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Intensity-modulated radiotherapy reduces xerostomia in head and neck cancer

Source: www.oncologystat.com Author: staff Intensity-modulated radiotherapy significantly reduces the risk of subjective xerostomia by about 50% in patients with pharyngeal tumors, according to the first results of the multicenter, phase III PARSPORT trial. Cancer Research UK's PARSPORT (Parotid-Sparing Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy Compared With Conventional Radiation Therapy in Treating Patients With Oropharyngeal or Hypopharyngeal Cancer Who Are at High Risk of Radiation-Induced Xerostomia) trial evenly randomized 94 patients with pharyngeal tumors to conventional radiotherapy (conventional radiotherapy ) or intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). A three-dimensional technique, IMRT produces highly conformal dose distributions that can reduce the radiation dose to the salivary glands and normal tissue. At 12 months, the incidence of grade 2 or higher xerostomia was 74% in CRT patients vs. 39% in IMRT patients, based on the subjective portion of the LENT/SOM (Late Effects on Normal Tissue-Subjective/Objective Management) questionnaire (P = .004). The benefit of IMRT appeared to continue over time, with an 18-month xerostomia incidence of 71% with conventional therapy vs. 29% with IMRT (P = .003), principal investigator Dr. Christopher Nutting reported in a late-breaking abstract presentation at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. A similar pattern was observed using the RTOG (Radiotherapy Oncology Group) scale. The incidence of at least grade 2 xerostomia was 64% with CRT vs. 41% with IMRT at 12 months (P = .05), and 81% vs. 20% at 18 months (P less than .001). This is the first randomized IMRT trial in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, although phase [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-07-07T19:02:00-07:00July, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

From cars to cancer: UH professor employs auto industry tools for tumor therapy

Source: www.genengnews.com Author: staff An effort is under way at the University of Houston to use technologies with origins in the automobile industry to develop new tools that will help doctors and technicians better plan radiation therapy for patients with head and neck cancer. Dr. Ali Kamrani, founding director of the Design and Free Form Fabrication Laboratory at UH and a former auto industry researcher, is teaming up with Dr. Lei Dong, associate professor and deputy research director of radiation physics at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, to develop predictive models of tumors that hopefully will increase the accuracy of radiation therapy. "We aim to better understand tumor deformations using geometric and statistical models rather than repetitive CT scans," said Kamrani, an associate professor of industrial engineering at the Cullen College of Engineering. "In this case, patients will undergo a minimum number of CT scans, and the radiation plans will be developed using the predictive models." Traditional computed tomography sessions, also known as CT scans, require a large series of two-dimensional X-ray images that, when combined, provide detailed three-dimensional images of many types of tissue. "A CT scan is used to collect information with respect to tumor size, location and volume," he said. "But the CT scan itself is a source of harmful radiation to body tissues and other organs. During the treatment, patients undergo a series of CT scans, which are costly and tedious." Reducing the number of CT scans is a primary objective for Kamrani, [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-05-06T13:31:06-07:00May, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Azaya licenses Health Science Center technology to treat cancer

Source: San Antonio Business Journal (www.bizjournals.com) Author: staff Azaya Therapeutics Inc. has licensed a technology that could be beneficial in treating head and neck cancers, the company said Wednesday. The technology involves the use of liposomes to deliver radiation into the head and neck tumors through a direct injection. Company officials say they may be able to shrink the tumor, delay recurrence and avoid collateral tissue damage that often accompanies other forms of radiation therapy. Liposomes are small, bubble-like particles that are made of the same material as cell membranes. They were engineered decades ago by the pharmaceutical industry. The company is planning to begin a phase I clinical trial in early 2010. Azaya is licensing the technology from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Scientists have been developing the radiation-infused liposome technology for the past six years. Azaya President and CEO Michael T. Dwyer says this is a good collaborative opportunity for the company and the university. “They have more than 15 years of expertise working with liposomes and a patent-pending method of using them to deliver radiation to a very specific tumor location,” Dwyer says. “And Azaya has a patented system for producing liposomes quickly and efficiently.” Dwyer adds that this treatment has the potential for addressing other forms of cancer as well, including prostate, breast and brain cancer. Azaya is a San Antonio-based pharmaceutical company with a novel drug delivery platform. Its proprietary Protein Stabilized Nanoparticles technology platform is designed to address the [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2008-09-03T18:54:06-07:00September, 2008|Oral Cancer News|