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Swallowing exercises shown to preserve function in head and neck cancer patients receiving radiation

Source: www.healthnewsdigest.com Author: staff A study from UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center (JCCC) has found that head and neck cancer patients receiving radiation as part of their treatment were less likely to suffer unwanted side effects such as worsening of diet, need for a feeding tube, or narrowing of the throat passage if they complied with a set of prescribed swallowing exercises called a swallow preservation protocol (SPP) during therapy. The five-year study was led by Dr. Marilene Wang, JCCC member, professor-in-residence in the department of head and neck surgery, UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine. The study was published online ahead of print in the journal Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery on August 27, 2013. Surgery and radiation (RT) have been the traditional treatments for head and neck cancer but with the advent of improved and targeted chemotherapy many types of this disease are treated with chemotherapy and radiation (chemoradiation or CRT) in the hope of preserving the tissue and structure. Despite the sparing of critical tissue, preservation does not always translate to normal, natural swallowing ability. Most patients who receive CRT have significant side effects during treatment and for a long time after recovery. Difficulty swallowing (dysphagia) is one of the most common unwanted side effects of RT and CRT, and is one of the main predictors of decreased patient quality of life after treatment. Wang's study was designed to evaluate the SPP, in which patients had swallow therapy before, during and after radiation treatment. The effectiveness [...]

2013-09-01T15:54:22-07:00September, 2013|Oral Cancer News|
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Cancer survivors not seeking help for depression

Source: www.dailyrx.com Author: staff Long-term treatment can affect how cancer survivors manage in the world. The fancy phrase for this is “psychosocial functioning.” A recent study looked at how head and neck cancer survivors get along after treatment. Depression is not uncommon among head and neck cancer survivors, researchers found in this new study. However, not many of the survivors in the study sought help for their depression with either antidepressants or therapy. Physicians could assist by screening for psychosocial problems because depression is very treatable, according to one expert. Allen M. Chen, MD, of the University of California, Davis, and now of the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, led this study. Dr. Chen and colleagues were looking at the rates of depression among head and neck cancer survivors who had received radiation therapy to treat the disease. “The treatment of head and neck cancer can lead to devastating impact on psychosocial functioning due to the many important structures located in the head and neck region," Tobenna Nwizu, MD, a solid tumor oncologist with the Taussig Cancer Institute at Cleveland Clinic, told dailyRx News. “Functions like speech, swallowing, taste and salivation can all be affected,” said Dr. Nwizu, who was not involved in this study. Treatment can also affect appearance, cause dry mouth and increase the risk of aspiration (sucking food into the airway), according to the authors. For this study, the researchers asked 211 head and neck cancer survivors to complete a [...]

2013-08-16T06:11:21-07:00August, 2013|Oral Cancer News|
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Study shows wide variation in head and neck cancer care

Source: www.cancerresearchuk.org Author: staff Just three in every hundred head and neck cancer patients in England receive the ideal standard of care, according to a new study. The National Head and Neck Cancer Audit found wide variations in care, with just 3.1 per cent of patients receiving every element of care deemed important by experts. Sara Osborne, head of policy at Cancer Research UK, said it was "disappointing" to see such variation in care for patients with head and neck cancers. But the figures also show there has been an improvement in survival rates among head and neck cancer patients over the last two years, despite variations in care. The Ideal Patient Pathway contains seven elements of "holistic and integrated care" such as nutritional, speech and language and dental assessments and chest scans or x-rays before surgery. It also involves people's disease being discussed by a multi-disciplinary team including specialist surgeons, oncologists, speech therapists and nursing staff. Researchers examined data submitted by all head and neck cancer teams in England and Wales, relating to the care of 8,100 patients between November 2011 and October 2012. They found that the largest group of patients (24.7 per cent) received three elements of the Ideal Patient Pathway, with some aspects delivered more consistently than others. For example, 96.4 per cent of surgical head and neck cancer patients had their case discussed by a multi-disciplinary team, but just 18.8 per cent had an assessment with a speech and language therapist before surgery. The findings [...]

2013-07-29T08:49:03-07:00July, 2013|Oral Cancer News|
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Vitamin E may have adverse effect in head and neck cancer

Source: www.newsfix.ca Author: Robert Cervin According to a clinical trial, vitamin E supplements may increase the risk of a secondary tumor in those with head and neck cancer. Previous studies have suggested that a low dietary intake of antioxidants such as vitamins E and C might be linked to an increased risk of cancer. But there is no clear evidence that taking supplements decreases the risk. Researchers in Quebec, Canada, report on a trial of vitamin E and beta-carotene, which is related to vitamin A, in patients with head and neck cancer. The patients took either supplements or placebo during radiation therapy and afterwards. The beta-carotene was stopped after a year, because a trial showed that those taking it who also smoked had an increased risk of getting lung cancer. The current trial showed that those on vitamin E were at increased risk of developing a second cancer while they were on the supplement, compared to those on placebo. But their risk was lower once the supplements had stopped. Overall, there was no difference between the two groups after eight years. These patients were at high risk anyway, so it is not really clear whether the results can be generalized to the whole population. There is clearly more research to be done before we can be clear whether vitamins can help in the fight against cancer.

2013-07-29T08:43:11-07:00July, 2013|Oral Cancer News|
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HPV vaccine might shield women against throat cancer

Source: healthfinder.gov Author: staff Young women who are vaccinated against the human papillomavirus (HPV) not only protect themselves from cervical cancer, but from throat cancer as well, a new study suggests. Many of the increasing number of throat cancers, seen mostly in developed countries, are caused by HPV infection and the HPV vaccine might prevent many of these cancers, the researchers say. "We found the women who had the HPV vaccine had much less infection than the women who hadn't," said lead researcher Dr. Rolando Herrero, at the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France. "In fact, there was a 90 percent reduction in the prevalence of HPV infection in the women who received the vaccine compared to the women who had not," he said. HPV infection is strongly associated with cancer of the oral cavity, Herrero noted. "We think that it is possible that the prevention of the infection will also lead to the prevention of these cancers," he explained. The HPV vaccine has enormous benefit, said Herrero, "because of the cervical cancer prevention and the anal cancer prevention, and it can even prevent infections in their sexual partners." Herrero said boys, too, should be vaccinated to protect them from oral cancers. Oral cancer is much more prevalent among men than in women, he pointed out. A 2011 study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology showed that in the United States, HPV-positive oral cancers increased from 16 percent of all oral cancers in the 1980s to 70 [...]

2013-07-22T10:34:24-07:00July, 2013|Oral Cancer News|
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Study: A third of throat cancers linked to HPV infection

Source: www.upi.com Author: staff Human papillomavirus, the major cause of cervical cancer, also infects a third of throat cancer patients, U.S. and British researchers say. Aimee R. Kreimer of the National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, and Ruth C. Travis of University of Oxford, and numerous colleagues in several countries identified 638 study participants. Of the study participants, 180 had oral cancers, 135 oropharynx cancers - part of the pharynx - 247 hypopharynx/larynx cancers and 300 patients had esophageal cancers. The study also involved 1,599 controls. There are more than 100 types of HPV and most people recover easily but two strains -- HPV-16 and HPV-18 -- cause most cervical and oral cancers. Pre-diagnostic plasma samples from patients were collected, on average, six years before diagnosis. Control participants were analyzed for antibodies against multiple proteins of HPV16 as well as HPV6, HPV11, HPV18, HPV31, HPV33, HPV45 and HPV52. At the end of the study period the researchers checked for the presence of antibodies to one of HPV's key proteins, known as E6. The protein disables the cells' protection system that prevents cancer, but detecting the antibodies indicates HPV overcame the defenses. The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, found 34.8 of those with throat cancer had the antibodies, compared with 0.6 percent of those who were cancer-free. The findings indicated HPV-16 infection might be a significant cause of oropharyngeal cancer, in the middle part of the pharynx, behind the mouth, and includes the back [...]

2013-07-22T10:20:28-07:00July, 2013|Oral Cancer News|
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NSAIDs may cut oral cancer risk

Source: www.newsfix.ca Author: Martin March People who smoke are protected from oral cancer by aspirin or ibuprofen, according to a study. It’s already known that smoking is a strong risk factor for oral cancer. A study from the Norwegian Radium Hospital reveals that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may help protect some smokers from the disease. They looked at a group of light to moderate smokers who had taken NSAIDs over a long period. They were about 65 per cent less likely to develop oral cancer compared to smokers who did not take NSAIDs. All types of NSAID were protective, including ibuprofen, aspirin and indomethacin. However, acetaminophen, a common pain reliever which is not an NSAID, was not found to be effective. The benefit of NSAIDs was found to be greatest for those who smoked least. At higher levels of consumption of tobacco, its carcinogenic effect overcomes the benefit of the NSAID.

2013-07-04T06:20:04-07:00July, 2013|Oral Cancer News|
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HPV vaccine still fights for acceptance, despite benefits

Source: www.floydcountytimes.com Author: Tom Collins Last month, actor Michael Douglas caused a stir in the media when he suggested his throat cancer might have been caused by oral sex. He could be right. Although smoking and alcohol use have long been regarded as the key risk factors, new research indicates that HPV, a sexually transmitted virus, is now the leading cause of mouth and throat cancers in the United States. But there’s an important take-away message to this story: Some cancers caused by HPV can be prevented easily, with a simple series of three vaccinations. Since 2000, scientists have known that certain strains of HPV are responsible for nearly all cervical cancer in women. But newer studies indicate HPV can cause other types of cancer as well. Recent findings have also linked HPV to oral, head/neck, anal, vaginal, vulvar and penile cancers, and even some cases of lung cancer. About half of all Americans will become infected with HPV at least once during their lifetime. The most common visible symptom of an HPV infection is genital warts, although the majority of HPV infections do not display symptoms. That’s why the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that boys and girls alike be vaccinated against HPV. Ideally, they should be vaccinated between the ages of 11 and 12. Vaccination can be initiated as early as age 9, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the vaccine to be given up to age 26. Yet HPV vaccination rates remain [...]

2013-07-04T06:11:34-07:00July, 2013|Oral Cancer News|
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Stanford surgeon uses robot to increase precision, reduce complications of head and neck procedures

Source: scopeblog.stanford.edu Author: Margarita Gallardo In today’s San Francisco Chronicle, writer Kristen Brown highlights how surgical robots are simplifying head and neck procedures. Known as transoral robotic surgery, or TORS, Stanford is one of the few places in the country using the da Vinci surgical robot to remove tumors or scar tissue from patients such as 70-year-old John Ayers, who is featured in the story (subscription required). Edward Damrose, MD, chief of the division of laryngeal surgery at Stanford Hospital & Clinics, describes the procedure to Brown: The da Vinci’s most frequent use in transoral procedures is in head and neck cancers. By operating through the mouth, surgeons can remove tumors in places that previously might have required much more complex procedures, such as breaking the jaw to get a good enough look. The robot has four arms – three that can hold typical surgical tools, and a fourth that holds an endoscopic camera, giving a surgeon a full view of the patient’s insides. “You get an almost panoramic view,” said Damrose. “It’s as if you were miniaturized and in someone’s throat looking around.” The da Vinci was first used on a human for a head and neck procedure in 2005 at the University of Pennsylvania. An update to the robot made the experiment possible, when slimmer tools were developed for the robot that might more easily fit inside the mouth. (Even with the smaller tools, working inside someone’s throat can be a tight squeeze, depending on the patient.) “If [...]

2013-07-04T06:05:53-07:00July, 2013|Oral Cancer News|
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Oral cancer sneaks up

Source: well.blogs.nytimes.com Author: Donald G. McNeail Jr. and Anahad O'Connor The actor Michael Douglas has done for throat cancer what Rock Hudson did for AIDS and Angelina Jolie did for prophylactic mastectomy. By asserting last week that his cancer was caused by a virus transmitted during oral sex, Mr. Douglas pushed the disease onto the front pages and made millions of Americans worry about it for the first time. In this case, it was a subset of Americans who normally worry more about being killed by cholesterol than by an S.T.D. The typical victim is a middle-aged, middle-class, married heterosexual white man who has had about six oral sex partners in his lifetime. The virus, human papillomavirus Type 16, also causes cervical cancer. So is there any early oral screening that a man can have — an equivalent to the Pap smear, which has nearly eliminated cervical cancer as a death threat in this country? The answer, according to cancer experts and a recent opinion from the United States Preventive Services Task Force, is no. And for surprising reasons. The Pap test — invented in 1928 by Dr. George N. Papanicolaou — involves scraping a few cells from the cervix and checking them under a microscope for precancerous changes. Precancerous cells have a “halo” around the nucleus, while cancerous ones have larger, more colorful nuclei, said Dr. Paul D. Blumenthal, a professor of gynecology at Stanford University Medical School. In theory, it should be similarly easy to scrape and examine [...]

2013-06-12T07:35:44-07:00June, 2013|Oral Cancer News|
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