radiation oncology

Perspectives on Coping Among Patients With Head and Neck Cancer Receiving Radiation

Source: MedScape News Today Abstract and Introduction Abstract Purpose/Objectives: To describe coping among patients with laryngeal and oropharyngeal cancer during definitive radiation with or without chemotherapy. Research Approach: Qualitative content analysis conducted within a larger study. Setting: Two radiation oncology outpatient clinics in Baltimore, MD. Participants: 21 patients with oropharyngeal or laryngeal cancer. Methodologic Approach: Interviews with open-ended questions were conducted during treatment. Questions covered topics such as coping during treatment, treatment-related issues, and resources. Main Research Variables: Coping, treatment, and coping resources. Findings: Patients' self-assessments suggested they were coping or that coping was rough or upsetting. Issues that required coping varied over four time points. Physical side effects were problematic during and one month after treatment completion. Patients used coping to manage the uncertainties of physical and psychological aspects of their experience. Family and friend support was a common coping strategy used by patients, with the intensity of side effects corresponding with the support provided across time points. Conclusions: Findings confirm previous research, but also provide new information about ways in which patients with head and neck cancer cope with their illness experience. Emergent themes provide insight into patients' feelings, issues, and assistance received with coping. Interpretation: Patients with head and neck cancer need education on the amount and severity of side effects and should be appraised of potential difficulties with scheduling, driving, and other logistic issues. Patients also should be informed of helpful types of support and coping strategies. Additional research is needed to expand the findings related [...]

Charlotte Parker2012-06-27T10:08:59-07:00June, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Penn study finds delayed side effects of head and neck cancer treatments go unreported

Source: Eurekalert.org Results reinforce need for improved 'survivorship care' to encourage patients to seek help for their symptoms CHICAGO – New data from an Internet-based study show that patients with head and neck cancers (HNC) may be at risk for significant late effects after their treatment, but they're unlikely to discuss these and other survivorship care issues with their doctors. The findings, from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, will be presented Monday, June 4, at the 2012 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting in Chicago. The research team says the study reinforces the need to improve survivorship care for patients as they complete their active treatment, better educate patients about late effects they may experience, and encourage them to report these problems to their healthcare providers so they can be addressed. Data from nearly 4,000 cancer survivors were gathered between April 2010 and October 2011 via patients who completed LIVESTRONG Care Plans via OncoLink, Penn Medicine's online cancer resource. Approximately four percent of those patients had been treated for a primary head or neck cancer. Of those, nearly 88 percent reported having undergone radiation, 73 percent surgery, and 67 percent chemotherapy. Many patients reported late effects such as difficulty swallowing/speaking (83 percent), decreased saliva production (88 percent), thyroid problems (33 percent), decreased neck mobility (60 percent), concerns regarding cognitive function (53 percent), or vision deficits. However, since results show that patients only discuss the survivorship care plans they created on the site [...]

Charlotte Parker2012-05-31T12:09:42-07:00May, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

HPV-Positive head and neck cancer: favorable prognosis does not lead to clear choices for changes in treatments

Source: OncologyStat Author: Thomas F. Pajak CHANDLER, Ariz. (EGMN) - Human papillomavirus infection is clearly a prognostic factor in patients with head and neck cancer. But whether HPV status can be used to guide treatment decisions is far from clear, according to speakers at a head and neck cancer symposium sponsored by the American Society for Radiation Oncology. The Investigator's Perspective Across trials that tested different regimens in heterogeneous populations with head and neck cancer, patients with HPV-positive disease have had at least a one-half reduction in the risk of death, relative to their counterparts with HPV-negative disease, began Dr. Maura L. Gillison, a professor of medicine and epidemiology at Ohio State University in Columbus. "Clearly, HPV tumor status is prognostic," she said, citing multiple factors that might explain why HPV-positive patients have better survival outcomes. Certain attributes that track with HPV positivity - better performance status, younger age, lower T stage, and absence of anemia - are also favorable prognostic factors, she noted. And HPV positivity confers a better response to both radiation therapy and induction chemotherapy. In addition, data from the RTOG (Radiation Therapy Oncology Group) 0129 trial of chemoradiation show that HPV-positive patients are less likely than their HPV-negative peers to experience a locoregional failure and to develop second primaries, although rates of distant metastases are similar. "What we can conclude at this point is that the relative survival for the HPV-positive patient appears independent of therapy, as long as that therapy is within the standard of [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-04-19T22:22:16-07:00April, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Medical group urges new rules on radiation

Source: nytimes.com Author: Walt Bogdanich The leading professional organization dedicated to radiation oncology has called for enhanced safety measures in administering medical radiation, including the establishment of the nation’s first central database for the reporting of errors involving linear accelerators — machines that generate radiation — and CT scanners. The group, the American Society for Radiation Oncology, or Astro, issued a six-point plan on Wednesday that it said would improve safety and quality and reduce the chances of medical errors. Even though the group says serious radiation accidents are rare, it says it will work toward a stronger accreditation program, expanded training, and an enhanced program to ensure that medical technologies from different manufacturers can safely transfer information. Astro will also press for federal legislation to require national standards for radiation therapy treatment teams, along with additional resources for the Radiological Physics Center, a federally financed group that evaluates the safety of treatments. Dr. Anthony L. Zietman, professor of radiation oncology at Harvard Medical School and Astro’s president, said the goal was to “take measures that are currently in existence, recognize them and then work to strengthen them and above all work to reassure patients.” The group said it began a comprehensive review of existing policies last week after two articles in The New York Times reported on the harm that can result when powerful and technologically complex machines go awry and when basic safety procedures are not followed. The articles reported that medical personnel who work with the new [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-02-05T22:29:56-07:00February, 2010|Oral Cancer News|