HPV-related oral cancer – Oral Cancer News

Throat cancer survivor: Why I’m an HPV vaccine advocate and a MyCancerConnection Volunteer

Author: George Brownfield Source: www.mdanderson.org By the time I was diagnosed with HPV-related throat cancer in the summer of 2014, I’d been working as a senior systems analyst at MD Anderson for more than 20 years. I’d seen some of the incredible things our doctors were doing for people and was very aware of our reputation. So, there was never any doubt about where I’d be going for throat cancer treatment. Once I was cancer-free, I realized I wanted to pay it forward. That’s why I started volunteering through myCancerConnection, MD Anderson’s one-on-one cancer support community for patients and caregivers. I also became a vocal advocate for vaccinating kids against HPV. My throat cancer diagnosis The ear, nose and throat specialist who initially diagnosed me was very timid about telling me why my lymph nodes were swollen. The only thing he ever really stated plainly was that I needed to get to MD Anderson. As a result, I wasn’t even sure I had throat cancer until I met with surgical oncologist Dr. Amy Hessel. She was clear and precise about my diagnosis, but also very comforting. She told me that the cancer was stage I, and she knew exactly how to treat it. I was going to be fine. I felt such a sense of relief. The cancer was mainly in my left aryepiglottic fold and piriform sinus. That's the first part of the swallowing tube, which acts sort of like a funnel in directing food to the esophagus. Dr. [...]

OCF News Team - B2022-06-14T07:23:58-07:00June, 2022|Oral Cancer News|

Single-Port Robotic Arm a Gamechanger for Throat Cancer Patients

Author: Lissete Hilton Source: www.physician-news.umiamihealth.org The da Vinci Single-Port robot is an example of how seemingly small advances in technology can drastically change cancer patients’ lives. Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of UHealth – the University of Miami Health System, is among the only South Florida health systems to offer the da Vinci Single-Port robot, which surgeons at the cancer center use to remove tumors in the throat. "Being on the cutting edge of robotic surgical advancements that can be applied across multiple specialties allows us to provide the best possible outcomes to our patients," said Dipen J. Parekh, M.D., founding director and chair of the Desai Sethi Urology Institute and director of robotic surgery. Among the patients who benefit most from the new technology are those with squamous cell carcinomas of the tonsil and base of tongue caused by past infection with the human papilloma virus (HPV), according to Donald T. Weed, M.D., co-leader of the Head and Neck Site Disease Group at Sylvester and vice chair for academic affairs in the Department of Otolaryngology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. “Those are the most common throat cancers that we see in non-smokers,” Dr. Weed said. Benefits of the Single-Arm Robot The single-port robot is a gamechanger compared to previous robotic technology because it provides better access through the narrow opening of the throat, said Francisco J. Civantos, M.D., the Virginia M. Horner Endowed Chair in Head and Neck Oncology Research. The older and more widely [...]

OCF News Team - B2022-06-02T07:32:29-07:00June, 2022|Oral Cancer News|

A cancer on the rise, and the vaccine too late for Gen X

Source: www.cnn.comAuthor: Martha Shade (CNN)The vaccine given to prevent cervical cancer in women could end up saving men's lives, too. Evidence is mounting that the HPV vaccine is also effective in preventing other HPV-related cancers, including those of the head and neck. Although most people who get HPV do not develop cancer, rates of HPV-related head and neck cancers are dramatically rising for men aged 40 to 50, according to Dr. Maura L. Gillison, the Jeg Coughlin Chair of Cancer Research at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center. When Gillison recently gave a presentation showing the increasing rate of HPV-related head and neck cancer among men, her audience was shocked. "I've never shown a slide where the audience gasps," she said. Related: Yes, oral sex can lead to cancer "The risk of getting this cancer is strongly related to when you were born. If you are currently a 40- to 45-year-old man, your risk of getting this cancer is dramatically higher than a 40- to 45-year-old man three or four decades ago," Gillison said. Today's 40- to 50-year-old men have had more sexual partners and have engaged in more oral sex than previous generations, according to experts, significantly raising their risk of an HPV-related head and neck cancer. Actor Michael Douglas made headlines in 2013 when he announced he was battling an HPV-related cancer and that he got it from performing oral sex. Douglas was 68 when he was diagnosed, but many of the men being diagnosed with these [...]

Charlotte Parker2015-11-05T11:21:19-07:00November, 2015|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

The Man’s Guide to HPV

Source: Men's HealthBy: Melaina Juntti What men can do about HPV Michael Douglas caught major flak for saying oral sex gave him throat cancer. But if you're laughing, it's time to grow up. Oral cancers caused by the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV) have skyrocketed 225 percent in the past 15 years, with men accounting for 75 percent of all cases. The number-one culprit: HPV passed via oral sex. It used to be that cigarettes caused most of these cancers. But since smoking rates have plummeted over the past few decades, and we're having way more oral sex today than even our fathers' generation, HPV has become the most common STD in the U.S. – inevitably leading to more oral cancer cases. It only takes one time going down on someone to contract HPV, and experts estimate that 80 percent of us will be exposed to the virus at some point in our lives. This STD sometimes causes genital warts, but according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that's not very common. In most cases, HPV has no symptoms. And since no test exists to detect HPV in guys, you won't know you have the virus until years later – if it turns into cancer. "It's very hard to determine when you acquired HPV," says Dr. William Schaffner, chairman of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Vanderbilt University. "It doesn't usually come from just one sexual episode. That said, every once in a while, cancer develops within [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-06-10T11:35:49-07:00June, 2013|OCF In The News|

No increased risk of infection for long-term sex partners of people with HPV-related oral cancers

June 1, 2013 in Cancer Source: Medical Express Spouses and long-term partners of patients with mouth and throat cancers related to infection with the human papilloma virus (HPV) appear to have no increased prevalence of oral HPV infections, according to results of a multicenter, pilot study led by Johns Hopkins investigators. The study's results suggest that long-term couples need not change their sexual practices, say the scientists. "While we can't guarantee that the partners of patients will not develop oral HPV infections or cancers, we can reassure them that our study found they had no increased prevalence of oral infections, which suggests their risk of HPV-related oral cancer remains low," says Gypsyamber D'Souza, Ph.D., M.P.H., associate professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. She is expected to present the results of her study June 1 at the 2013 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting. HPV-related oral cancers are rising in prevalence among white men in the United States, and fear of transmitting the virus can lead to anxiety, divorce, and curtailing of sex and intimacy among couples, says D'Souza. Persistent oral HPV infections are a risk for developing oropharyngeal cancers, located at the base of the tongue, tonsils, pharynx and soft palate. At the Johns Hopkins Hospital and three other hospitals, researchers conducted surveys and took oral rinse samples from 166 male and female patients with HPV-related oropharyngeal cancers and 94 spouses and partners. The scientists also studied patients' tumor samples and performed visual [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-06-03T10:07:24-07:00June, 2013|Oral Cancer News|