head and neck cancer patients

Medical Grade Honey Found Not Effective in Radiation Esophagitis

Source: medscape.comAuthor: Pam Harrison SAN FRANCISCO ― A medical grade honey from New Zealand (Manuka), which is known to be effective in wound healing, does not reduce pain from radiation esophagitis more effectively than standard supportive care, phase 2 research shows. "Reducing esophagitis is important so that patients can continue eating their normal diet," Lawrence Berk, MD, chief of radiation oncology, Morsani School of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, told Medscape Medicine News. "And since there is no proven treatment for the prevention of esophagitis during concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy, we decided to try honey, because of the reported success in head and neck mucositis in several small studies. "And neither liquid honey nor honey lozenges worked better than standard supportive care in reducing pain from esophagitis, so I would not encourage patients to take Manuka honey, because it didn't work and it's expensive." The study was presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Radiation Oncology, held in San Francisco, California. Investigators included 163 lung cancer patients who were undergoing concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Approximately 30% of patients had received 60 Gy of radiation to the esophagus. Patients were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 treatment arms: 56 patients received standard supportive care; 53 patients received 10 mL of Manuka honey orally, 4 times a day; and 54 patients received 1 lozenge consisting of 10 mL of dehydrated Manuka honey, 4 times per day. The honey was taken on the first day of treatment and [...]

Charlotte Parker2014-09-22T13:04:25-07:00September, 2014|Oral Cancer News|

In one study, lower dose treatment for HPV oropharyngeal cancers is successful

Author: Anthony Cmelak, M.D.Source: medicalnewstoday.com A new study suggests that lowering the dose of radiation therapy for some head and neck cancer patients may improve outcomes and cause fewer long-term side effects. The research was presented by lead author Anthony Cmelak, M.D., professor of Radiation Oncology at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC), during the 50th annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), held recently in Chicago. The study focused on patients with newly-diagnosed oropharyngeal cancers related to the human papilloma virus (HPV). More than two-thirds of new head and neck cancer patients have HPV-positive tumors and the number of these patients is on the rise. Cmelak's prior cooperative group study found that patients with HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer have significantly longer survival rates than patients whose tumors are HPV negative. For the new study, 80 HPV-positive patients with stage III, or IVa,b squamous cell cancer of the oropharynx received inductionchemotherapy, including paclitaxel, cisplatin and cetuximab. After chemotherapy, 62 of the patients showed no sign of cancer and were assigned to receive a 25 percent lower dose of intensity-modulated radiation therapy - an advanced technology that targets the radiation beam more accurately to treat the tumor without harming surrounding tissue. The rest of the patients received a standard IMRT dose. The drug cetuximab was also given to both groups of patients along with the IMRT treatment. Two years after treatment, the survival for the low-dose IMRT patients was 93 percent. Those who did not have complete resolution of cancer following induction and went on to [...]

Charlotte Parker2014-06-25T16:35:42-07:00June, 2014|Oral Cancer News|

Lower radiation dose may be given to HPV-positive head and neck cancer patients

Source: Vanderbilt UniversityPublished: June 19, 2014By: Dagny Stuart A new study suggests that lowering the dose of radiation therapy for some head and neck cancer patients may improve outcomes and cause fewer long-term side effects. The research was presented by lead author Anthony Cmelak, M.D., professor of Radiation Oncology at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, during the 50th annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), held May 30 to June 3 in Chicago. The study focused on patients with newly diagnosed oropharyngeal cancers related to the human papilloma virus (HPV). More than two-thirds of new head and neck cancer patients have HPV-positive tumors and the number of these patients is on the rise. Cmelak’s prior study found that patients with HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer have significantly longer survival rates than patients whose tumors are HPV negative. For the new study, 80 HPV-positive patients with stage III, or IVa,b squamous cell cancer of the oropharynx received induction chemotherapy, including paclitaxel, cisplatin and cetuximab. After chemotherapy, 62 of the patients showed no sign of cancer and were assigned to receive a 25 percent lower dose of intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) — an advanced technology that targets the radiation beam more accurately to treat the tumor without harming surrounding tissue. The rest of the patients received a standard IMRT dose. The drug cetuximab was also given to both groups of patients along with the IMRT treatment. Two years after treatment, the survival for the low-dose IMRT patients was 93 percent. Those who did [...]

Charlotte Parker2014-06-20T12:41:01-07:00June, 2014|Oral Cancer News|

After-effects of oral cancer surgery forces patients into unemployment and depression

Source: economicvoice.comAuthor: Economic Voice Staff Cancer Patients are being forced into unemployment due to the after-effects of surgery and higher levels of depression. Research into head and neck cancer patients discovered the rate of those employed fell by more than 40 per cent five years after diagnosis, where only one in three managed to secure work. They also reported unemployed cancer survivors had lower social well-being and higher depression scores For those cancer sufferers out of work prior to diagnosis, their reasons for not returning to work also included the knock-on effect of surgery as well as dangerous levels of alcohol consumption. Figures from Cancer Research UK reveal more than 331,000 people were diagnosed with cancer in 2011 – around 910 every day. According to mouth cancer campaigners, the problems are exacerbated for mouth cancer patients. Previous research identified mouth cancer survivors face a diminished quality of life. Survivors reported poor oral function, resulting in persistent eating problems and long term depression. More than half of respondents (51.6 per cent) reported problems with eating, while on average one in four survivors who lived for five or more years still experienced speech problems. It was a similar story when it came to a patient’s physical and mental health, with more than a third (36.7 per cent and 39.3 per cent respectively) recording low functionality after the five year analysis. According to Chief Executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, Dr Nigel Carter OBE, the study highlights the problems mouth cancer sufferers face on a daily basis. Dr [...]

Charlotte Parker2014-03-31T15:05:13-07:00March, 2014|Oral Cancer News|

Swallowing Exercises Preserve Function in Head and Neck Cancer Patients Receiving Radiation

Source: Science DailyDate: Aug. 29, 2013 A study from UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center (JCCC) has found that head and neck cancer patients receiving radiation as part of their treatment were less likely to suffer unwanted side effects such as worsening of diet, need for a feeding tube, or narrowing of the throat passage if they complied with a set of prescribed swallowing exercises called a swallow preservation protocol (SPP) during therapy. The five-year study was led by Dr. Marilene Wang, JCCC member, professor-in-residence in the department of head and neck surgery, UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine. The study was published online ahead of print in the journal Otolaryngology -- Head and Neck Surgery on August 27, 2013. Surgery and radiation (RT) have been the traditional treatments for head and neck cancer but with the advent of improved and targeted chemotherapy many types of this disease are treated with chemotherapy and radiation (chemoradiation or CRT) in the hope of preserving the tissue and structure. Despite the sparing of critical tissue, preservation does not always translate to normal, natural swallowing ability. Most patients who receive CRT have significant side effects during treatment and for a long time after recovery. Difficulty swallowing (dysphagia) is one of the most common unwanted side effects of RT and CRT, and is one of the main predictors of decreased patient quality of life after treatment. Wang's study was designed to evaluate the SPP, in which patients had swallow therapy before, during and after radiation treatment. The effectiveness [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-09-03T14:27:18-07:00September, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

Nutritional and Zinc Status of Head and Neck Cancer Patients: An Interpretive Review

Source: Journal of the American College of NutritionAuthors: Ananda S. Prasad, MD, PhD, MACN, Frances W.J. Beck, PhD, Timothy D. Doerr, MD, Falah H. Shamsa, PhD, Hayward S. Penny, MS, RD, Steven C. Marks, MD, Joseph Kaplan, MD, Omer Kucuk, MD and Robert H. Mathog, MD Abstract In this review, we provide evidence based on our studies, for zinc deficiency and cell mediated immune disorders, and the effects of protein and zinc status on clinical morbidities in patients with head and neck cancer. We investigated subjects with newly diagnosed squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity, oropharynx, larynx, and hypopharynx. Patients with metastatic disease and with severe co-morbidity were excluded. Nutritional assessment included dietary history, body composition, and prognostic nutritional index (PNI) determination. Zinc status was determined by zinc assay in plasma, lymphocytes, and granulocytes. Pretreatment zinc status and nutritional status were correlated with clinical outcomes in 47 patients. Assessment of immune functions included production of TH1 and TH2 cytokines, T cell subpopulations and cutaneous delayed hypersensitivity reaction to common antigens. At baseline approximately 50% of our subjects were zinc-deficient based on cellular zinc criteria and had decreased production of TH1 cytokines but not TH2 cytokines, decreased NK cell lytic activity and decreased proportion of CD4+ CD45RA+ cells in the peripheral blood. The tumor size and overall stage of the disease correlated with baseline zinc status but not with PNI, alcohol intake, or smoking. Zinc deficiency was associated with increased unplanned hospitalizations. The disease-free interval was highest for the group which had both zinc sufficient and nutrition sufficient [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-07-03T17:11:10-07:00July, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

SSRI Prevents Depression in Head, Neck Cancer

Source: MedPage TodayBy Salynn Boyles, Contributing WriterPublished: June 21, 2013 Prophylactic escitalopram cut the incidence of depression in head and neck cancer patients by more than 50% and improved quality of life, a clinical trial showed. Significantly fewer patients taking the antidepressant developed depression, when compared with those on placebo (10% vs 24.6%; stratified log-rank test, P=.04), according to a study in the June 20 issue of JAMA Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery. "Depression is very common among patients with this disease, but it is not easy to predict who will become depressed at the beginning of treatment," University of Nebraska Medical Center professor of head and neck oncology William Lydiatt, MD, told MedPage Today. "That's why the prevention paradigm may offer considerable benefit at an acceptable risk." As many as half of head and neck cancer patients develop clinical depression within months of their diagnosis and suicide rates are among the highest in patients with a medical illness, Lydiatt noted. "The burden of treatment is extensive and frequently includes dysphagia, disfigurement, voice alterations, mucositis, need for tracheostomy and feeding tubes, fatigue and depression," the researchers wrote. They chose the generic version of the popular SSRI Lexapro for the trial to give patients an affordable treatment option that's well tolerated in the elderly. The randomized, double-blind trial included 148 newly diagnosed head and neck cancer patients entering treatment who did not yet have a diagnosis of depression. The patients were stratified by sex, site of disease, stage, and primary modality of [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-06-21T14:10:07-07:00June, 2013|Oral Cancer News|