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Symptoms of throat cancer depend on which throat structures are affected

Source: tribunecontentagency.com Author: Eric Moore, M.D. Dear Mayo Clinic: Are there early signs of throat cancer, or is it typically not found until its late stages? How is it treated? Answer: The throat includes several important structures that are relied on every minute of the day and night to breathe, swallow and speak. Unfortunately, cancer can involve any, and sometimes all, of these structures. The symptoms of cancer, how early these symptoms are recognized and how the cancer is treated depend on which structures are involved. All of the passageway between your tongue and your esophagus can be considered the throat. It includes three main areas. The first is the base of your tongue and tonsils. These, along with the soft palate and upper side walls of the pharynx, are called the oropharynx. Second is the voice box, or larynx. It consists of the epiglottis — a cartilage flap that helps to close your windpipe, or trachea, when you swallow — and the vocal cords. Third is the hypopharynx. That includes the bottom sidewalls and the back of the throat before the opening of the esophagus. Tumors that occur in these three areas have different symptoms, behave differently and often are treated differently. That’s why the areas of the throat are subdivided into separate sections by the head and neck surgeons who diagnose and treat them. For example, in the oropharynx, most tumors are squamous cell carcinoma. Most are caused by HPV, although smoking and alcohol can play a role [...]

2017-05-26T08:35:35-07:00May, 2017|Oral Cancer News|
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First long-term study on HPV claims the vaccine is 100% effective at protecting men from cancer caused by the STI

Source: www.dailymail.co.uk Author: Cheyenne Roundtree The first long-term study conducted into the HPV vaccine confirm it is almost 100 percent effective at protecting men from developing oral cancer. The treatment was approved to the market in 2006 to prevent women from getting cervical cancer but experts haven't been able to fully examine its effect over time. Now, the results are in from a three-year study on the effects - the longest investigation ever on HPV. It confirmed that there was no trace of cancer-linked strains of HPV among men who received the vaccine - whereas two percent of untreated men had a potentially cancerous strain. Another study, also released today, found the jab makes it next to impossible for vaccinated children to develop genital warts from the STI in their late teens and 20s. Despite a multitude of interest and research, these are the first substantial studies to confirm the vaccine's ability to protect people from the STI and diseases that can stem from it. Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually-transmitted disease in the US, with approximately 80 million people currently infected. Although most infections disappear on their own, without even displaying symptoms, some strains can lead to genital warts and even cancers, including prostate, throat, head and neck, rectum and cervical cancer. Approximately 28,000 cases of cancer caused by HPV are diagnosed annually - most of which would have preventable with the vaccine, the CDC says. The vaccine was first introduced with the main goal to prevent [...]

2017-05-22T07:38:53-07:00May, 2017|Oral Cancer News|
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Health Beat: Hunting head and neck cancer cells

Source: www.wfmz.com Author: Melanie Falcon Leonard Monteith led a healthy lifestyle. That's why sudden problems with his mouth caught his attention. "I noticed that when I would stick my tongue out, it would deviate to one side, and I thought that's not right," said Monteith, 66. Doctors found an inch-wide tumor at the base of Monteith's tongue. He was diagnosed with HPV positive cancer. "The traditional treatment for head and neck cancer is really toxic and exhaustive and leads to side-effects that are very significant," said Dr. Nabil Saba, a medical oncologist at Emory University Winship Cancer Institute in Atlanta. After treatment, Monteith's cancer went away for six months, but then it came back in his lungs. Saba is a nationally-known expert in the treatment of head and neck cancers. He thought Monteith would be a good candidate for a new therapy. "Immunotherapy is really, I think, a complete game changer," said Saba. Saba said two separate immunotherapy drugs are showing real promise. A drug called Nivolumab blocks the cancer receptors, allowing the body's immune system to fight the cancer. Another drug, Pembrolizumab, also works in a similar way. Because the trials are ongoing, Saba can't say which specific drug Monteith was on. "He had very good response to the treatment, to the point where we could not see any more lung lesions on the scan," Saba said. Monteith has been improving for three years, but he knows his condition could change without warning. "I just live my life as [...]

2017-05-22T07:29:34-07:00May, 2017|Oral Cancer News|
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Changing definition of margin status for oral cancer

Source: www.medpagetoday.com Author: staff Data cast doubt on 5-mm standard, use of frozen sections A commonly used metric for defining a close surgical margin for resected oral-cavity tumors failed to identify adequately the patients at increased risk of recurrence, a retrospective review of 432 cases showed. The analysis showed an inverse relationship with increasing distance between invasive tumor and inked main specimen margin on the main specimen, but results of a receiver operating characteristic curve analysis identified a cutoff of < 1 mm as most appropriate for classifying patients as having a high risk of local recurrence, as opposed to the more commonly used cutoff of 5 mm. The analysis also showed that resection of tissue beyond 1 mm on intraoperative frozen section did not improve local disease control, as reported online in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Cancer. "The commonly used cutoff of 5 mm for a close margin lacks an evidential basis in predicting local recurrence," Steven M. Sperry, MD, of the University of Iowa in Iowa City, and colleagues concluded. "Invasive tumor within 1 mm of the permanent specimen margin is associated with a significantly higher local recurrence risk, though there is no significant difference for greater distances. "This study suggests that a cutoff of less than 1 mm identifies patients at increased local recurrence risk who may benefit from additional treatment. Analysis of the tumor specimen, rather than the tumor bed, is necessary for this determination." The results add to a growing volume of evidence that margins [...]

2017-05-05T13:02:10-07:00May, 2017|Oral Cancer News|
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Swallowing exercises can improve quality of life for head and neck cancer patients

Source: www.targetedonc.com Author: Gina Columbus While patients with head and neck cancer are likely to experience difficulty swallowing after undergoing intesity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), Lynn Acton, MS, CCC (SLP) says the use of swallowing exercises can drastically improve muscle movement for these patients both during and after radiation therapy (RT). In a study conducted by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham Women’s Hospital, patients with head and neck cancer who underwent RT in a 2-year period were evaluated for swallowing difficulty with a video swallow to score stricture and aspiration. Of the 96 patients evaluated who received IMRT once daily, 32% had some aspiration after therapy, while 37% had evidence of stricture following RT. Studies are currently ongoing to explore the utility of swallowing modalities for these patients. For example, an interventional, randomized, multicenter phase III trial is comparing early-active swallowing therapy versus nonspecific swallowing management (NCT02892487). Researchers are conducting the study to determine that early-active swallowing therapy can improve the quality of life of patients undergoing RT for head and neck cancer. Additionally, a behavioral questionnaire is evaluating adherence to preventative swallowing exercises and the reasons why patients choose not to follow them (NCT03010150). Patients will complete the questionnaire at baseline and again at 6 months following RT that will discuss adherence to swallowing exercises. Acton, a lecturer in surgery (otolaryngology) and speech pathologist at Yale School of Medicine, discussed the significance of swallowing modalities for patients with head and neck cancer during and after RT in an [...]

2017-05-05T12:37:40-07:00May, 2017|Oral Cancer News|
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European Commission approves Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Opdivo (nivolumab) for squamous cell cancer of the head and neck in adults progressing on or after platinum-based therapy

Source: pipelinereview.com Author: Bristol-Myers Squibb Bristol-Myers Squibb Company today announced that the European Commission (EC) has approved Opdivo (nivolumab) as monotherapy for the treatment of squamous cell cancer of the head and neck (SCCHN) in adults progressing on or after platinum-based therapy. Opdivo is the first and only Immuno-Oncology (I-O) treatment that demonstrated in a Phase 3 trial a significant improvement in overall survival (OS) for these patients. “Adult patients with squamous cell cancer of the head and neck that progresses on or after platinum-based therapy are fighting a debilitating and hard-to-treat disease that is associated with a very poor prognosis,” said Kevin Harrington, M.D., Ph.D., professor in Biological Cancer Therapies at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and a consultant clinical oncologist at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust in London. “As an oncologist who helps patients deal with this terrible disease, I hope that nivolumab will now be made available as widely as possible, offering this group of patients a new treatment option that can potentially improve their overall survival." The approval was based on results from CheckMate -141, a global Phase 3, open-label, randomized trial, first published in The New England Journal of Medicine last October, which evaluated Opdivo versus investigator’s choice of therapy in patients aged 18 years and above with recurrent or metastatic, platinum-refractory SCCHN who had tumor progression during or within six months of receiving platinum-based therapy administered in the adjuvant, neo-adjuvant, primary or metastatic setting. Investigator’s choice of therapy included methotrexate, docetaxel, or [...]

2017-04-30T12:46:16-07:00April, 2017|Oral Cancer News|
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HPV vaccine; cancer prevention

Source: www.nujournal.com Author: staff Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a sexually transmitted infection, of several strains, most associated with cervical cancers. The virus is so common that nearly all males and females have been infected at some time in their life. One in four is currently infected in the nation. Signs and symptoms of HPV are variable. Most will recover from the virus within two years without ever knowing they were infected, making HPV easy to spread. Occasionally, the virus lasts much longer in the body which can cause cells to change and lead to cancer. Fortunately, we have a vaccine to prevent cancer caused by HPV. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved three vaccines for HPV; Cervarix, Gardasil, and Gardasil 9. These vaccines are tested and proven to be safe and effective. Prevention is important with HPV. The vaccine should be administered before exposure to the virus for stronger protection against cervical, vaginal, vulvar, penile, and some mouth or throat cancers. (Gardasil and Gardasil 9 also prevent genital warts and anal cancer.) The best age to obtain maximum potential of the vaccine is at 11 or 12 years old. At this age, the body’s immune system is the most receptive to the vaccination’s virus-like particles and the body produces higher amounts of antibodies in defense, protecting the adolescent for his or her future. Both girls and boys should get the HPV vaccine. For ages 9-14, two doses – six to twelve months apart, are recommended. For 15-26 year [...]

2017-04-17T13:13:58-07:00April, 2017|Oral Cancer News|
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Beating HPV-positive throat cancer

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com Author: Pamela Tom, Contributor National Oral, Head, and Neck Cancer Awareness Week is April 12-18, 2017 For at least two years, 47 year-old Rob Clinton of Rochester, NY, would choke on post nasal drip in the shower. He knew something was wrong in his throat but he didn’t feel any pain. Did he have cancer? Clinton smoked cigarettes for 30 years and worked in an auto body shop where he was regularly exposed to carcinogens, but he wasn’t experiencing the typical symptoms of throat cancer. These include hoarseness or a change in the voice, difficulty swallowing, a persistent sore throat, ear pain, a lump in the neck, cough, breathing problems, and unexplained weight loss. In November 2015, Clinton went to the dentist to have his teeth cleaned. His dentist felt Clinton’s swollen neck and recommended that he visit a medical doctor. Clinton heeded the advice and sought the opinion of an ear, nose, and throat specialist at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, NY. The ENT doctor sent Clinton to have a CAT scan and when he scoped Clinton’s throat, the doctor said, “I see something in there.” What he saw was a tumor and there were a few other things going on too. The Diagnosis The biopsy showed that Clinton had Stage IVa oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) at the base of his tongue—and the cancer was HPV positive. HPV stands for the human papillomavirus and a recent survey found that more than 42% of Americans are infected [...]

2017-04-15T06:15:20-07:00April, 2017|Oral Cancer News|
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More than 1 In 5 Americans have a potentially cancer-causing HPV infection

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com Author: Erin Schumaker More than 42 percent of adults in the United States are infected with human papillomavirus ― and nearly 23 percent are infected with a high-risk strand of the virus that can cause cancer, according to a report published by the National Center for Health Statistics on Thursday. “We tend to overlook the fact that 20 percent of us are carrying the virus that can cause cancer (indluding oral cancer - OCF news editor),” Geraldine McQuillan, lead author of the report and an epidemiologist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told The Washington Post. “People really need to realize that this is a serious concern.” The report, which examined U.S. adults ages 18 to 59, marks the first time the CDC has recorded HPV rates in men as well as women. There is no FDA-approved HPV test for men, but the CDC developed its own test for the research. “We did penile swabs which we tested for HPV DNA,” McQuillan told The Huffington Post. HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the country, and nearly every sexually active American will be exposed to it by their early 20s. Although 90 percent of HPV infections clear the body within two years, that’s not always the case. High-risk strains are linked to cervix, vaginal, penile, anus and throat cancers, as well as genital warts. In fact, two high-risk strains, HPV-16 and -18, cause nearly all cervical cancer cases. Not all Americans have the [...]

2017-04-08T09:29:49-07:00April, 2017|Oral Cancer News|
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Eight updates in oral head and neck cancer

Source: www.healio.com Author: staff Oral Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Week — led by the Head and Neck Cancer Alliances and supported by the American Academy of Otolaryngology — raises awareness and promotes cancer screenings throughout the United States. Approximately 110,000 people are diagnosed with oral head and neck cancers — which include cancers of the tongue, throat, voice box, nasal cavity, sinuses, lips, thyroid and salivary glands —each year in the United States. “The best chance of effectively treating these cancers is early on in the disease, and that’s why identification of tumors in their earliest stage improves a patient’s likelihood of survival and the patient’s ability to speak and swallow normally after treatment,” Ilya Likhterov, MD, assistant professor of otolaryngology at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, said in a press release from Mount Sinai. “While oral cancer is most commonly linked to long-time smokers and drinkers, younger patients can be affected even if they don’t have obvious risk factors. It is very important to have your mouth examined and pay attention to symptoms such as pain, bleeding, trouble swallowing, or if you notice any wound or ulcer in the mouth that is not healing quickly.” In conjunction with Oral Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Week, HemOnc Today presents eight updates in oral head and neck cancer. A combination of buparlisib (BKM120, Novartis) and paclitaxel may serve as an effective second-line therapy for patients with recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Read more. [...]

2017-04-08T09:14:13-07:00April, 2017|Oral Cancer News|
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