2020 – Page 2 – Oral Cancer News

Thousands of Brits may be living with mouth cancer after ‘healthy’ dad dies aged 37

Source: www.mirror.co.uk Author: Alan Weston & Sam Truelove A dentist has warned that thousands of Brits may be unknowingly living with mouth cancer after a "healthy" dad-of-seven died from the disease. Alan Birch, 37, lived a healthy, active lifestyle and did not drink or smoke but died from an aggressive form of mouth cancer in April. The self-employed plasterer, from Wirral in Merseyside, was diagnosed with mouth cancer in 2018, and had to have 90 per cent of his tongue removed, Liverpool Echo reports. Despite Alan undergoing both radiotherapy and chemotherapy, the cancer returned each time and specialists told his devastated family there was nothing more they could do for him. Alan and his partner of 12 years, Debbie McDonough, decided to get married in February, but he tragically died a few weeks later in April. With the latest figures from the British Dental Association showing that 19 million treatments have been missed due to lockdown, dentists are now concerned about the number of cases of mouth cancer that will have potentially gone undiagnosed this year as a result. Mouth cancer takes more lives than cervical cancer and testicular cancer combined, with 8,722 new cases reported in the UK last year. This is a 58 per cent increase compared to a decade ago and a 97 per cent rise since 2000. Debbie said: "I would urge people to always keep on top of their dentist appointments as they are the ones who notice the warning signs for mouth and tongue [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2020-11-29T15:06:57-07:00November, 2020|Oral Cancer News|

Why immunotherapy only works for some with head and neck cancer

Source: medicalxpress.com Author: Katie Pence, University of Cincinnati Image of a healthy T cell on left compared to a cancer T cell on right. Credit: Ameet Chimote University of Cincinnati researchers have discovered new clues into why some people with head and neck cancer respond to immunotherapy, while others don't. Findings published in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer show that it could all come down to "channeling" the power and function within one particular type of immune cell. Laura Conforti, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at the UC College of Medicine and corresponding author on the study, says understanding these mechanisms could help in creating combination treatments to more effectively treat some patients with cancer. She points out that head and neck cancers are the sixth most common cancers in the world, affecting about 53,000 Americans every year. To combat the deadly disease, doctors often turn to immunotherapy, which boosts the body's own immune system in an effort to identify and kill cancer cells. "Our immune cells are naturally programmed to distinguish between our body's 'normal' cells and what they see as 'foreign' cells and attack only the foreign cells," explains Conforti. She says the immune cells—called T cells— lead the body's attack against cancers but the impact of that attack can be proven futile if a molecule in cancer cells is able to bind to an immune checkpoint in the T cells and effectively "turn them off like a light switch." As a [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2020-11-25T13:38:19-07:00November, 2020|Oral Cancer News|

UArizona clinical trail expanding after early results with personalized cancer vaccine

Source: www.kold.com Author: Karly Tinsley Despite the pandemic, groundbreaking research has not stopped at the University of Arizona. Researchers with the UArizona Health Sciences are working to help treat cancer by using personalized vaccines. It works in combination with the immuno-therapy drug Pembrolizumab. According to the UArizona, Julie E. Bauman, MD, MPH, deputy director of the University of Arizona Cancer Center and a professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Hematology and Oncology at the UArizona College of Medicine – Tucson, presented preliminary data on the first 10 patients with head and neck cancer, seven of which were treated at Banner – University Medicine, the clinical partner for the UArizona Cancer Center. Five of the 10 patients experienced a clinical response to the personalized cancer vaccine, and two patients had a complete response after the treatment (no detectable disease present). Molly Cassidy is one of the 10 who went through the trial. “I was a young healthy woman, so it was a big shock to get diagnosed,” said Cassidy. She was first diagnosed with oral cancer after complaining of an ear ache. Dentists initially found a tumor in her tongue that was later identified as cancer. She then went through treatment for the tumor, but her cancer came back aggressively. “I had tumors throughout my neck, in my lungs, I was really really ill,” said Cassidy. At this time she was seeing Dr. Bauman, who said they both understood her chances of survival were slim at that point. [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2020-11-21T10:33:28-07:00November, 2020|Oral Cancer News|

Deciphering molecular intelligence for early oral cancer detection

Source: www.openaccessgovernment.org Author: Muy-Teck Teh, Senior Lecturer, Queen Mary University of London Muy-Teck Teh, Senior Lecturer from Barts and the London School of Medicine & Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London discusses how a novel low-cost rapid digital diagnostic test could help save lives and reduce head and neck cancer burden worldwide: Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a heterogenous group of diseases involving malignancies of the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, nasal cavity, paranasal sinuses and salivary glands. It is the sixth most common cancer, with an incidence of around 600,000 cases worldwide. These numbers are expected to double by 2035, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Despite advances in treatment options for oral cancer (mostly oral squamous cell carcinoma, OSCC), the 5-year survival rate (~50%) has not improved over the last half century, mainly because many malignancies are not diagnosed until late stages of the disease. Published data showed that over 70% of OSCC patients have some form of pre-existing oral premalignant disorder (OPMD) lesions amenable to early diagnosis and risk stratification. Hence, the potential to reduce the morbidity and mortality of OSCC through early detection is of critical importance. Century old diagnostic method needs upgrading OPMDs are very common but clinicians are unable to differentiate between high- and low-risk OPMDs through histopathological gold standard method based on subjective opinion provided by pathologists. As there is currently no quantitative method to detect high-risk lesions, most OPMD patients are indiscriminately put on time consuming, costly and stressful [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2020-11-15T09:08:56-07:00November, 2020|Oral Cancer News|

NYU study shows oral cancer pain may predict likelihood of cancer spreading

Source: www.ada.org Author: Mary Beth Versaci An oral cancer patient's pain intensity score could predict cancer metastasis, helping with future testing options and surgical decision-making, according to a study from the New York University College of Dentistry. The authors of "Oncogenes Overexpressed in Metastatic Oral Cancers from Patients with Pain: Potential Pain Mediators Released in Exosomes," published in September by Scientific Reports, an open-access journal from Nature Research, used a questionnaire to document the pain experienced by 72 oral cancer patients before oral cancer surgery. While most patients reported some pain, those with the most pain were more likely to have cancer that had spread to lymph nodes in the neck, suggesting patients with less pain were at lower risk of metastasis, according to the study. "While we need to undertake a follow-up study, our current data reveal that a patient's pain intensity score works as well as the current method — depth of invasion, or how deeply a tumor has invaded nearby tissue — as an index to predict metastasis," lead author Aditi Bhattacharya, Ph.D., said in an NYU news release about the study. To help understand why metastatic cancers are more painful, the researchers looked for differences in gene expression in metastatic cancers from patients with high levels of pain and nonmetastatic cancers from patients not experiencing pain and identified 40 genes that were more highly expressed in painful metastatic cancers, suggesting those genes are associated with oral cancer metastasis and mediate cancer pain, according to the study. [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2020-11-14T11:08:36-07:00November, 2020|Oral Cancer News|

Artificial intelligence being trained to predict risk of developing oral cancer

Source: thestreetjournal.org Author: staff, NHS The diagnosis of oral cancer could be ‘revolutionised’ by using artificial intelligence to predict whether someone is likely to develop the disease, experts have said. Experts led from the Universities of Sheffield and Warwick have teamed up to investigate how machine learning could be applied to aid doctors in early detection. Diagnoses of oral cancers — including those of the mouth, tongue and tonsils — have increased by almost 60 per cent over the last decade, team noted. The risk of such cancers is heightened by such factors as alcohol consumption, increasing age, insufficient fruit and vegetables, tobacco and viral infection. Doctors evaluate the likelihood of pre-cancerous changes in the lining of the mouth — so-called oral epithelial dysplasia — developing into cancer using 15 criteria. As this approach is highly subjective, however, there is considerable variation in how patients are treated following biopsy — and a more objective system is needed. The diagnosis of oral cancer could be ‘revolutionised’ by using artificial intelligence to predict whether someone is likely to develop the disease, experts have said. ‘The precise grading of oral epithelial dysplasia is a huge diagnostic challenge, even for experienced pathologists, as it is so subjective,’ said clinical dentist Ali Khurram of the University of Sheffield. ‘At the moment a biopsy may be graded differently by different pathologists, the same pathologist may even grade the same biopsy differently on a different day.’ ‘Correct grading is vital in early oral cancer detection to inform [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2020-11-04T12:05:12-07:00November, 2020|Oral Cancer News|

Mouth cancer in the UK at record high

Source: www.hippocraticpost.com Author: staff New cases of mouth cancer in the UK have risen to a record high, according to the findings of a new report. New figures show there have been 8,722 new cases of mouth cancer in the UK last year. This is an increase of 58% compared to ten years ago and 97% compared to 20 years ago. Data released in a new report to coincide with November’s Mouth Cancer Action Month. Figures collected by the Oral Health Foundation show that 8,722 people in the UK were diagnosed with the disease last year, increasing by 97% since 2000. Mouth cancer cases in the UK have soared for the 11th year in a row and have more than doubled within the last generation. The findings are part of the charity’s new State of Mouth Cancer UK Report 2020/21 and have been released to coincide with November’s Mouth Cancer Action Month. Dr Nigel Carter OBE, Chief Executive of the Oral Health Foundation, believes with mouth cancer cases continuing to rise, more must be done to raise awareness of the disease. Dr Carter says: “While many cancers are seeing a reduction in the number of people affected, mouth cancer is one of very few that is sadly going the other way. Established risk factors like smoking and excessive alcohol have been joined by emerging causes like the human papillomavirus (HPV). This has changed the profile of the disease quite considerably over recent years and mouth cancer can now affect anybody. [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2020-11-04T11:53:47-07:00November, 2020|Oral Cancer News|

Breath analysis for effective detection of cancer

Source: washingtonnewsday.com Author: Jonathan Edwards By analyzing a breath sample, it seems possible to successfully identify different types of cancer, according to the results of the new study involving researchers from Flinders University. The study was published in the English language journal British Journal of Cancer. Researchers have now made significant progress in developing a breath analysis to detect cancer. The new method has made it possible to effectively identify cancer of the head and neck. Six percent of all cancers worldwide are head and neck cancers, which kill more than 300,000 people every year. Tobacco, alcohol and poor oral hygiene are known major risk factors for this form of cancer. The increase in head and neck cancer is associated with human papilloma virus (HPV) and also affects younger population groups, the research team continued. Current therapies are effective in treating early-stage disease, but such diseases are often detected in the late stages and are often associated with a poorer prognosis and high morbidity. It is therefore important to identify dangerous diseases such as head and neck cancer as quickly as possible. Cancers of the neck and head are widespread The global effort to use a person’s breath analysis for fast, inexpensive and accurate testing for cancer and other early-stage diseases could take a big step forward with the new method. For the study, breath samples were taken from 181 people suspected of having early head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. By examining exhalation profiles, the newly developed method made [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2020-10-27T19:35:24-07:00October, 2020|Oral Cancer News|

Thousands of Britons with deadly mouth cancer will be spared gruelling chemotherapy thanks to immune-boosting drug

Source: www.dailymail.co.uk Author: Eve Simmons for The Mail on Sunday Thousands of Britons with deadly mouth cancer will now be spared grueling chemotherapy thanks to an immune-boosting drug. The treatment, given the green light by health chiefs last week, offers fresh hope to patients whose cancer has either spread or deemed inoperable. Currently, these patients have two options to prolong their life – chemotherapy and weekly infusions of potent cancer drugs, which often leave patients debilitated and confined to bed for the short time they have left. But now immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab can help some patients with the disease live up to 30 per cent longer than they would with chemotherapy, with 50 per cent fewer side effects. Last week's ruling by UK health watchdog NICE, which was based on the results of final-stage international trials, permits the treatment not only for advanced mouth cancer but also cancers of the nose, sinuses and salivary glands, known collectively as head and neck cancers. Doctors must first test patients' tumours for a protein called PD-L1, which limits the immune system's ability to find and destroy the cancer. Immunotherapy drugs such as pembrolizumab blocks PD-L1, helping the body's fighter cells to attack tumours.The majority of people with advanced head and neck cancer will test positive for PD-L1. Roughly 12,000 Britons are diagnosed with these cancers every year – mostly men over the age of 70. In the majority of cases, head and neck cancers are spotted at a late stage as they are [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2020-10-26T23:30:25-07:00October, 2020|Oral Cancer News|

Oral cancer pain linked to disease spread

Source: www.docwirenews.com Author: Robert Dillard Oral cancer is more likely to spread in patients who experience high levels of pain, according to a study published in the journal Scientific Reports. When oral cancer spreads to lymph nodes in the neck, a patient’s chance of survival is cut by half, the researchers noted. However, it’s often unclear through imaging and physical assessment if oral cancer has spread, leaving surgeons struggling with whether to preemptively perform prophylactic neck dissection to remove the cancer when research shows that up to 70% are unnecessary. Researchers documented the pain experienced by 72 oral cancer patients before surgery by way of an oral cancer pain questionnaire developed by the investigators. While most patients reported some pain, researchers observed that patients with the most pain were more likely to have cancer that spread to lymph nodes in the neck. This observation suggests that patients with less pain are at low risk of metastasis, and will rarely benefit from a neck dissection. “I have been investigating the underlying cause of oral cancer pain for two decades. This is the first time that we have demonstrated a correlation between a patient’s pain and the clinical behavior of the cancer,” said Brian L. Schmidt, DDS, MD, PhD, director of the NYU Oral Cancer Center and one of the study’s authors via a press release. Aditi Bhattacharya, PhD, an assistant professor in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at NYU College of Dentistry added: “While we need to undertake a [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2020-10-11T06:57:16-07:00October, 2020|Oral Cancer News|