November 2022 – Oral Cancer News

Stanley Tucci was “like a ghost in [his] own house” when he had cancer

Source: home.nzcity.co.nz Author: staff The 62-year-old actor - who has three adult children with late first wife Kathryn Spath and Matteo, seven, and Emilia, four, with wife Felicity Blunt - was diagnosed with tongue cancer in 2017 and he admitted he reached a period where he "didn't see the point of living" if he would no longer be able to enjoy the pleasure of enjoying a meal with his loved ones again He said: "I was a cranky patient. Because I was miserable. I thought it was never going to go away. And I was like, how did this happen... "There were times when I thought I was never going to be able to eat with my family again. The things I love to do are eat and taste and drink. And I love to do them with the people I love. "If I can't do that, then I really don't see the point of living. "I spent months and months up in my room, listening to everybody. Like a ghost in my own house. People coming and going. And I would go down and I would cook, but I couldn't eat it - but I'd want to cook. "Sometimes it almost made me ill to do it, but I wanted to do it. It was pretty f****** awful." The 'Supernova' star has since gone into remission but there are still some foods and drinks he can't enjoy the way he used to. He told You magazine: "Since I wrote [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2022-11-30T21:38:56-07:00November, 2022|Oral Cancer News|

Treatment side effects to head and neck cancer patients reduced using immunotherapy

Source: www.theepochtimes.com Authors: Shan Lam, Nathan Amery Head and neck cancer patients suffer many side effects from conventional treatments, research shows such side effects can be reduced by using the recently developed “immunotherapy” treatment. Hong Kong Cancer Information Charity Foundation (CICF) announced the results of a questionnaire survey on “head and neck cancers” on Nov. 15. It was found that over 80 percent of the respondents experienced eating difficulties, including taste changes, dry mouth, difficulty swallowing (dysphagia) and oral ulcers; Respondents who received conventional treatment reported an average of 8.5 treatment side effects, and 43 percent had 10 or more side effects. CICF pointed out that the emergence of “immunotherapy” in recent years has reduced the side effects of conventional treatments and urged the government to include related treatments in funding projects. According to the CICF, head and neck cancers refer to cancer lesions in the head and neck, which can be divided into two types: head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and nasopharyngeal carcinoma. They are named after the original organs, such as oral cancer, hypopharyngeal cancer, and throat cancer. Over the past ten years, the number of new cases of head and neck cancers in Hong Kong has continued to rise, and the average number of deaths is 210 each year, accounting for 30 percent of those new cases. In the middle of 2022, the research team interviewed 97 head and neck cancer patients directly or through their caregivers in the form of an online questionnaire. The purpose was [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2022-11-30T21:31:35-07:00November, 2022|Oral Cancer News|

The role of bacteria in cancer growth

Source: www.news-medical.net Author: Dr. Priyom Bose, Ph.D., reviewed by Aimee Molineux Tumor-associated microbiota is an important component of the tumor microenvironment (TME) across 33 types of human cancer. However, little evidence is available regarding the spatial distribution and localization of these microbes in tumor cells. Addressing this gap in research, a recent Nature journal study evaluated spatial, cellular, and molecular host-microbe interactions in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and colorectal cancer (CRC). In this study, scientists mapped host–bacterial cellular, spatial, and molecular interactions within the TME using single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and in situ spatial-profiling technologies. Background Typically, cancer patients' tumors comprise malignant cells surrounded by a compound network of non-malignant cells. These cells might exhibit pro- or anti-tumorigenic effects based on their abundance and type. Both in vitro and in vivo experiments have indicated the presence of bacteria in the tumor-associated microbiota, which play an important role in cancer development, immunosurveillance, metastasis, and chemoresistance. Molecular analysis and bioimaging data have also shown the existence of intratumoral microbiota across major cancer types. There is a lack of evidence regarding the specific identity of host cells through which tumor-associated microbes interact with cancer patients' tumor cells. Additionally, little evidence has been documented related to identifying specific cells that harbor organisms. The effect of precise host–microbial cellular interactions and spatial distribution of the intratumoral microbiota on their functional capabilities within TME is not apparent. About the Study 16S rRNA gene sequencing of tumor tissues of CRC patients indicated the presence of various bacteria, including Fusobacterium. The abundance of this bacteria [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2022-11-21T12:07:55-07:00November, 2022|Oral Cancer News|

Parsing the genetic drivers of head and neck cancers

Source: today.ucsd.edu Author: UC San Diego press release Head and neck cancer, which kills more than 400,000 persons worldwide each year, has multiple causes. The human papilloma virus (HPV), a sexually transmitted infection, is one, but the most common and lethal subtype are HPV-negative head and neck cancers, which account for 3 percent of all malignancies in the United States and 15,000 deaths annually. “Typically, head and neck cancers begin in the squamous cells that line the mucosal surfaces, such as inside the mouth and throat and there are multiple treatment options, including surgery, radiation and chemotherapy,” said Ezra Cohen, MD, co-director of the Gleiberman Head and Neck Cancer Center at Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health. “But these cancers are complex and no single treatment works for every patient every time, which is why immune checkpoint inhibitors were developed, which use antibodies to make tumor cells visible to a patient’s immune system.” Immune checkpoint therapy (ICT) first emerged in the 1990s and has progressed dramatically in recent years, but drug resistance in head and neck cancer cases remains prevalent, poorly understood and largely unidentified by current biomarker tests, said Cohen. Currently available Food and Drug Administration-approved PD-1 (a protein) immune checkpoint antibody therapy produces durable responses in 15 percent of patients with head and neck squamous cancer. The remaining 85 percent receive no benefit and may, in fact, experience severe, immune-related adverse effects. Like other types of head and neck cancer, the HPV-negative subtype has multiple risk [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2022-11-17T21:39:36-07:00November, 2022|Oral Cancer News|

Deep learning algorithm outperforms radiologists in detecting head and neck cancer spread

Source: hospitalhealthcare.com Author: Rod Tucker A deep learning algorithm predicted pathologic extranodal extension in patients with head and neck cancer more successfully than radiologists A deep learning algorithm (DLA) has been found able to better predict pathologic microscopic and macroscopic extranodal extension (ENE), indicative of cancer spread, than radiologists according to the findings of a study presented at the World Cancer Congress, 2022. Worldwide, head and neck cancers account for approximately 900,000 cases and over 400,000 deaths annually. Typically, treatment strategies consist of radiation with or without chemotherapy or upfront surgery followed by adjuvant radiation with chemotherapy. ENE, and which is also referred to extracapsular extension or extracapsular spread, occurs when metastatic tumour cells within the lymph node break through the nodal capsule into surrounding tissues. Moreover, in locally advanced head and neck cancer, extracapsular spread of the tumour from neck nodes is a significant prognostic factor associated with a poor outcome. A further problem is that ENE can only be reliably diagnosed from postoperative pathology and if present, warrants adjuvant treatment intensification with the addition of chemotherapy to radiation therapy. The presence of ENE can be determined from CT scans although the method is not very accurate. Nevertheless, in a previous study, the same researchers developed a deep learning algorithm that enabled the prediction of ENE with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.91, prompting the authors to conclude that such a model has the potential for use as a clinical decision-making tool to help [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2022-11-03T14:26:14-07:00November, 2022|Oral Cancer News|