline. The following is a summary: For patients with recurrent and metastatic head and neck cancer, which biomarkers should be used in the selection of anti–PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy? We recommend programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) combined positive score (CPS) testing for recurrent and metastatic HNSCC. PD-L1 reports come via immunohistochemistry using CPS or tumor proportion score. CPS has emerged as a preferred biomarker in HNSCC and has been used in landmark head and neck clinical trials such as KEYNOTE-048. Tumor mutational burden (TMB), another emerging biomarker for predicting response to anti–PD-1 ICIs, was studied in KEYNOTE-158. TMB is not used routinely in HNSCC, but may help in cases where PD-L1 CPS is unavailable or for rare head and neck cancers. In first-line treatment of [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2023-09-04T08:50:20-07:00September, 2023|Oral Cancer News|

HPV-related head and neck cancer may have two distinct subtypes

Source: www.curetoday.com Author: Brielle Benyon There may be two “intrinsically different subtypes” of HPV-positive head and neck cancer — one of which may be more likely to respond to radiation treatment, according to recent research published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “We're the first ones to describe these two subtypes,” study author, Dr. Wendell Yarbrough, Thomas J. Dark, distinguished professor of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery at the University of North Carolina Lineberger Cancer Center, said in a press release. “Using this research, we can firmly identify two groups of patients and are able to associate their tumor subtype with treatment outcomes.” The researchers discovered a difference in outcomes between patients with high and low NF-kB activity. Of note, NF-kB is a biomarker that activates the expression of pro-inflammatory genes and plays a role in inflammasome (response to infection- or stress-related stimuli) regulation, according to the National Institutes of Health. “Tumors with high NF-kB activity were more responsive to radiation therapy potentially contributing to improved patient survival,” Yarbrough said. “We know that there's something about activating the NF-kB pathway that makes the tumors more sensitive to radiation therapy, which could explain how and why those patients are surviving better.” These findings, according to the researchers, may help determine which patients should undergo these aggressive treatments, and which patients might fare better with a different approach. HPV-positive head and neck squamous cell carcinoma is typically treated with a combination of high-dose radiation and chemotherapy, though this regimen [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2023-08-02T09:35:30-07:00August, 2023|Oral Cancer News|

Parsing the genetic drivers of head and neck cancers

Source: today.ucsd.edu Author: UC San Diego press release Head and neck cancer, which kills more than 400,000 persons worldwide each year, has multiple causes. The human papilloma virus (HPV), a sexually transmitted infection, is one, but the most common and lethal subtype are HPV-negative head and neck cancers, which account for 3 percent of all malignancies in the United States and 15,000 deaths annually. “Typically, head and neck cancers begin in the squamous cells that line the mucosal surfaces, such as inside the mouth and throat and there are multiple treatment options, including surgery, radiation and chemotherapy,” said Ezra Cohen, MD, co-director of the Gleiberman Head and Neck Cancer Center at Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health. “But these cancers are complex and no single treatment works for every patient every time, which is why immune checkpoint inhibitors were developed, which use antibodies to make tumor cells visible to a patient’s immune system.” Immune checkpoint therapy (ICT) first emerged in the 1990s and has progressed dramatically in recent years, but drug resistance in head and neck cancer cases remains prevalent, poorly understood and largely unidentified by current biomarker tests, said Cohen. Currently available Food and Drug Administration-approved PD-1 (a protein) immune checkpoint antibody therapy produces durable responses in 15 percent of patients with head and neck squamous cancer. The remaining 85 percent receive no benefit and may, in fact, experience severe, immune-related adverse effects. Like other types of head and neck cancer, the HPV-negative subtype has multiple risk [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2022-11-17T21:39:36-07:00November, 2022|Oral Cancer News|

Stopping the spread: Targeting tumor metastasis

Source: www.newswise.com Author: staff The process of metastasis is when cancer cells gain motility and spread to other sites of the body. Because this is one of the main causes of cancer-related deaths, researchers have aimed to develop therapeutic strategies that can block metastasis. In a recent article published in Cell Reports, a team led by researchers at Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) describe how a cell signaling molecule called transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) can help oral cancer cells acquire such dangerous motility. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) occurs when cancer cells obtain more stem-like and invasive properties, and is induced by various signals and stimuli within the tumor microenvironment. The group focused on the signaling molecule TGF-β as its reported effects seem contradictory: TGF-β can induce EMT in cancer cells but also seems to block their proliferation by keeping them in an early phase of the cell division cycle called G1. Therefore, the researchers aimed to characterize the molecular details of these mechanisms at the single-cell level. “It is not fully clear if tumor cells stimulated by TGF-β can display both EMT induction and cell cycle arrest,” says lead author of the study Kazuki Takahashi. “Single-cell analysis will help us understand if these events occur in distinct cell populations.” To examine this, the team utilized specially engineered versions of oral cancer cells that fluoresce red if they are in the G1 phase or green if they are in any other cell cycle phase. The number of red cells increased when [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2022-10-19T07:29:14-07:00October, 2022|Oral Cancer News|

Merck’s Keytruda shores up head and neck case with first-line trial win

Author: Carly Helfand Source: www.fiercepharma.com Merck’s Keytruda may just be on its way to earlier use in head and neck cancer, an area where it once faced some questions. On Wednesday, the New Jersey drugmaker said that in a phase 3 trial in previously untreated patients, Keytruda topped a standard-of-care regimen that includes Eli Lilly’s Erbitux at extending overall survival in patients with tumors expressing a certain level of biomarker PD-L1. The data came from an interim analysis of the trial that also showed Keytruda hadn’t yet met the study’s other primary endpoint, which measures time to cancer progression. But overall survival is often considered the gold standard in cancer trials, and Merck will be taking the win in that department to regulators worldwide. Right now, Keytruda bears an approval in head and neck cancer but only in patients whose disease has worsened on or after chemo. And after snagging that conditional approval, last July it failed to prove that it could extend the lives of patients in that group. As analysts pointed out at the time, though, that miss was narrow, coming just shy of statistical significance. The FDA kept the approval in place, and now, Merck has the data to back it up. If Merck can win a new indication from the FDA, it could gain access to a patient pool that grows by about 63,000 U.S. cases per year. And that's a group Keytruda's rival, Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Opdivo, can't currently treat: Its approval only extends to previously [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2022-07-30T07:57:07-07:00July, 2022|Oral Cancer News|

Can liquid biopsy predict oropharyngeal cancer recurrence?

Source: www.medscape.com Author: Liam Davenport A liquid biopsy test may accurately predict recurrence of human papillomavirus (HPV)-driven oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) earlier than standard clinical and imaging assessments, a new analysis indicates. Of 80 patients who tested positive for circulating tumor tissue-modified viral (TTMV)-HPV DNA during surveillance, 74% (n = 59) had no other evidence of disease or had indeterminate disease status. And of those patients, 93% (n = 55) "later had proven recurrent, metastatic disease on imaging and/or biopsy," according to Glenn Hanna, MD, from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, who presented the results February 24 at the 2022 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancers Symposium. "This is the first study to demonstrate broad clinical utility and validity of the biomarker in HPV-driven oropharyngeal cancer," Hanna said in a press release. Although patients with HPV-driven OPSCC generally have favorable outcomes, up to 25% will experience recurrence after treatment. Posttreatment surveillance currently relies on physical examinations and imaging, but Hanna and colleagues wanted to determine whether a routine circulating cell-free TTMV-HPV DNA test could detect occult recurrence sooner. Hanna and colleagues analyzed the records of 1076 patients with HPV-driven OPSCC at 118 sites in the US who had completed therapy more than 3 months previously and undergone an TTMV-HPV DNA test (NavDx, Naveris) between June 2020 and November 2021. The results of the test, which used ultrasensitive digital droplet PCR to identify HPV subtypes 16, 18, 31, 33, and 35, were compared with subsequent clinical evidence of OPSCC via nasopharyngolaryngoscopy, [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2022-03-03T07:23:02-07:00March, 2022|Oral Cancer News|

Molecular profiling identifies potential prognostic biomarker for treatment response in HNSCC

Source: www.ajmc.com Author: Matthew Gavidia Human papillomavirus surrogate marker p16 was identified as a potential prognostic biomarker for standard-of-care immune checkpoint blockade therapy response in non-oropharyngeal head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Real-world overall survival among patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) and non-OP head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) differed significantly based on the presence of the human papillomavirus (HPV) surrogate marker p16, with further implications identified regarding time on treatment with immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapies. Findings were published in Cancers. Identified as the sixth most common cancer worldwide with incidence expected to increase by 32% in the next 2 decades, patients with recurrent and/or metastatic HNSCC typically have a poor prognosis. Although diagnosis of HNSCC is typically related to tobacco and alcohol use, incidence of HPV-associated HNSCC has risen substantially, in which those positive for the virus whose HNSCC stems in the oropharynx have exhibited better survival outcomes. Researchers sought to further investigate the association of HPV and/or its surrogate marker p16 with response to standard-of-care ICB therapies in patients with OPSCC and non-oropharyngeal (non-OP) HNSCC. “We also investigated other potential biomarkers and mutations that may predict improved response to ICB in both HPV-positive and -negative patients with HNSCC,” they added. Patients registered in the Caris Life Sciences CODEai database with non-OP HNSCC and OPSCC were recruited and identified by comprehensive molecular profiling to be positive or negative for p16. In total, 2905 HNSCC (OPSCC, n = 948) cases were identified. Of those tested for [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2022-01-07T08:27:03-07:00January, 2022|Oral Cancer News|

Saliva testing may allow early detection of human papillomavirus–driven head and neck cancers

Source: medicalxpress.com Author: Elsevier Cancer causing high-risk human papillomaviruses (HR-HPV) are responsible for the rising incidence of HR-HPV–driven head and neck cancers (HNC), particularly oropharyngeal cancers (OPC, or throat cancers). Investigators have determined that HR-HPV DNA can be detected in saliva in most patients with HPV-driven OPC at the time of diagnosis. This work highlights a potentially life-saving screening program based on salivary HR-HPV DNA testing for early cancer detection and patient monitoring. Their findings appear in The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics. "Despite the upsurge in HPV-driven HNC, there are no early detection methods or screening strategies for this cancer type, unlike cervical cancer, which is caused by the same virus. Biomarkers enabling early detection, monitoring and disease prognostication are warranted to combat the rising incidence of HPV-driven OPC," observed lead investigator Chamindie Punyadeera, Ph.D., head, Saliva & Liquid Biopsy Translational Laboratory, School of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), and Translational Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, Australia. Dr. Punyadeera and her colleagues investigated the efficacy of salivary HPV detection as a biomarker of HPV-HNC and survival patterns in patients with OPC to evaluate the utility of salivary HR-HPV as a prognostic biomarker for OPC. Saliva testing was performed on 491 patients at the time of first diagnosis of HNC and 10 patients with recurring HNC. Forty-three percent were positive for salivary HR-HPV DNA. HPV16, a high-risk strain of the virus, was detected in 92% of the HPV-positive saliva samples. The vast majority of HPV-HNC had arisen [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2021-09-22T09:38:25-07:00September, 2021|Oral Cancer News|

A new type of recyclable: Finding new uses for established drugs

Source: www.eurekalert.org Author: news release Researchers from Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) uncover potential novel therapeutic strategies for oral and esophageal carcinomas Discovering and treating tumors before they spread throughout the body is key for cancer patients to achieve positive outcomes. When tumor cells spread, which is known as metastasis, they can take over other organs and lead to death. Oral and esophageal carcinomas, or mouth and throat cancers, frequently metastasize to the lymph nodes. Unfortunately, there are currently no therapies that are specific to treating these particular cancers. Now, researchers at Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) identified several drugs that can possibly be used to treat oral and esophageal carcinomas. In an article published in Molecular Cancer Research, a group of researchers from TMDU found that combining two drugs, pitavastatin and capmatinib, inhibited the viability of oral cancer cells in culture, as well as the growth of tumors in a mouse model. Although esophageal carcinoma is the sixth most deadly cancer worldwide and is relatively well understood at the molecular level, the research has not been translated into specific therapeutic development. Because of this urgent need, the TMDU group became interested in drug repurposing, where a drug that has been approved for a certain disease can be used to effectively treat an additional indication. This concept significantly speeds up the drug discovery and development process, increasing the number of patients that can benefit from an established therapeutic. "Drug repurposing can be extremely helpful for discovering efficacious treatments [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2021-03-17T10:04:37-07:00March, 2021|Oral Cancer News|

NYU study shows oral cancer pain may predict likelihood of cancer spreading

Source: www.ada.org Author: Mary Beth Versaci An oral cancer patient's pain intensity score could predict cancer metastasis, helping with future testing options and surgical decision-making, according to a study from the New York University College of Dentistry. The authors of "Oncogenes Overexpressed in Metastatic Oral Cancers from Patients with Pain: Potential Pain Mediators Released in Exosomes," published in September by Scientific Reports, an open-access journal from Nature Research, used a questionnaire to document the pain experienced by 72 oral cancer patients before oral cancer surgery. While most patients reported some pain, those with the most pain were more likely to have cancer that had spread to lymph nodes in the neck, suggesting patients with less pain were at lower risk of metastasis, according to the study. "While we need to undertake a follow-up study, our current data reveal that a patient's pain intensity score works as well as the current method — depth of invasion, or how deeply a tumor has invaded nearby tissue — as an index to predict metastasis," lead author Aditi Bhattacharya, Ph.D., said in an NYU news release about the study. To help understand why metastatic cancers are more painful, the researchers looked for differences in gene expression in metastatic cancers from patients with high levels of pain and nonmetastatic cancers from patients not experiencing pain and identified 40 genes that were more highly expressed in painful metastatic cancers, suggesting those genes are associated with oral cancer metastasis and mediate cancer pain, according to the study. [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2020-11-14T11:08:36-07:00November, 2020|Oral Cancer News|