M. D. Anderson Cancer Center

Head and Neck Cancer Study

Source: American Journal of Neuroradiology BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Radiographic determination of viable disease in cervical adenopathy following RT for head and neck cancer can be challenging. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the utility of US, with or without FNA, in regard to the postradiotherapy effects on documented metastatic adenopathy in patients with oropharyngeal cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study included 133 patients with node-positive oropharyngeal cancer who were irradiated from 1998 to 2004. Sonographic evaluation was performed within 6 months of completion of radiation. Posttreatment US results were compared with pretreatment CT images and were recorded as the following: progression, suspicious, indeterminate, posttreatment change, or regression (positive) versus nonsuspicious or benign (negative). FNAC was classified as nondiagnostic, negative, indeterminate, or positive. Results of US and US-guided FNAC were correlated with findings at neck dissection and disease outcome. RESULTS: Of 203 sonographic examinations, 90% were technically feasible and yielded a nonequivocal imaging diagnosis. Of 87 US-guided FNAs, 71% yielded a nonequivocal tissue diagnosis. The PPV and NPV of initial posttreatment US were 11% and 97%. Sensitivity and specificity were 92% and 28%. The PPV and NPV of US-guided FNA were 33% and 95%, and the sensitivity and specificity were 75% and 74%. On serial sonographic surveillance, of 33 patients with nonsuspicious findings, only 1 (3%) had neck recurrence. Of 22 patients with questionable findings on CT and negative findings on US, none had a neck recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: In experienced hands, serial US is an inexpensive noninvasive reassuring follow-up [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-07-18T09:25:41-07:00July, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

The Major Component In Tumeric Enhances The Effect Of Chemotherapy In Suppressing Head And Neck Cancers

Curcumin, the major component in the spice turmeric, when combined with the drug Cisplatin enhances the chemotherapy's suppression of head and neck cancer cell growth, researchers with UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center have found. A naturally occurring spice widely used in South Asian and Middle Eastern cooking, Turmeric has long been known to have medicinal properties, attributed to its anti-inflammatory effects. Previous studies have shown it can suppress the growth of certain cancers, said Dr. Marilene Wang, a professor of head and neck surgery, lead author of the study and a Jonsson Cancer Center researcher. "Head and neck cancers, particularly cases diagnosed in a later stage, are terrible cancers that often require very radical surgeries and chemotherapy and radiation," Wang said. "They often don't present until late, and the structures in the head and neck are so vital that our treatments often cause disfigurement and severe loss of function. So using non-toxic curcumin as a treatment was a very appealing idea." The study, done in cells in Petri dishes and then in mouse models, appears in the October issue of the journal Molecular Cancer Therapeutics. In India, women for years have been using turmeric for medicinal purposes, as an anti-aging agent rubbed into their skin, to treat cramps during menstruation, as a poultice on the skin to promote wound healing and as an additive in cosmetics, said scientist Eri Srivatsan, an adjunct professor of surgery and a Jonsson Cancer Center researcher who, along with Wang, has been studying curcumin and its [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-10-21T15:06:19-07:00October, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Oral Cancer Foundation founder named Survivor Circle Award winner by ASTRO

The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has named Brian Hill of Newport Beach, Calif., as its 2010 Survivor Circle Award winner. Hill will be recognized with a trophy and a $1,000 prize during the Awards Ceremony on Tuesday, November 2, 2010, during ASTRO's 52nd Annual Meeting in San Diego. He has chosen to donate the funds from the award to benefit The Oral Cancer Foundation, the nonprofit he started a decade ago. The Survivor Circle Award recognizes a cancer survivor who has given back to the community by devoting his or her time to helping others with cancer. Hill was diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic tonsil cancer in 1997. When he was going through treatment, he had many questions about side effects and realized there was a lack of information and awareness about head and neck cancer even though the disease has a very high death rate, due to it being caught at a late stage in most cases. "There was a huge lack of information available, and I was desperate to find someone to talk to who had gone through the same thing I was experiencing," Hill said. "I knew that if I was feeling this way, there had to be others feeling my frustrations too. I then became a student of the disease. " After Hill completed his grueling but successful radiation treatments at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, he and his wife Ingrid founded The Oral Cancer Foundation in 1999, which is now a national [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-10-15T15:42:57-07:00October, 2010|OCF In The News|

AACR recognizes one-year anniversary of tobacco law and the additional provisions taking effect today; calls for more research to combat tobacco epidemic

Source: AACR Author: Staff WASHINGTON, D.C. — The American Association for Cancer Research recognizes the first anniversary of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which was signed into law by President Obama on June 22, 2009. The law empowered the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate the marketing, advertising and manufacturing of tobacco products. Provisions that go into effect today include restrictions on youth access to tobacco products, enhanced warning labels on smokeless tobacco products, and a ban on the use of deceptive terms such as “light” or “mild.” “While most people know that cigarette smoking causes cancer, we need to do a far better job of educating the public about the risks of all tobacco products,” said Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), chief executive officer of the AACR. “In fact, there is sufficient scientific evidence to causally link tobacco use to cancers at 18 different organ sites. For example, smokeless tobacco alone can cause cancer of the mouth, esophagus and pancreas, and new smokeless tobacco labels will help to deliver that message.” Starting today, smokeless tobacco product labels must be larger, and incorporate messages including that smokeless tobacco is addictive and can cause mouth cancer. “With nearly a third of all cancer deaths caused by tobacco use, it is imperative that the research community come together to support the FDA in its efforts to establish a science-based framework for evaluating the harms caused by tobacco products,” said Chairperson of the AACR Task Force on Tobacco and [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-07-04T14:48:08-07:00July, 2010|Oral Cancer News|