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Robot that can cut out hard-to-reach throat tumours through patients’ mouths: Pioneering operation reduces need for chemo and radiotherapy

Source: www.dailymail.co.uk Author: Fiona McCrae, Roger Dobson British surgeons are using a cutting-edge robot to remove difficult-to-reach throat tumours – through the mouths of patients. The pioneering operation is designed to dramatically reduce the need for gruelling radiotherapy and chemotherapy, which can leave patients unable to swallow and dependent on a feeding tube for life. With growing numbers of people developing throat cancer, it is more important than ever to have a range of effective treatments that lessen the impact on quality of life, says Asit Arora, consultant head and neck surgeon at Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Trust in London. Once most common in elderly people with a history of drinking and smoking, rates of head and neck cancers have soared by 31 per cent in the past 25 years and are now as common in people in their 50s as in those in their 80s. The 90 minute operation is designed to dramatically reduce the need for gruelling radiotherapy and chemotherapy, which can leave patients unable to swallow and dependent on a feeding tube for life Much of the rise is attributed to HPV – a range of viruses that can be passed on during intimate and sexual contact. At least 80 per cent of the adult population carries some kinds of HPV on their skin, although most will never know it. In some cases, HPV can cause skin or genital warts, and other types are a known cause of cervical and anal cancers. HPV can [...]

2019-03-11T13:59:53-07:00March, 2019|Oral Cancer News|
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HPV infection may be behind rise in vocal-cord cancers among young nonsmokers

Source: www.eurekalert.org Author: Public Release Massachusetts General Hospital A remarkable recent increase in the diagnosis of vocal-cord cancer in young adults appears to be the result of infection with strains of human papilloma virus (HPV) that also cause cervical cancer and other malignancies. Investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) describe finding HPV infection in all tested samples of vocal-cord cancer from 10 patients diagnosed at age 30 or under, most of whom were non-smokers. Their report appears in a special supplement on innovations in laryngeal surgery that accompanies the March 2019 issue of Annals of Otology, Rhinology and Laryngology. "Over the past 150 years, vocal-cord or glottic cancer has been almost exclusively a disease associated with smoking and almost entirely seen in patients over 40 years old," says Steven Zeitels, MD, director of the MGH Division of Laryngeal Surgery, senior author of the report. "Today nonsmokers are approaching 50 percent of glottic cancer patients, and it is common for them to be diagnosed under the age of 40. This epidemiologic transformation of vocal-cord cancer is a significant public health issue, due to the diagnostic confusion it can create." The researchers note that the increase in vocal-cord cancer diagnosis appears to mimic an earlier increase in the diagnosis of throat cancer, which has been associated with infections by high-risk strains of HPV. After initially attributing incidents of vocal-cord cancer in nonsmokers, which they began to see about 15 years ago, to increased travel and exposure to infectious diseases, Zeitels and his [...]

2019-03-06T15:08:22-07:00March, 2019|Oral Cancer News|
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Suspect laryngeal cancer in patients with sore throat and hoarseness, GPs urged

Source: www.pulsetoday.co.uk Author: Isobel Sims GPs should suspect laryngeal cancer and consider urgent referral in patients who present with a persistent sore throat and hoarseness, according to a new study. A recurrent sore throat in combination with symptoms such as hoarseness, difficulty swallowing or ear pain increases the likelihood that a patient has laryngeal cancer and may warrant urgent referral, the authors said. The study, published in the British Journal of General Practice, was carried out by researchers at the University of Exeter and looked at primary care data for just over 800 patients diagnosed with laryngeal cancer, as well as just over 3,500 controls. The researchers found hoarseness carried the greatest individual risk, with those presenting with the symptom having a 2.7% likelihood of having laryngeal cancer – just under the NICE (National Institue for Health & Care Excellene) threshold of 3% for urgent referral. Patients presenting with a recurrent sore throat in combination with hoarseness had a 12% likelihood of having laryngeal cancer. The likelihood of cancer was also increased above the NICE threshold when recurrent sore throat presented with dysphagia, recurrent dyspnoea, ear pain and raised inflammatory markers, the researchers said. They found that, ‘unexpectedly’, neck lumps were not associated with laryngeal cancer. The authors said the findings back up the NICE recommendation to consider referring patients with persistent unexplained hoarseness, but that GPs should also be vigilant about symptoms not currently listed in the NICE guidance. The paper said: ‘This evidence supports some of the recommendations [...]

2019-03-06T15:03:59-07:00March, 2019|Oral Cancer News|
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How regular use of painkillers could boost survival rates from cancer

Source: www.mirror.co.uk Author: Miriam Stoppard In recent research, aspirin or ibuprofen were found to treble the chance of beating head and neck cancer. Could regular use of aspirin or ibuprofen boost survival rates from head and neck cancer? It seems it’s possible. In recent research, the common painkillers were found to treble the chance of survival (from 25% to 78%) for patients with a specific kind of cancer which contains an altered gene, known as PIK3CA. Around a third of head and neck cancers carry this mutation and it’s also found in other types of cancer. Head and neck cancer is newly ­diagnosed in more than 12,000 people in the UK each year, and in 65,000 in the US. It kills just over 4,000 people here and 14,000 in America. There are more than 30 areas in the head and neck where cancer can develop, such as the mouth and throat. Researchers at the University of ­California, San Francisco, looked at five-year survival rates for people ­diagnosed with the disease and found the regular use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as aspirin and ibuprofen, significantly improved survival for a third or more of patients with the disease. All the patients had the mutated gene. NSAIDs, however, had no effect on tumours without PIK3CA mutation. The study included 266 patients from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center whose tumours were surgically removed. Altogether, 75 tumours (28%) in the study had a change in the PIK3CA gene. Among the patients who [...]

2019-03-06T10:00:16-07:00March, 2019|Oral Cancer News|
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Woman gets new tongue made from her arm after cancer battle

Source: www.mirror.co.uk Author: Laura Elvin A woman who lost her tongue while fighting cancer has had a new one made from her arm. Despite being a non-smoker Joanna Smith, 58, was diagnosed with tongue cancer after she found a tiny 'ulcer' in her mouth. The grandmother-of-four was given eight months to live unless she had it removed, so went through with a 15-hour surgery. Doctors removed her tongue via a hole in her neck and made a new one using skin, muscle and a long vein from her left arm . The cleaner, from Bedfordshire, was able to talk as soon as she woke up and can now eat and drink on her own. However, she has no taste buds on the new organ and has to eat slowly to avoid biting it - but is cancer free and expected to make a full recovery. The mum-of-two said: "It's a bit weird. I look at my arm and I can see where my tongue has come from. "I think 'that's in my mouth now but yet I can talk' and that's really weird. I can't stick my tongue out and I can't say it really feels like a tongue. It feels a bit surreal. Before I had it done I was thinking to myself 'how it that going to work' but now I've had it I'm like 'wow'." "It's really weird but it shows what they can do now." Joanna noticed a tiny dot on the side of her tongue [...]

2019-02-19T07:27:18-07:00February, 2019|Oral Cancer News|
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Pioneering surgery to regrow woman’s jaw hailed a ‘success’

Source: www.breakingnews.ie Author: staff A pioneering operation to regrow a woman’s jaw from her own skin and bone after she lost it from cancer has been branded a “significant success”. Val had her entire lower jaw removed including her glands, chin, lower lip and part of her tongue after being diagnosed with cancer in 2015, leaving her unable to eat, drink or talk. The 55-year-old from Wolverhampton eventually under went a pioneering surgical technique – known as distraction osteogenesis – to encourage her jaw to grow back after two previous attempts to reconstruct it failed. This involved surgeons at trust’s maxillofacial service at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust’s Queen’s Medical Centre (QMC) fitting her with a facial frame to act as “scaffolding” around which her own bone and tissue can grow back. Val has had two further operations including one last month to remove the frame, and was discharged on Thursday. Doctors said 90mm of bone had grown since the operation in January 2018 – and branded the procedure a “significant success”. Val after the pioneering operation to regrow her jaw (Nottingham University Hospital) Val said it had been a “leap of faith” to undergo the surgery – which was the first time it had been carried out in the UK. She added: “Just over a year ago I was resigned to the fact I would have to wear a prosthetic chin for the rest of my life, but after one of our brainstorming sessions at my local [...]

2019-02-15T14:21:45-07:00February, 2019|Oral Cancer News|
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Scientists to test light therapy as relief from side effects of cancer treatment

Source: www.photonics.com Author: staff University at Buffalo (UB) researchers have received part of a $1.5 million grant to investigate light therapy as a replacement for prescription opioids in treating oral mucositis, painful ulcers, and swelling in the mouth that result from chemotherapy and radiation treatment for cancer. Funded by the National Institutes of Dental and Craniofacial Research Small Business Innovation Research program, the grant will help the researchers determine the effectiveness of photobiomodulation in prevention and treatment of oral mucositis after cancer treatment. At a high power, light, often in the form of a laser, is used in medicine to cut or destroy tissue. But at a low level, it has the ability to relieve pain and promote healing. Courtesy of Douglas Levere, University at Buffalo The grant was awarded to Cleveland-based MuReva Phototherapy, a spin-off company of lighting solutions manufacturer Lumitex, to further develop the light technology. UB received $511,000 of the award to test the technology. The research, led by Praveen Arany, DDS, assistant professor in the UB School of Dental Medicine, will be performed in collaboration with faculty from the Departments of Radiation Medicine and Oral Oncology at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. “The current epidemic of opioids has impacted cancer care, especially for cancer pain relief,” Arany said. “This treatment offers a simple, nondrug, noninvasive treatment approach to relieve pain and improve quality of life for cancer patients. The striking lab and clinical evidence for photobiomodulation treatments in supportive cancer care has demonstrated tremendous [...]

2019-02-15T14:14:51-07:00February, 2019|Oral Cancer News|
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E-cigarette users show cancer-linked genetic changes

Source:news.usc.edu Author: Leigh Hopper If you think vaping is benign, think again. While studies have indicated that vaping can help smokers quit, USC researchers say the health consequences of using a e-cigarettes may be worse than widely believed. (Photo/Pixabay) A USC study in 93 people shows that e-cigarette users develop some of the same cancer-related molecular changes in oral tissue as cigarette smokers, adding to the growing concern that e-cigarettes aren’t a harmless alternative to smoking. The research, published this week in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, comes amid a mushrooming e-cigarette market and mounting public health worries. On a positive note, recent research found vaping is almost twice as effective as other nicotine replacement therapies in helping smokers quit. But among adolescents, vaping now surpasses smoking, and there’s evidence that e-cigarette use leads to nicotine addiction and future smoking in teens. “The existing data show that e-cig vapor is not merely ‘water vapor’ as some people believe,” said Ahmad Besaratinia, an associate professor at Keck School of Medicine of USC and the study’s senior author. “Although the concentrations of most carcinogenic compounds in e-cig products are much lower than those in cigarette smoke, there is no safe level of exposure to carcinogens.” E-cigs and cancer: Early warning in oral cells Besaratinia emphasized that the molecular changes seen in the study aren’t cancer, or even pre-cancer, but rather an early warning of a process that could potentially lead to cancer if unchecked. The researchers looked at gene [...]

2019-02-15T14:06:43-07:00February, 2019|Oral Cancer News|
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The epidemic of throat cancer sweeping the industrialized world

Source: www.mercurynews.com Author: Dr. Bryan Fong Tonsils - Angina Pectoris Over the past three decades, a dramatic increase in a new form of throat cancer has been observed throughout the industrialized world. The good news is that it’s potentially preventable — if parents get their children vaccinated. The disease shows up primarily in men, typically between the ages of 45 and 70. Those who are affected often lead healthy lifestyles. They do not have extensive histories of smoking tobacco or consuming alcohol, which are risk factors for traditional throat cancers. The rate of this new cancer has been increasing 5 percent per year and today, it is more than three times as common as in the mid-1980s. If you think this scenario sounds like a slow-moving infectious medical drama (think Contagion or World War Z), you would be right. The source of this cancer is a virus, the human papillomavirus (HPV) — the same virus that causes most cervical cancer in women. It’s widely known that parents should get their girls vaccinated. Now, with the surge in oral HPV cancers, especially in men, parents should get their boys vaccinated too. Currently, vaccination against HPV is recommended by the Centers for Disease Control for children and young adults ages 9-26. The vaccination includes a series of two or three injections; the side effects are mild. Ideally, the vaccinations should be administered before someone becomes sexually active. That’s because HPV is spread via sexual activity. Risk of HPV infection and [...]

2019-02-15T08:18:22-07:00February, 2019|Oral Cancer News|
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Minimally-invasive treatment option for early stage oral cancer reduces recovery time, improves survival

Source: www.newswise.com Author: Henry Ford Health System Henry Ford Cancer Institute is a leader in providing a minimally invasive procedure called a sentinel lymph node biopsy for patients with early stage oral cancer. The biopsy can be performed at the same time oral cancer is surgically removed, and it can determine if the cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes. For Henry Ford patient Marlene Calverley, the biopsy meant having three lymph nodes removed versus 30-60 lymph nodes, and a two-inch scar instead of a five-to-six-inch scar. It also meant no neck drains, no physical therapy, and a decreased risk of complications. “We are one of the few – if not the first – medical center in the State of Michigan to adopt this new paradigm for treating early oral cavity squamous cell cancers,” says head and neck cancer surgeon Tamer A. Ghanem M.D., Ph.D., director of Growth, Access, and Service for the Department of Otolaryngology at Henry Ford Cancer Institute. This new paradigm is based on a standard treatment for breast cancer and melanoma skin cancer. The early data shows that sentinel lymph node biopsy may improve patients’ survival rate. Research also demonstrates a significant decrease in recovery time, complications, and effects attributed to a treatment, says Steven Chang, M.D., director of the Head and Neck Oncology program and the Microvascular Surgery Division at the Henry Ford Cancer Institute. Head and neck cancers are among the most common cancers in the U.S. and globally. At the time patients are [...]

2019-02-12T14:19:17-07:00February, 2019|Oral Cancer News|
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