Oral Cancer Foundation News Team – A – Page 48

Why salivary diagnostics for dental practices?

Source: www.dentistryiq.com Author: Barbara Kreuger, MA, RDH I recently had the opportunity to visit OralDNA Labs and learn more about the process of running salivary diagnostic tests. Admittedly, when I first heard about salivary diagnostics, I didn’t immediately embrace the tests and what they had to offer. I was not convinced that they were necessary, believing they would not change how we treat dental disease. However, we’ve been fortunate to use salivary diagnostics in practice and see the benefits in our patients firsthand. These tests have proven to be a great addition to our prevention tool box. Salivary diagnostics can play an important role in helping us produce high quality outcomes for patients and create awareness of their oral-systemic risk factors. Bacterial identification There are numerous salivary diagnostic tests available. The most widely used test from OralDNA Labs is MyPerioPath, which tests for the 11 pathogens that are known to contribute to periodontal destruction.(1) Once the test reveals which pathogens are contributing to the patient’s periodontal disease, it also offers antibiotic recommendations that target these specific bacteria. When combined with periodontal maintenance visits and patient homecare, this test can lower a patient’s bacterial load, thus increasing positive outcomes. Retesting has shown that this reduction in bacteria can have a dramatic effect. We’ve seen tough cases—patients who were compliant with homecare but still exhibited clinical signs of periodontal disease—that improved dramatically after being treated with the test’s recommended systemic antibiotic. Periodic monitoring with MyPerioPath combined with periodontal maintenance treatment can help [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2019-02-08T14:32:58-07:00February, 2019|Oral Cancer News|

‘They needed something more after treatment’

Source: www.nursingtimes.net Author: Claire Reed Lesley Taylor wanted to examine the lack of support for patients at the end of treatment, so the decision was made to explore the impact of a wellbeing clinic on care, Claire Read reports. When the results of the study came back, they confirmed what Lesley Taylor and her colleagues had long suspected. The patients for whom they cared were getting good support for their actual medical issues, but their post-treatment needs weren’t always being identified or met. Ms Taylor is the Macmillan advanced oncology nurse specialist at NHS Tayside, as well as the head and neck cancer nurse specialist at the same organisation. It was on these patients which Ms Taylor’s study was focused. “We could look down into their mouths and throats and say there was no evidence of any cancer, and that was great, they appreciated that. But what we didn’t have time to do in that medically-led clinic was look at things like dry mouth, and swallow, and the emotional aspects and the social aspects that come alongside what are often life-changing diagnoses and treatments,” she remembers. “It became clear they needed something very much more at the end of treatment.” And so the decision was taken to instigate a nurse and allied health professional-led wellbeing clinic. The idea was to provide the sort of support that had been lacking; the holistic look at someone’s life in the immediate aftermath of the end of treatment. The team worked together to reshuffle [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2019-02-08T14:23:51-07:00February, 2019|Oral Cancer News|

Symptom combos suggesting laryngeal cancer identified

Source: www.physiciansweekly.com Author: staff New symptom combinations that may indicate early symptoms of laryngeal cancer have been identified, according to a study published online Jan. 28 in the British Journal of General Practice. Elizabeth A. Shephard, Ph.D., from the University of Exeter Medical School in the United Kingdom, and colleagues conducted a matched case-control study of patients aged ≥40 years to examine the clinical features of laryngeal cancer with which patients presented to their general practitioner in the year before diagnosis. The researchers identified 806 patients who were diagnosed with laryngeal cancer between 2000 and 2009; the patients were matched with 3,559 controls based on age, sex, and practice. Significant associations were identified for 10 features with laryngeal cancer: hoarseness (odds ratio, 904); sore throat, first attendance (odds ratio, 6.2); sore throat, reattendance (odds ratio, 7.7); dysphagia (odds ratio, 6.5); otalgia (odds ratio, 5); dyspnea, reattendance (odds ratio, 4.7); mouth symptoms (odds ratio, 4.7); recurrent chest infection (odds ratio, 4.5); insomnia (odds ratio, 2.7); and raised inflammatory markers (odds ratio, 2.5). The highest individual positive predictive value (PPV) was 2.7 percent for hoarseness. The symptom combinations of sore throat plus either dysphagia, dyspnea, or otalgia are not currently included in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines; PPVs for these combinations were >5 percent. “These results expand current NICE guidance by identifying new symptom combinations that are associated with laryngeal cancer; they may help general practitioners to select more appropriate patients for referral,” the authors write. Abstract/Full [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2019-02-05T21:00:05-07:00February, 2019|Oral Cancer News|

Dad-of-two, 35, dies after being told he was too young to have throat cancer

Source: www.mirror.co.ukAuthor: Amber Hicks Ryan Greenan went to his doctor in Edinburgh in September after he started having trouble swallowing, eating and drinking. The 35-year-old from Scotland was advised his symptoms were most likely caused by reflux and anxiety, reports the Scotsman , despite his family having a history of throat cancer. Ryan's sister Kerry, 33, said her brother took this diagnosis at face value "because the general advice was that oesophageal cancer only really affected older people". However, the symptoms persisted and Ryan started to rapidly lose weight before collapsing at work in December. He was taken to hospital and it was then that a tumour was discovered in his throat and he was diagnosed with cancer on December 28. There was more heartache when it was revealed it had also spread to his lungs and liver and there was nothing that could be done to save him. Three weeks later Ryan sadly died. His sister is now calling on doctors to thoroughly test for the illness, even in younger patients. Kerry told the Scotsman : “When Ryan first went to the doctor, he was told it was anxiety and that he was too young for it to be cancer because he was only 35. “He just took that as his diagnosis and didn’t go back because the general advice was that oesophageal cancer only really affected older people. “If it had been picked up earlier, they could have operated, they could have given him chemotherapy, but after three months it had spread, there was [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2019-02-05T12:55:53-07:00February, 2019|Oral Cancer News|

How aspirin may benefit some people with head and neck cancer

Source: www.medicalnewstoday.com Author: Catharine Paddock PhD, fact checked by Paula Field Recent research has tied regular use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as aspirin, to longer survival in some people with head and neck cancer. The researchers propose that there should now be a clinical trial to test the effectiveness and safety of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for this purpose. They suggest that the effect that they observed is likely due to the NSAIDs reducing prostaglandin E2, a molecule that promotes inflammation. A paper on their findings now features in the Journal of Experimental Medicine. Head and neck cancers are cancers in which tumors develop in the nose, sinuses, larynx, throat, and mouth. In most cases, the tumors arise in the flat thin squamous cells that form the tissue lining of surfaces. For this reason, they bear the name head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs). In the United States, people with HNSCCs account for around 4 percent of all those with cancer. These types of cancer also tend to have a lower rate of survival compared with many other types. The main risk factors for HNSCC are tobacco use, heavy use of alcohol, sun exposure, and infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV). Aspirin and HNSCC Previous research has suggested that taking aspirin regularly can reduce the risk of developing HNSCCs. However, the recent study is the first to link the use of aspirin and other NSAIDs to longer survival in some people who already have HNSCC. It found that, [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2019-01-28T19:30:02-07:00January, 2019|Oral Cancer News|

New app gives throat cancer patients their voice back

Source: www.straitstimes.com Author: staff Throat cancer patient Vlastimil Gular can say what he wants in his own voice thanks to technology that uses past recordings of his voice to create synthetic speech that can be played on his mobile phone via an app. Photo: AFP Vlastimil Gular's life took an unwelcome turn a year ago: minor surgery on his vocal cords revealed throat cancer, which led to the loss of his larynx and with it, his voice. But the 51-year-old father of four is still chatting away using his own voice rather than the tinny timbre of a robot, thanks to an innovative app developed by two Czech universities. "I find this very useful," Mr Gular told AFP, using the app to type in what he wanted to say, in his own voice, via a mobile phone. "I'm not very good at using the voice prosthesis," he added, pointing at the hole the size of a large coin in his throat. This small silicon device implanted in the throat allows people to speak by pressing the hole with their fingers to regulate airflow through the prosthesis and so create sound. But Mr Gular prefers the new hi-tech voice app. It was developed for patients set to lose their voice due to a laryngectomy, or removal of the larynx, a typical procedure for advanced stages of throat cancer. The joint project of the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, Prague's Charles University and two private companies - CertiCon and [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2019-01-14T13:32:07-07:00January, 2019|Oral Cancer News|

Living well with a feeding tube

Source: health.usnews.com Author: Lisa Esposito, Staff Writer Nearyly 450,000 Americans with swallowing or digestive problems manage tube feedings – also called home enteral nutrition – on their own. Some have temporary feeding tubes, while others leave the hospital with feeding tubes surgically placed for the foreseeable future. Veteran users or "tubies" accept long-term feeding tubes as the best or only way to nourish themselves. Many resume school, work and social lives that were once threatened by severe weight loss and malnutrition. For them, getting a feeding tube means getting their active lives back. Feeding Tube Benefits Feeding tubes can prevent weight loss, boost energy and bolster your immune system. They also offer important health benefits for people coping with the following health issues: Tube feeding for chronic swallowing challenges. For people with chronic health conditions that can cause swallowing difficulties, it helps keep them well-nourished. Neurologic conditions such as Parkinson's disease, stroke or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease) can impair nerves, affecting swallowing ability. Tube feeding for oral and throat cancer. Inability to swallow food because of cancer of the mouth or throat is a major contributor to people receiving one, says Lisa Epp, a registered dietitian nutritionist with Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Tube feeding for nutrition during recovery. A patient who has a short-term eating problem likely to eventually resolve, such as someone recovering from a surgery, brain injury or stroke, may benefit from having one. Tube feeding for gastric problems. Gastric problems in which [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2019-01-06T09:28:05-07:00January, 2019|Oral Cancer News|

HPV discovery raises hope for new cervical cancer treatments

Source: www.eurekalert.org Author: press release - University of Virginia Health Syste Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have made a discovery about human papillomavirus (HPV) that could lead to new treatments for cervical cancer and other cancers caused by the virus. HPV is responsible for nearly all cases of cervical cancer and 95 percent of anal cancers. It is the most common sexually transmitted disease, infecting more than 79 million Americans. Most have no idea that are infected or that they could be spreading it. "Human papillomavirus causes a lot of cancers. Literally thousands upon thousands of people get cervical cancer and die from it all over the world. Cancers of the mouth and anal cancers are also caused by human papillomaviruses," said UVA researcher Anindya Dutta, PhD, of the UVA Cancer Center. "Now there's a vaccine for HPV, so we're hopeful the incidences will decrease. But that vaccine is not available all around the world, and because of religious sensitivity, not everybody is taking it. The vaccine is expensive, so I think the human papillomavirus cancers are here to stay. They're not going to disappear. So we need new therapies." HPV and Cancer HPV has been a stubborn foe for scientists, even though researchers have a solid grasp of how it causes cancer: by producing proteins that shut down healthy cells' natural ability to prevent tumors. Blocking one of those proteins, called oncoprotein E6, seemed like an obvious solution, but decades of attempts to do so [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2018-12-19T14:14:58-07:00December, 2018|Oral Cancer News|

Tobacco 21 — its time has come

Source: vtdigger.org Author: Nevin Zablotsky, DMD As we approach the holiday season I am reminded of the gifts of love we share with our families, as well as the New Year’s resolutions we make and try to keep after Jan. 1 history. I am a periodontist having practiced in Burlington and South Burlington for the past 40 years. In that time I have treated patients that have been severely compromised by tobacco. Some have lost teeth from advanced periodontal disease and some have lost parts of their tongue and jaw due to oral cancer, leaving them significantly compromised functionally as well as well as emotionally. I have had to advise teenagers and their families that their tobacco chewing habit had caused significant enough changes in their mouth to warrant a biopsy of the involved area. This caused great stress to them as they waited a week to find out the results. Some may think that it takes many years for tobacco use to compromise one’s health, but teenagers can die a horrible death from tobacco use if they are one of the unlucky ones who is genetically predisposed to oral cancer. Over the years, I have traveled throughout Vermont teaching about tobacco and nicotine addiction to elementary, junior and senior high school students. I feel that I have a good sense of what kids are thinking about these subjects. The elementary school students seem to understand that cigarettes are bad for them. When one talks to the middle school kids, [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2018-12-11T20:44:16-07:00December, 2018|Oral Cancer News|

Oral cancer prognostic signature identified

Source: www.eurekalert.org Author: press release Researchers in Brazil have identified a correlation between oral cancer progression and the abundance of certain proteins present in tumor tissue and saliva. The discovery offers a parameter for predicting progression of the disease - whether cervical lymph node metastasis is present, for example - and points to a strategy for overcoming the limitations of clinical and imaging exams. It could also help guide the choice of an ideal treatment for each patient. The study began in the discovery phase with a proteomic analysis of tissue from different tumor areas using 120 microdissected samples. In the verification phase, prognostic signatures were confirmed in approximately 800 tissue samples by immunohistochemistry and in 120 samples by targeted proteomics. The study was supported by São Paulo Research Foundation - FAPESP and conducted at the National Energy and Materials Research Center (CNPEM) in partnership with the São Paulo State Cancer Institute (ICESP), the University of Campinas's Piracicaba Dental School (FOP-UNICAMP), the Institute of Computing from the same university, the University of São Paulo's Mathematics and Computer Science Institute (ICMC) in São Carlos, and the Dental School of the West Paraná University (UNIOESTE), in addition to other institutions in Brazil and abroad. "The data led to robust results that are highly promising as guides to defining the severity of the disease. We suggested potential markers of the disease in the first phase of the study and verified these markers in the second phase, enhancing the reliability of the findings and [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2018-12-06T12:27:03-07:00December, 2018|Oral Cancer News|

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