ultrasound – Oral Cancer News

Imaging technique identifies early metastasis in lymph nodes

Source: www.newswise.com Author: National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering NIBIB-funded researchers have developed a highly sensitive and accurate imaging technique for non-invasive screening of lymph nodes for metastatic cancer. Current practice calls for invasive surgical biopsies to determine whether deadly metastatic cancer cells have invaded the lymph nodes. The new imaging technique – so far tested in mice – offers a rapid and effective tool to noninvasively identify very small numbers of these cells, known as micrometastases, thus detecting cancer’s spread at its earliest stages, which is critical for timely treatment. The work, developed at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, is reported in the October issue of Cancer Research. The technique uses an imaging approach known as ultrasound-guided photoacoustics combined with nanosensors designed to target and identify metastatic cells in lymph nodes. Richard Conroy, Ph.D., Director of the NIBIB Program in Molecular Imaging elaborates on the technology’s potential: "This work is an excellent example of the development of a cutting edge technology that works very well in an experimental system but also has great potential to change the way we monitor and diagnose cancer metastasis. Identifying the accumulation of cells early in the process with some molecular characterization offers the opportunity for more targeted and effective treatment and fewer side effects.” More than 90% of cancer deaths can be attributed to metastases either directly or indirectly. In current clinical practice, an invasive surgical procedure called sentinel lymph node (SLN) [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2015-05-24T08:48:05-07:00May, 2015|Oral Cancer News|

Regular dental checkups key to early detection of oral cancer

Source: www.dentistryiq.com Author: Mark Newman, News Staff Julie DiNardo knew something wasn't right. The long-time Mountain registered dental hygienist was chatting with Pino, her husband of 23 years, at the breakfast table back in April 2011 when she became concerned about a lack of symmetry on Pino's face. "He looked a little off on one side of his throat," said Julie, who has been screening people for oral cancer for more than a quarter-century. As she has been trained to do, Julie began to feel her husband's neck, her fingers pushing down gently, but firmly in a number of places. Little did she know, her many years of encouraging the public to get annual oral check-ups was about to hit home. Under Pino's right ear, along the jaw line, Julie discovered something she described as feeling like a fish. Her heart skipped a beat. "When you've felt thousands of necks and you've felt thousands of normals, when an abnormal comes up, you know it," Julie said. While dozens of worrisome thoughts raced through her mind at the time, the mother of four told her husband to get the lump checked out at their family doctor right away. The family doctor couldn't find anything and sent Pino home with antibiotics in case there was some inflammation. Julie said she insisted her husband see a specialist and Pino was examined by an ear, nose and throat doctor who was also unable to find anything. The specialist did send Pino for an ultrasound [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2013-03-12T06:55:37-07:00March, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

Ultrasound as effective as CT scans for most diagnoses, reducing the dangers of radiation

Source: www.medicalnewstoday.com Author: staff For diagnosing head and neck ailments, tests that use radiation are always less desirable than those that don't. Otolaryngologists have a wide range of techniques available to them, including CT or "CAT" scans, MRI and ultrasound. CT uses significant radiation and MRI a lower amount, but ultrasound is a non-invasive, non-radiating technique. It does not require injection of radioactive contrast material and has no side effects. Now, a new study by Tel Aviv University exploring the efficacy of expensive and invasive CT scans has found that, in some cases, they don't offer a clinical advantage over a simple, inexpensive ultrasound procedure. In his study, Dr. Michael Vaiman of Tel Aviv University's Sackler Faculty of Medicine compared the efficacy of CT versus ultrasound scans for locating vertebral arteries in the throat, an important assessment that must be completed before a surgeon operates in the neck area of the body. After comparing the outcomes of 250 CT scans with 500 ultrasound images, he concluded that there is no advantage to using CT scans for most of these procedures, especially those that are used to locate anomalies in the neck to map major arteries before surgery can take place. Dr. Vaiman's results were published in the March issue of the European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology. When scans are sound CT scans combine X-rays with highly sophisticated computers to produce a number of pictures of the interior of the body. Traditionally, doctors have relied on these scans to find neck arteries [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-05-13T12:21:24-07:00May, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Office-based ultrasound-guided FNA found to be superior in diagnosing head and neck lesions

Source: American Academy of Otolaryngology Author: Jessica Mikulski Office-based, surgeon-performed, ultrasound-guided, fine needle aspiration (FNA) of head and neck lesions yields a statistically significant higher diagnostic rate compared to the standard palpation technique, indicates new research in the March 2010 issue of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery. FNA is a diagnostic procedure used to investigate superficial lumps or masses. In this technique, a thin, hollow needle is inserted into a mass to extract cells for examination. FNA biopsies are a safe minor surgical procedure. Often, a major surgical (excisional or open) biopsy can be avoided by performing a needle aspiration biopsy instead. FNA biopsies in the head and neck have also proven to be an invaluable tool in establishing the diagnosis of lesions and masses from a broad range of sites, including the thyroid, salivary glands, and lymph nodes. The efficacy of ultrasound-guided FNA has been well documented in many areas of the body, leading to its acceptance as the standard of care among radiologists and many cytopathologists. However, while the utility of ultrasound in the head and neck is widely appreciated and employed by the radiology community, clinicians in the United States have not embraced office-based ultrasound. The study authors sought to provide additional evidence and support for this procedure in order to ensure appropriate use by the clinical community. In this randomized, controlled trial of 81 adults, researchers divided participants into two groups, using either ultrasound-guided or traditional palpation-guided FNA to evaluate an identified head and neck mass. [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-03-11T18:54:05-07:00March, 2010|Oral Cancer News|