Oral Cancer News

Poison’s Rikki Rockett Reveals He Is Battling Oral Cancer

Source: www.loudwire.comAuthor: Chad Childers Poison drummer Rikki Rockett revealed during an appearance on the Eddie Trunk Live radio show that he’s completed nine rounds of chemotherapy and seven weeks of radiation treatments after being diagnosed with oral cancer this past summer and that he’ll find out in February if the treatments were successful. Rockett told Trunk (as transcribed by Blabbermouth), “[In] June, I kind of got sick. I had this horrible cold, sore-throat thing, and they were scoping me and they were doing biopsies, and nothing was coming up. And finally a doctor at USC did a biopsy and took a look and he said, ‘I believe you have oral cancer.’ And what it was is a tumor at the base of my tongue … This is very similar to Bruce Dickinson, very similar to Michael Douglas, similar to Tom Hamilton, as far as I know; I don’t know the details of his. And two adjacent lymph nodes that it kind of … Normally, it does spread to the lymph nodes; that’s typical. That’s how you find out you have it ninety percent of the time.” According to the Rockett, his doctor told him that it was a very treatable cancer, but was “a son of a bitch to treat.” He was then told that he would either have to undergo radiation and chemotherapy at the same time or undergo surgery, but even if he chose the latter, he might still have to do radiation and chemotherapy. Rockett revealed that it [...]

Charlotte Parker2015-12-15T16:23:53-07:00December, 2015|Oral Cancer News|

Cancer treatment: New method helps white blood cells fight tumors

Source: www.hngn.com Author: Tyler MacDonald The clinical trial for a groundbreaking cancer treatment that engineers the immune system to better fight the disease is now taking place at the National Institute for Health Research and King's College London, according to The Guardian. The patients, who have head and neck cancer, are receiving genetic modifications that help their white blood cells recognize and attack tumorous growths. Although white blood cells are naturally equipped to eliminate unnecessary and infected cells, they sometimes need help to combat cancer cells. The team of scientists is taking blood samples and treating the white blood cells with a virus that introduces two new genes - the first makes cell growth in the laboratory easier, and the second helps the white blood cells identify and attack tumors. "In most cancers, metastasis, the spread of a disease from the part of the body where it started to another not directly connected, is the commonest cause of death," said John Maher, principal investigator of the trial. "However, head and neck cancer is unusual in that local spread or recurrence of the disease accounts for most suffering and death. This means that tumours may become inoperable and do not shrink in response to traditional treatments such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy." The treatment is called a CAT T-cell and takes two weeks to create; once produced, it is injected directly into the patient's tumor and helps white blood cells in their attack, according to The Scientist. Although the treatment works best [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2015-12-13T09:13:29-07:00December, 2015|Oral Cancer News|

Cetuximab plus RT linked with high toxicity in head and neck cancer

Source: www.cancernetwork.com Author: Anna Azvolinsky, PhD The combination of radiation therapy plus the EGFR inhibitor cetuximab had higher rates of acute toxicity among patients with locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) compared with radiation therapy plus the chemotherapy cisplatin, according to results of a phase II trial based in Italy. Efficacy was similar with both combination therapies. According to Stefano Maria Magrini, MD, professor of radiotherapy at the Università degli Studi di Brescia in Italy, and colleagues, this is the first clinical trial to directly compare radiation therapy plus cetuximab to a chemoradiation regimen for SCCHN. The results of the randomized trial are published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Cetuximab was approved in combination with radiation therapy by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2006 for the treatment of unresectable SCCHN. Despite a goal of recruiting 130 patients, only 70 patients were recruited between 2011 and 2014. The 1- and 2-year overall survival rates were 75% and 68% in the cetuximab arm compared with 78% in the cisplatin arm. The 1- and 2-year local control rates were 64% and 53% in the cetuximab arm and 84% and 80% in the cisplatin arm, yet the differences between arms were not statistically significant (P = .073), reflecting the inadequate statistical power of the relatively small trial. Compliance in both treatment arms was relatively low. Only 28% of patients in the cetuximab arm and 20% of patients in the cisplatin arm received at least 7 cycles [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2015-12-13T09:06:40-07:00December, 2015|Oral Cancer News|

Indo-US researchers developing solar-powered oral cancer detector for remote areas

Source: www.domain-b.com Author: staff A handy solar-powered device is being tested in India and US for early detection of oral cancer. The device could be integrated with mobile technology, enabling faster and accurate diagnostics in rural areas, IANS reported. The device has been designed by the Beckman Laser Institute (BLI), University of California-Irvine (UCI) and the Mazumdar Shaw Cancer Centre (MSCC) in Bengaluru and is slightly larger than a shoe box. It has been specially adapted for India, which accounted for one of the highest rates of head and neck cancers in the world and the highest rate among women. Its light-weight and user-friendly features meant even health care workers with minimal education could use it in the field. The solar energy-driven device would capture images of the patient's oral cavity and transmit them via a mobile phone to experts at the centre. "India is the first country in which we are using the device - it was specifically designed to meet conditions and needs there. The final device will have a solar option," Petra Wilder-Smith of BLI told IANS in an email interaction. According to Wilder-Smith, which is recognized as a pioneer in the application of optics and lasers in oral diagnosis, the device was based on optical coherence tomography (OCT) - an imaging technology similar to ultrasound, except that it used light (a laser). Oral cancer was the most common cancer in India, accounting for 40 per cent of all cancers overall and for over 50 per cent [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2015-12-13T08:58:13-07:00December, 2015|Oral Cancer News|

Depression and smoking linked to worse prognosis in oral cancer

Source: medicalresearch.com Author: staff MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Eileen H. Shinn PhD Assistant Professor, Department of Behavioral Science Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences, MD Anderson Cancer Center Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Shinn: Recent studies with leukemia, breast, lung, renal and liver cancer patients have shown that patients with depression have worsened survival. These effect sizes are small, but independent of any of the traditional factors that are known to impact survival, such as extent of cancer, types of treatment administered and baseline health and age of the patient. The current thinking is that cancer patients who are depressed have chronically heightened responses to stress; the constant release of stress hormones trigger changes in the tumor itself (such as noradrenergically-driven tumor angiogenesis) or may weakens the body’s immune function and ability to resist tumor growth. When we measured depression in newly diagnosed patients with oropharyngeal cancer (cancer of the base of tongue and tonsil), we found that those patients who scored as depressed were 3.5 times more likely to have died within the five year period after their diagnosis, compared to non-depressed patients. We also found that patients who were depressed were also 3.8 times more likely to have their cancer recur within the first five years after diagnosis. We also found that patients who continued to smoke after diagnosis were more likely to recur within the first five years. These effect sizes were larger than those typically found in [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2015-12-13T08:51:57-07:00December, 2015|Oral Cancer News|

Forward Science and Oral Cancer Foundation partner in video to spread oral cancer awareness

Source: www.DentistryIQ.comAuthor: DentistryIQ Editors Click here to view Carol Layer's story, told by her daughter Rachel In an effort to increase awareness about the importance of annual oral cancer screenings, Forward Science, the creators of OralID, and the Oral Cancer Foundation have partnered to share the story of a family’s loss after a protracted and difficult battle with oral cancer. In a video narrated by the daughter of an oral cancer victim, the importance of regular/routine oral cancer screenings is stressed, and the daughter shares a first-hand view of why early detection is critical. To view the touching story of Carol Layer’s fight with oral cancer, told by her extraordinary daughter, Rachel, visit http://www.oralid.com/carolsfight. “Until there is a cure, the best solution is early discovery. Early detection can not only save people’s lives, but preserve the quality of life.” Rachel continues to compete in marathons and relay races in her mother’s memory, wearing “Carol’s Fight” on her shirt in every race. She emphasizes the importance of sharing her mom’s story with the world, with the hope of preventing future stories like her own. She said, “I certainly learned a lot about life and death and what it meant to be resilient through her, and I hope my mom’s story carries forward to people.” At 44 years old, Carol Layer had no traditional risk factors (alcohol or tobacco use) and was not a patient who was in the high-risk category for oral cancer. Carol found a lesion on the side of her tongue [...]

Charlotte Parker2015-12-10T17:36:58-07:00December, 2015|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

Here’s why the drug that helped Jimmy Carter get ‘cancer-free’ is such a big deal

Source: www.businessinsider.comAuthor: Lydia Ramsey Former US President Jimmy Carter announced on Sunday that his latest brain scan showed no sign of cancer, a few months after revealing that he had been diagnosed with melanoma that had spread from his liver to his brain. Carter was being treated with a cancer drug called Keytruda that uses the immune system to fight off cancerous cells. Keytruda, made by pharmaceutical company Merck, was originally approved by the FDA in September 2014 to treat melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer that can also show up in other organs of the body, as it did in Carter's case. In someone with melanoma, certain proteins called PD-1 stop the immune system from doing its job and fighting the cancerous cells. Keytruda works by getting in the way of those proteins, allowing the immune system to access the cancer cells. Then, with the help of radiation therapy, which works to shrink tumors by killing cancer cells, it can knock the cancer out. The drug is delivered intravenously every three weeks, costing about $12,500 a month. And the drug isn't just being used in cases like Carter's. Keytruda, which got approved to treat a form of lung cancer in October, is also being explored to treat a number of other cancers, including head and neck, breast, and bladder cancers and Hodgkin lymphoma. It's also not the first cancer immunotherapy drug. Scientists have been seriously exploring using the immune system to battle cancerous cells for decades as an alternative to chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery. But it's taken a long time for [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2015-12-09T10:45:24-07:00December, 2015|Oral Cancer News|

E-cigarettes contain flavouring chemical linked to deadly ‘popcorn lung’

Source: The Telegraph Author: Sarah Knapton, Science Editor Public health experts are sharply divided about e‑cigarettes Photo: ALAMY Three quarters of e-cigarettes tested by Harvard scientists contained the chemical diacetyl which is known to cause lung damage. Vapers could be at risk of developing the deadly disease ‘popcorn lung’ after scientists found a toxic chemical in 75 per cent of flavoured electronic cigarettes. Diacetyl, a chemical which is used as a butter substitute in flavours like Cotton Candy and Cupcake, has been linked to respiratory disease bronchiolitis obliterans Although it is thought to be safe when eaten, the United States National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has said it could be hazardous when inhaled over a long period. It follows incidences in several factories which manufacture microwave popcorn where workers developed bronchiolitis obliterans. Diacetyl is known to cause inflammation, scarring and constriction of the tiny airways in the lung known as bronchioles, reducing air flow. There is currently no known cure except for a lung transplantation. Researchers said 'urgent action' was needed to 'evaluate this potentially widespread exposure via flavoured e-cigarettes.' "Recognition of the hazards associated with inhaling flavouring chemicals started with 'Popcorn Lung' over a decade ago,” said lead author Joseph Allen, assistant professor of exposure assessment science at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. “However, diacetyl and other related flavouring chemicals are used in many other flavours beyond butter-flavoured popcorn, including fruit flavours, alcohol flavours, and, we learned in our study, candy flavoured e-cigarettes." E-cigarettes use [...]

Charlotte Parker2015-12-09T10:52:17-07:00December, 2015|Oral Cancer News|

Wisconsin scientists grow functional vocal cord tissue in the lab

Source: www.med.wisc.edu Author: press release Madison, Wisconsin - University of Wisconsin scientists have succeeded in growing functional vocal-cord tissue in the laboratory, a major step toward restoring a voice to people who have lost their vocal cords to cancer surgery or other injuries. Dr. Nathan Welham, a speech-language pathologist, and colleagues from several disciplines, were able to bioengineer vocal-cord tissue able to transmit sound, they reported in a study published today in the journal Science Translational Medicine. About 20 million Americans suffer from voice impairments, and many have damage to the vocal-cord mucosae, the specialized tissues that vibrate as air moves over them, giving rise to voice. While injections of collagen and other materials can help some in the short term, Welham says not much can be done for people who have had larger areas of their vocal cords damaged or removed. “Voice is a pretty amazing thing, yet we don’t give it much thought until something goes wrong,” says Welham, an associate professor of surgery in the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. “Our vocal cords are made up of special tissue that has to be flexible enough to vibrate, yet strong enough to bang together hundreds of times per second. It’s an exquisite system and a hard thing to replicate.” Welham and colleagues began with vocal-cord tissue from a cadaver and four patients who had their larynxes removed but did not have cancer. They isolated, purified and grew the cells from the mucosa, then applied them to [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2015-11-21T09:45:52-07:00November, 2015|Oral Cancer News|

Head, Neck Cancer Patients May Be at Higher Risk for Suicide: Study

Source: www.health.usnews.comAuthor: Robert Preidt THURSDAY, Nov. 12, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Head and neck cancer patients may be at raised risk for suicide, new research suggests. However, the overall risk is still small, the findings showed. The study included over 350,000 patients in the United States diagnosed with head and neck cancer between 1973 and 2011. Of those patients, 857 died by suicide. The investigators found that the suicide rate among head and neck cancer patients was three times higher than in the general population. And suicide rates were higher among patients treated with radiation alone compared to surgery alone. Suicide rates were highest among those with cancers of the lower part of the throat, including the larynx ("voice box") and hypopharynx, at five times and 12 times higher, respectively, than in the general population. "This may be linked to these anatomic sites' intimate relationship with the ability to speak and/or swallow. Loss of these functions can dramatically lower patients' quality of life," Dr. Richard Chan Woo Park, of Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, and colleagues wrote. "It is possible that the increased rates of tracheostomy [breathing tube] dependence and dysphagia [difficulty swallowing] and/or gastrostomy [feeding] tube dependence in these patients are . . . factors in the increased rate of suicide observed," the authors added. The study was published online Nov. 12 in the journal JAMA Otolaryngology--Head & Neck Surgery. "While there is a considerable body of research that examines survival outcomes for patients with head and neck cancer, additional [...]

Charlotte Parker2015-11-13T15:34:55-07:00November, 2015|Oral Cancer News|