Oral Cancer News

Israeli study sees link between oral cancer, cell phones

Source: haaretz.com Author: Dan Even A recent study documents a sharp rise in the incidence of salivary gland cancer in Israel that researchers believe may be linked to the use of mobile phones. The study was commissioned by the Israel Dental Association and directed by Avi Zini of the community dentistry department at the Hebrew University-Hadassah School of Dental Medicine. The study included examination of the incidence of oral cavity cancers in Israel from 1970 to 2006. Among salivary gland cancer cases, researchers found a worrying rise in the number of cases of malignant growth in parotid glands - the salivary gland located under the ear, near the location where cell phones are held during conversations. By contrast, the incidence of salivary cancers in glands of the lower mouth - the so-called submandular and sublingual salivary glands - remained stable. From 1980-2002 the number of cases of parotid salivary cancer held steady at around 25 per year. The number of cases rose dramatically in the five years after to 70 cases per year. "We haven't gathered data on the use of cell phones on the part of the patients," Zini said, "but the rise [in cancer cases] absolutely could indicate increased exposure to cellular telephones and damage caused by radiation." The researchers intend to collect data on their oral cancer patients' cell phone use during the next stage of the study to examine the possible statistical link between the two. Of the 11,843 Israelis who developed oral cancers during the [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-07-16T12:22:31-07:00July, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Genmab says FDA lifts hold on zalutumumab studies

Source: www.reuters.com Author: staff Danish biotechnology firm Genmab said on Thursday: - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration lifted a partial clinical hold on zalutumumab studies being conducted under a U.S. Investigational New Drug application. - Enrolment of patients can now resume in the Phase II study in patients with head and neck cancer considered incurable with standard treatment and the Phase I/II frontline study of zalutumumab in combination with chemo-radiation. Note: 1. Reporting by Copenhagen newsroom

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-07-16T12:08:09-07:00July, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Clinical and dosimetric factors associated with a prolonged feeding tube requirement in patients treated with chemoradiotherapy (CRT) for head and neck cancers

Source: Annals of Oncology, doi:10.1093/annonc/mdp268 Authors: A. S. Gokhale et al. Background: Patients treated with chemoradiotherapy (CRT) for head and neck cancers often require feeding tubes (FTs) due to toxicity. We sought to identify factors associated with a prolonged FT requirement. Patients and methods: We retrospectively reviewed 80 patients treated with CRT for head and neck cancers. The pharyngeal constrictors (PCs), supraglottic larynx (SGL), and glottic larynx (GL) were contoured and the mean radiation doses and the volumes of each receiving >40, 50, 60, and 70 Gy (V40, V50, V60, and V70) were determined. Results: A total of 33 of 80 patients required a FT either before or during the course of CRT. Fifteen patients required the FT for ≥6 months. On univariate analysis, significant factors associated with a prolonged FT requirement were mean PC dose, PC-V60, PC-V70, SGL dose, SGL-V70, and advanced T3–T4 disease. Multivariate analyses found both PC-V70 and T3-T4 disease as significant factors .The proportions of patients requiring a FT ≥6 months were 8% and 28% for treatment plans with PC-V70 <30% and ≥30%, respectively. Conclusions: Increased radiation dose to the PCs is associated with a higher risk of a prolonged FT need. Dose sparing of the PC muscles may reduce this risk. Authors: A. S. Gokhale1, B. T. McLaughlin2, J. C. Flickinger1, S. Beriwal1,*, D. E. Heron1, R. L. Ferris3, J. Johnson3, M. K. Gibson2, A. Argiris2 and R. P. Smith1 Authors' affiliatons: 1 Department of Radiation Oncology 2 Division of Hematology–Oncology, Department of Medicine 3 [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-07-15T13:03:53-07:00July, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Thyroid cancer increase puzzles experts

Source: HealthDay News Author: Staff Intensified screening doesn't entirely explain the jump in thyroid cancers noted in the United States since 1980, and scientists now believe that other as-yet-unknown factors are to blame. A new study finds that thyroid tumors of all sizes are being picked up, not just the smaller ones that more aggressive screening would be expected to detect. "You cannot simply explain this by increased screening, there's a real increased incidence," said Dr. Amy Chen, lead author of a study published online July 13 in the journal Cancer. Although, "some of this increased incidence is due to increased screening finding smaller tumors," she added. The findings surprised one expert. "I wrote a chapter about this for a textbook about a year ago and I came away thinking this [rise in cancers] is a reflection of enhanced diagnostics," said Dr. Bruce J. Davidson, professor and chairman of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C. But, "it is more disturbing that it's not just small tumors; it seems to be all tumors," he said. An estimated 37,200 new cases of thyroid cancer will be diagnosed this year, according to the U.S. National Cancer Institute. Fortunately, the cancer is considered highly curable, but the researchers said survival rates have not improved with better detection. Until now, an uptick in cases seen over the past three decades was attributed to increased use of ultrasound and image-guided biopsy to detect tumors. Some researchers had found that thyroid cancer [...]

Charlotte Parker2009-07-15T12:58:55-07:00July, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Surgery effective in achieving local control of tongue cancer

Source: www.docguide.com Author: Louise Gagnon Surgery is effective in achieving local control of tongue cancer, but additional therapy with radiation does not produce a significant advantage in regional disease control, according to a study presented here at the 2nd World Congress of the International Academy of Oral Oncology (IAOO). The review, presented on July 9, identified 282 patients (mean age, 59 years) who were treatment naïve and then received treatment for squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue between 1994 and 2004 at the Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto, Ontario. "These were newly diagnosed patients who were previously untreated," said David Goldstein, MD, Head and Neck Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgical Oncology, University Health Network and Princess Margaret Hospital and Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario. "We wanted to analyse the outcomes and patterns of failure at our institution." The medical literature suggests a wide variability in outcomes in the management of squamous cell carcinoma of the oral tongue, according to Dr. Goldstein. A total of 268 (95%) were treated primarily with surgery, and 70 patients (26%) received postoperative adjuvant therapy. The majority of patients were in early stages of cancer. Patients were followed for a median of 4.54 years. The mean tumour thickness was 11 mm. The intent was curative, noted Dr. Goldstein. A minority of patients did not receive surgery as primary treatment, noted Dr. Goldstein, pointing out they received chemoradiation. "These patients were not medically fit for surgery or refused surgery as primary [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-07-15T04:31:18-07:00July, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Neuropathic and nociceptive pain in head and neck cancer patients receiving radiation therapy

Source: 7thspace.com Author: staff Pain is common in head and neck cancer (HNC) patients and may be attributed to the malignancy and/or cancer treatment. Pain mechanisms and patient report of pain in HNC are expected to include both nociceptive and neuropathic components. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the trajectory of orofacial and other pain during and following treatment, using patient reports of neuropathic pain and nociceptive pain and pain impact. Methods: 124 consecutive HNC patients receiving radiation therapy (RT) (95 men, 29 women; mean age: 54.7 +/- 12.3 years) participated in a patient-reported outcome (PRO) assessment. Patients completed the McGill Pain Questionnaire three times during therapy and 3 months following study entry. Results: The majority of patients related their pain to the tumor and/or cancer treatment. Whereas 59% reported their pain to be less severe than they expected, 29% were not satisfied with their level of pain despite pain management during cancer therapy. Worst pain was 3.0 +/- 1.3 on a 0- to 5-point verbal descriptor scale. Pain intensity was present at entry, highest at 2-week follow-up, declining towards the end of treatment and persisting at 3-month follow-up. The most common neuropathic pain descriptors chosen were aching (20%) and burning (27%); nociceptive words chosen were dull (22%), sore (32%), tender (35%), and throbbing (23%), and affective/evaluative descriptors were tiring (25%) and annoying (41%). 57% of patients reported continuous pain, and combined continuous and intermittent pain was reported by 79% of patients. Conclusions: This study provides evidence [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-07-15T04:24:26-07:00July, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Awareness of cancer risk low among many ethnic minorities

Source: info.cancerresearchuk.org Author: staff A survey has revealed that many ethnic minority groups have a low awareness of the signs and symptoms of various forms of cancer, even though some groups have a higher risk of certain types of cancer than others. Published to launch Ethnic Minority Cancer Awareness Week (July 6th to 12th), the figures show that at least 46 per cent of ethnic minorities are unsure of the signs and symptoms of the various forms of cancer, or of how to reduce their cancer risk. This finding comes in spite of the fact that 61 per cent of respondents have had a family member with cancer. It has long been known that some ethnic minority groups face a heightened risk of certain forms of cancer. For instance, African Caribbean men are three times more likely to develop prostate cancer than white men, while south Asian and Chinese people face a higher-than-average risk of mouth cancer. Jennifer Layburn, who chairs an alliance of cancer charities, said: "Cancer awareness is important for everyone. "However as these figures show, there is a need to reach ethnic minority communities with targeted awareness messages to increase the levels of awareness and early diagnosis to help reduce the inequalities that exist in survival and mortality figures." When asked about NHS screening programmes, 78 per cent of ethnic minority women were aware of breast screening. However, figures show that 45 per cent of black women have never attended a breast screen, 76 per cent of [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-07-15T04:17:40-07:00July, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Planned neck dissection unnecessary in some patients with advanced stage oropharyngeal cancer

Source: www.docguide.com Author: Louise Gagnon The use of a neck dissection is not always necessary in patients with advanced stage oropharyngeal cancer, according to a retrospective study presented here at the 2nd World Congress of the International Academy of Oral Oncology (IAOO). "Our message is that you don't have to do a planned neck dissection," said John Yoo, MD, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, London Health Sciences Centre/University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario. Chemoradiation is now the standard of care in most centres for patients with advanced oropharyngeal cancer, noted Dr. Yoo. "You can follow those patients to see if they relapse or have persistent disease," he explained in an interview on July 10. "You can salvage them if that occurs. The trend is towards not doing a planned neck dissection, but to follow the patients." Patients received external beam irradiation in addition to platinum-based chemotherapy. They were staged pathologically and radiologically. They were reassessed at 6 to 8 weeks after treatment for residual disease. Neck dissections were performed only if clinicians had clinical or radiological evidence of residual disease. Dr. Yoo and colleagues retrospectively analysed 62 patients (49 males, 13 females) treated at the London Regional Cancer Centre between 1999 and 2005. The mean age of patients was 56, and the median follow-up was 32 months. A total of 15 patients were N3 staged, and 47 were N2 stage. Specifically, 18 were stage N2a, another 18 were stage N2b, and 11 were stage N2c. There was a complete [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-07-15T04:11:30-07:00July, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Gefitinib shows promise as treatment for advanced head and neck cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma

Source: www.docguide.com Author: Louise Gagnon Gefitinib produces a significant response in patients with advanced head and neck cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) prior to standard treatment, according to a phase 2 study presented here at the 2nd World Congress of the International Academy of Oral Oncology (IAOO). "We want to shrink the tumour as much as we can prior to surgery, so the patient will have the best outcome," said Shirley Taylor, University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, on July 9. Taylor noted that patients with advanced squamous cell carcinoma on the head and neck face a poor prognosis with standard treatments of surgery and radiation, so clinicians are exploring other therapies to improve prognosis for this patient population. Since epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a tyrosine kinase that is overexpressed in cSCC, it was logical to use a compound that inhibits the catalytic activity of the tyrosine kinase, explained Taylor. "It is a more targeted therapy," noted Taylor. The study enrolled 23 patients, 22 of whom were evaluable for responses and toxicities to gefitinib. Patients received oral gefitinib 250 mg/day for 2 cycles of 30 days each and were evaluated for response via computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at 15 days after therapy "If patients showed a response, they continued to receive therapy," explained Taylor. "If they showed stable disease, the dose was escalated to 500 mg per day. If they showed progression of disease, they were taken off the drug." [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-07-15T04:05:55-07:00July, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Abbott and Glaxo to work on cancer antigen test

Source: www.forbes.com Author: staff GlaxoSmithKline PLC and Abbott Laboratories said Monday they will work together to develop a test that focuses on an antigen found in many types of cancer. Abbott said it will create a molecular diagnostic test to screen for non-small cell lung cancer tumors expressing the an antigen called MAGE-A3. An antigen is a substance that creates a response from the immune system. MAGE-A3 is found in melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer, head and neck cancer and bladder cancer, but does not occur in healthy cells. BuzzGlaxoSmithKline is testing drugs that target the protein and stimulates the immune system to respond to it and begin fighting the cancer, which would slow tumor growth or prevent tumors from returning after surgery. One such drug is currently in late stage clinical trials. The molecular diagnostic test will be designed for Abbott's m2000 automated instrument system.

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-07-15T03:58:53-07:00July, 2009|Oral Cancer News|