Oral Cancer News – Page 209

Reducing xerostomia through advanced technology

Source: The Lancet Oncology Radiation-related xerostomia has been the most significant and disabling side-effect of radiotherapy for head and neck cancer for more than 50 years. With the PARSPORT trial, reported in The Lancet Oncology, the largest and best designed of several randomised trials focusing on xerostomia, radiation oncologists and their partners in physics and dosimetry should take pride that significant progress has been made. Before the introduction of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), more than 80% of survivors experienced substantial dry mouth syndrome and associated effects on dental health, swallowing, taste, and quality of life. By contrast, Nutting and colleagues report about 25% of 2-year survivors had significant clinician-rated xerostomia. Taken together with two randomised trials of IMRT for nasopharyngeal cancer, there is now compelling evidence of the power of advanced technology in reducing toxicity from head and neck radiotherapy. Can even better use of technology help us to further reduce xerostomia? The parotid glands provide watery saliva during eating, which is largely replaceable by consuming more water or lubricants. The submandibular, sublingual, and minor salivary glands provide mucinous saliva, associated with the resting sense of moisture and dry mouth symptoms. Future work should systematically explore the prioritisation of different components of the salivary gland system. A clinical benefit from sparing the submandibular glands may be seen, beyond that seen by sparing the parotid glands. The mean dose delivered to the minor salivary glands within the oral cavity has also been reported to be a significant factor in patient-reported xerostomia. Further possibilities include gland repair [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-01-31T14:08:42-07:00January, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Detection of squamous cell carcinoma and corresponding biomarkers using optical spectroscopy

Source: oto.sagepub.com Author: H. Wolfgang Beumer, MD et al. Objectives: Investigate the use of optical reflectance spectroscopy to differentiate malignant and nonmalignant tissues in head and neck lesions and characterize corresponding oxygen tissue biomarkers that are associated with pathologic diagnosis. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Tertiary Veterans Administration Medical Center. Subjects and Methods: All patients undergoing panendoscopy with biopsy for suspected head and neck cancer were eligible. Prior to taking tissue samples, the optical probe was placed at 3 locations to collect diffuse reflectance data. These locations were labeled “tumor,” “immediately adjacent,” and “distant normal tissue.” Biopsies were taken of each of these respective sites. The diffuse reflectance spectra were analyzed, and biomarker-specific absorption data were extracted using an inverse Monte Carlo algorithm for malignant and nonmalignant tissues. Histopathological analysis was performed and used as the gold standard to analyze the optical biomarker data. Results: Twenty-one patients with mucosal squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck were identified and selected to participate in the study. Statistically significant differences in oxygen saturation (P = .001) and oxygenated hemoglobin (P = .019) were identified between malignant and nonmalignant tissues. Conclusion: This study established proof of principle that optical spectroscopy can be used in the head and neck areas to detect malignant tissue. Furthermore, tissue biomarkers were correlated with a diagnosis of malignancy. Authors: 1. H. Wolfgang Beumer, MD1 2. Karthik Vishwanath, PhD2 3. Liana Puscas, MD1,3 4. Hamid R. Afshari, DDS5 5. Nimmi Ramanujam, PhD2 6. Walter T. Lee, MD1,3 Authors' [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-01-29T11:07:44-07:00January, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Oncologists must discuss all options in advanced cancer: ASCO policy

Source: MedScape.com By: Zosia Chustecka January 28, 2011 — A new policy statement from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) aims to improve communication with, and decision making for, patients with advanced cancer (defined as incurable disease). It calls for a change in paradigm for advanced cancer care and a new approach in which all available treatment options are discussed from the very beginning. The statement was published online on January 24 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. "While improving survival is the oncologist's primary goal, helping individuals live their final days in comfort and dignity is one of the most important responsibilities of our profession," ASCO president George Sledge, MD, said in a statement. "Oncologists must lead the way in discussing the full range of curative and palliative therapies to ensure that patients' choices are honored," he said. New Paradigm of Care This new approach "requires stepping back from the paradigm of applying one line of therapy after the other and focusing primarily on disease-directed interventions," say the authors, comprised of a panel of oncologists and specialists in palliative care. "Instead, we need to move toward developing a treatment plan that is consistent with evidence-based options (including disease-directed and palliative care), and the patients' informed preferences for how we pursue and balance these options throughout the course of illness," they add. Conversations about all of the options that are available must be started earlier, and they must be more thorough, the panel insists. "These conversations should be going on [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-01-29T11:01:08-07:00January, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Cytotoxicity of thymus vulgaris essential oil towards human oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma

Souce:International Journal of Cancer Research and Treatment Serkan Sertel, Tolga Eichhorn, Peter K. Plinkert and Thomas Efferth Abstract Background: Oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OCSCC) accounts for 2% to 3% of all malignancies and has a high mortality rate. The majority of anticancer drugs are of natural origin. However, it is unknown whether the medicinal plant Thymus vulgaris L. (thyme) is cytotoxic towards head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Materials and Methods: Cytotoxicity of thyme essential oil was investigated on the HNSCC cell line, UMSCC1. The IC50 of thyme essential oil extract was 369 μg/ml. Moreover, we performed pharmacogenomics analyses. Results: Genes involved in the cell cycle, cell death and cancer were involved in the cytotoxic activity of thyme essential oil at the transcriptional level. The three most significantly regulated pathways by thyme essential oil were interferon signaling, N-glycan biosynthesis and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 5 (ERK5) signaling. Conclusion: Thyme essential oil inhibits human HNSCC cell growth. Based on pharmacogenomic approaches, novel insights into the molecular mode of anticancer activity of thyme are presented.

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-01-29T11:00:35-07:00January, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Diagnostic chip may help hearts, cut costs

Souce: HealthCanal.com By: Mike Williams Rice University technology in human trials to spot cardiac disease, cancer, drug abuse Heart disease is a silent killer, but new microchip technology from Rice University is expected to advance the art of diagnosis. During National Heart Health Month, Rice Professor John McDevitt will discuss the potential of this technology to detect cardiac disease early at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Washington, D.C., Feb. 17-21. Cardiac disease is the focus of one of six ongoing major clinical trials of Rice's programmable bio-nano-chips (PBNCs). PBNCs combine microfluidics, nanotechnology, advanced optics and electronics to enable quick, painless diagnostic tests for a wide range of diseases at minimal cost. Current clinical trials employ PBNCs to test more than 4,000 patients for signs of heart disease, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, oral cancer and drug abuse. Versions to test for HIV/AIDS and other diseases are also in development. "Too often, the first time people know they're suffering from heart disease is when it kills them," said McDevitt, Rice's Brown-Wiess Professor of Chemistry and Bioengineering, who will participate in a global health seminar at AAAS. "With this test, we expect to save lives and dramatically cut the recovery time and cost of caring for those who suffer from heart ailments," said McDevitt, a pioneer in the creation of microfluidic devices for biomedical testing. He anticipates the PBNCs, when manufactured in bulk, will cost only a few dollars each. PBNCs analyze a patient's [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-01-27T13:47:30-07:00January, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Martin Duffy, 70; Marathon fixture went extra mile

Source: Boston.com By: Bryan Marquard The morning he died, during what turned out to be his last hour or so of life, Martin Duffy got up and ran through his daily regimen of stretching, push-ups, and sit-ups. Several months before, cancer had kept him from adding to his extraordinary streak of 40 consecutive Boston Marathons, but he was used to forging ahead when his body said stop. Take one particular Marathon, probably his 26th. Afterward, he learned he had competed with a broken foot. Realizing at the 2-mile mark that something was amiss, “I divided that race into sections of 6 miles, with each segment a challenge to get through,’’ he told the Globe in 2000. “And somehow I did.’’ In 2009, Mr. Duffy’s string of consecutive completed Boston Marathons was recorded as the third-longest in history when he ran his 40th and final race a few months after being diagnosed with tongue cancer induced by the human papilloma virus. He was 70 when he died Nov. 29 in his Belmont home. Runners often sought advice from Mr. Duffy, given his experience, and he didn’t stop at simply offering tips on how and where to train. An economist who advised businesses and helped them develop strategies, he was still in touch with friends and clients in his final days. “He went in to work the week before he passed away,’’ said his wife, Rusty Stieff. And that was after treatment had left Mr. Duffy no longer able to speak. Instead, he [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-01-26T11:21:02-07:00January, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Rash prediction in lung cancer?

Source: www.medscape.com Author: Maurie Markman, MD Hello. I am Dr. Maurie Markman from Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Philadelphia. I wanted to briefly discuss with you a very interesting paper[1] that appeared online in The Lancet Oncology on December 20th, 2010, and will be in print soon. The paper was entitled "First-Cycle Rash and Survival in Patients With Advanced Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Receiving Cetuximab in Combination With First-Line Chemotherapy: A Subgroup Analysis of Data From the FLEX Phase 3 Study." This was a very interesting subgroup analysis -- a retrospective analysis. What the group of investigators attempted to look at was the impact on a patient who received cetuximab and developed a rash compared with individuals who received cetuximab and did not develop a rash. And, of course, the other control group here would be the patients who received chemotherapy without cetuximab. What this retrospective analysis demonstrated was that overall survival in patients who received combination chemotherapy plus cetuximab and who developed a rash was significantly longer in all of the subtypes of non-small cell lung cancer that were looked at (including squamous and adenocarcinoma), compared with chemotherapy alone or chemotherapy plus cetuximab and no development of a rash. These data, which are quite provocative and need to be confirmed by others, suggest that the development of a rash may be a reasonable clinical biomarker of the potential impact of this targeted agent on cancer. That is, the development of a rash suggests that there is going to be [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-01-26T08:09:24-07:00January, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Less xerostomia occurs with IMRT in head and neck cancer

Source: www.medscape.com Author: Roxanne Nelson Intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) might be a better treatment option for patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Compared with conventional radiation therapy, IMRT significantly decreases the incidence of xerostomia and improves quality of life, according to a study published online January 13 in the Lancet Oncology. British researchers report that at 12 months, grade 2 or higher xerostomia was significantly lower with IMRT than with conventional radiotherapy (38% vs 74%; P = .0027). At 2 years, the incidence of grade 2 or higher xerostomia continued to be significantly less common with IMRT than with standard radiotherapy; 9 patients (29%) reported xerostomia in the IMRT group, compared with 20 (83%) in the conventional therapy group. The authors note that there were no significant differences in locoregional control or overall survival between the 2 patient groups. Lead author Christopher M. Nutting, MD, FRCR, consultant and honorary senior lecturer in clinical oncology at the Royal Marsden Hospital and Institute of Cancer Research, London, United Kingdom, and colleagues note that their results "strongly support a role for IMRT in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck." Spares the Parotid Gland, Similar Outcomes Head and neck oncology expert Ted Teknos, MD, agrees. "One of the advantages of IMRT is that you can deliver radiation very accurately and you can spare normal structures to a much higher degree than conventional radiation therapy," said Dr. Teknos, director of the Division of Head and Neck Surgery at Ohio State [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-01-23T18:03:06-07:00January, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Scientific frauds are not nearly rare enough

Source: www.torontosun.com Author: Joanne Richard Seems there’s a whole lot of misconduct going on in the world of science. The latest scandal showed that research linking measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccines with autism is a sham, and it’s not alone. An investigation reports that one in seven scientists know colleagues who fake scientific findings, according the University of Edinburgh, while nearly half know of colleagues who engage in questionable practices. Only 2% of researchers polled own up to unethical misconduct – that number is probably higher, investigators report in the journal PLoS One. An Acadia Institute survey states 50% of faculty and 43% of graduate students have “direct knowledge” of scientific wrongdoing, including fraud, falsification and plagiarism, in their labs. Falsifying findings have put Dr. Andrew Wakefield into the hall of shame. His criticism of the vaccine to fight measles, mumps and rubella literally caused a global health crisis when his studies were reported in the Lancet medical journal in 1998. The journal fully retracted the published claims. A U.K. panel found Wakefield, of London’s Royal Free Hospital, to be “dishonest,” “unethical,” “irresponsible” and “callous.” Investigation by British journalist Brian Deer unearthed the damning evidence of financial and scientific misconduct. Rule breakers rule – everything from data fabrication to falsification, plagiarism to fraud to embezzlement is on the roster of rotten scientific behavior. It’s a high-stakes game where pressure is frenzied to publish positive results. Check out other famous faked scientific results that have left careers in ruins and [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-01-23T17:56:30-07:00January, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Why parents fear the needle

Source: nytimes.com Author: Michael Willrich Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, roughly one in five Americans believes that vaccines cause autism — a disturbing fact that will probably hold true even after the publication this month, in a British medical journal, of a report thoroughly debunking the 1998 paper that began the vaccine-autism scare. That’s because the public’s underlying fear of vaccines goes much deeper than a single paper. Until officials realize that, and learn how to counter such deep-seated concerns, the paranoia — and the public-health risk it poses — will remain. The evidence against the original article and its author, a British medical researcher named Andrew Wakefield, is damning. Among other things, he is said to have received payment for his research from a lawyer involved in a suit against a vaccine manufacturer; in response, Britain’s General Medical Council struck him from the medical register last May. As the journal’s editor put it, the assertion that the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine caused autism “was based not on bad science but on a deliberate fraud.” But public fear of vaccines did not originate with Dr. Wakefield’s paper. Rather, his claims tapped into a reservoir of doubt and resentment toward this life-saving, but never risk-free, technology. Vaccines have had to fight against public skepticism from the beginning. In 1802, after Edward Jenner published his first results claiming that scratching cowpox pus into the arms of healthy children could protect them against smallpox, a political cartoon appeared showing newly vaccinated people with hooves [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-01-22T19:10:20-07:00January, 2011|Oral Cancer News|