Oral Cancer News – Page 254 – The Oral Cancer Foundation News Archive

Prolonged treatment delay did not affect outcomes in SCCHN

Source: www.hemonctoday.com Author: Christen Haigh No association was found between diagnosis to treatment interval and tumor control outcomes in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN). However, patients with poor Karnofsky performance status, black patients and patients treated with intensity-modulated radiation therapy all had prolonged diagnosis to treatment interval. Jimmy J. Caudell Jr., MD, PhD, assistant professor of radiation oncology at the University of Mississippi, Jackson, presented the findings at the Multidisciplinary Head & Neck Cancer Symposium in Chandler, Ariz. Prolonged treatment delay from the time of diagnosis may often occur in patients with locoregionally advanced head and neck cancer due to social, dental, nutritional and radiotherapy planning procedures that need to be resolved prior to treatment initiation, according to researchers. To assess factors affecting treatment delay, researchers analyzed data from 426 patients with SCCHN treated with radiotherapy from 1995 to 2007 at the University of Alabama-Birmingham. The median follow-up was 42 months. The median diagnosis to treatment interval was 34 days. Longer than median diagnosis to treatment interval was associated with treatment off protocol (P=.002), black ethnicity (P=.005), insurance type (P

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-03-05T07:32:43-07:00March, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Instant screening device is the best defense for detecting deadly oral cancer

Source: worldental.org Author: staff Every year, over 34,000 Americans develop oral cancer. Many die, and many others must undergo surgery that leaves them permanently disfigured. In the March 2010 issue of Esquire magazine, film critic Roger Ebert shared his story about his battle with the oral cancer disease. After multiple surgeries, he lost his lower jaw, along with his ability to speak and eat solid food. Ebert brings publicity to a disease that hasn’t received much. Oral cancer can be a serious diagnosis, mainly because it usually goes undetected until it has reached an advanced stage and has spread throughout the body. People in their 60s who use tobacco and/or alcohol were once thought to be most at risk of getting oral cancer, but new evidence suggests a more disturbing cause. Oral cancer is now linked to the human papillomavirus (HPV), the same virus that causes cervical cancer. This means that oral cancer can be spread via oral sex, which puts sexually active younger adults in a higher-risk category. Dentists are usually the first to diagnose oral cancer, but 75 percent do not check their patients for signs of the disease. What’s more, the early signs of oral cancer are invisible to the naked eye, so even those who look for it may not spot it. Luckily, there is a technology to detect the earliest signs of oral cancer. It’s called the VELscope, and it’s being used in approximately 500 dental practices throughout the United States. Dr. Michael Koczarski of [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-03-05T07:22:53-07:00March, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

New technology helps those affected by HPV

Source: news10now.com Autor: Marcie Fraser Scott Vitale certainly does not fit the criteria for the HPV virus which causes warts, and in rare cases, it's found in the throat. Most often, infants get it from their mothers while they pass through the birth canal. Why or how he got the virus, no one knows for sure. "In terms of the voice box areas, the throat, it is not that clear cut. We think there may be some sexual transmission but it's hard to pin point how these patients actually get these papillomas,” said Dr. Stanely Shapshay, Laryngologist. He had symptoms for about a year. He had trouble breathing and he nearly lost his voice. The tumors had obstructed his airway. "Papilloma virus affects the vocal cords and the throat in general and some of our patients like you have seen today have little tumors called papilloma. Papillomas are viral caused tumors that either change the vocal cord function, in terms of the voice or sometimes even breathing,” said Shapshay. Thankfully the tumors were not on his vocal cords. Laryngologist Dr. Stanley Shapshay was able to do tests right in the office with a high tech camera called the Distal Chip Technology. By simply numbing the nasal passage, this flexible scope can be inserted down the throat which provides clear 3D images. "The Distal Chip Technology gives us a beautiful view, a panorama of the throat to be able to see detail we have not seen before,” said Shapshay. Once the [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-03-05T07:13:23-07:00March, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Racing to addiction: tobacco company auto racing sponsorships

Source: www.docstoc.com Author: Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids staff Auto racing is the number one live spectator sport in the United States, the second most watched sport on TV, and "the hottest, fastest-growing spectator sport in American."1 With disproportionate numbers of youth viewers, auto racing offers prime marketing opportunities to promote products to kids -- and the cigarette and spit tobacco companies have been taking full advantage. Winston, Marlboro, Kool, and Skoal are all prominent brand-name sponsors of racing events and teams. But auto racing could easily thrive without tobacco dollars, and switching to other sponsors would significantly reduce the amount of tobacco marketing that directly reaches and attracts kids. Auto Races are Popular Family Events With Large Youth Audiences Contrary to tobacco industry claims, kids are a big part of both the crowds at auto races and their television viewers. While 12-17 year olds make up less than 11 percent of the total 12+ population, they are almost 14 percent of those who attended NASCAR auto races in 1996 and over 18 percent of those who attended sports car racing. In 1996, more than 25 percent of 1217 years olds, or over 100 million kids, watched auto racing on television.2 The racing industry also aggressively reaches out to kids. Race weekends often include live music, rides, contests, racing-related merchandise sales, and hospitality areas. Beyond the races are NASCAR Thunder stores, featuring a children’s area called NASKids with toddler and youth apparel, the new NASCAR Café family restaurants with racing [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-03-04T16:42:16-07:00March, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Radiotherapy-induced skin changes and quality of life

Source: The Lancet Oncology Author: Julie B Schnur Quality of life is broadly recognized within oncology as an essential component of cancer care and has been studied extensively in patients with breast cancer.1 Yet, among the three pillars of breast cancer treatment (surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy), research on radiotherapy-related quality of life has lagged behind. Specifically, the study of quality of life as it relates to normal tissue effects in patients with breast cancer is woefully understudied. The reasons for this relative lack of attention are unclear, but the results are worrying. Insufficient understanding of the effects of radiotherapy on quality of life can impair doctor—patient communication, inhibit therapeutic progress, and limit a patient's understanding of radiotherapy and its outcomes. Therefore, the report of the START trials today in The Lancet Oncology, by Hopwood and colleagues, is much needed. 2 It makes an important contribution to the area of radiotherapy by looking at several aspects of quality of life (breast, arm, and shoulder effects, and body image). In doing so, these researchers show a consideration of the patient's point of view that is too often absent. The study's findings provide a strong foundation for further pursuit of understanding of the patient's experience of adverse skin changes after radiotherapy. Indeed, at least five areas of future research are readily apparent. 40% of women reported moderate or striking concerns for at least one body image item up to 5 years after treatment, and body image concerns did not differ between radiotherapy regimens. [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-03-04T12:20:58-07:00March, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Introducing OraRisk HPV salivary diagnostic test by OralDNA Labs

Source: RDHmag Author: Staff NASHVILLE, Tennessee--OralDNA Labs , a leader in advancing wellness in dentistry through salivary diagnostics and a subsidiary of Quest Diagnostics, recently introduced a OraRisk HPV test. The test is a noninvasive, screening tool to identify the type(s) of oral human papillomavirus (also called HPV). Oral HPV is a mucosal viral infection that is a known risk factor for oral, head, and neck cancers. High-risk types of HPV that persist present an increased risk for cancers in these regions. This test will provide the dental clinician with the ability to establish risk for HPV-related cancers of the oral, head, and neck regions, and determine appropriate referral and monitoring conditions. Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, which can be found in the oral cavity, tongue, tonsils, oropharynx, and larynx, affects approximately 40,000 individuals in the United States each year. The most common symptoms of SCCHN include sore throat, earache, hoarseness--and often--enlarged lymph nodes in the neck. Early detection of oral HPV presents an important opportunity to detect those at risk for these types of cancers before symptoms appear. According to OralDNA Labs' Medical Director Ronald C. McGlennen, MD, "The availability of the OraRisksm HPV test marks an important and timely advance in oral diagnostics, because the at-risk profile for oral cancer is rapidly changing." The use of tobacco and heavy alcohol consumption has traditionally been considered to be the primary risk factor for SCCHN, but an alarming number of new cases are being diagnosed each year [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-03-05T21:50:15-07:00March, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Roger Ebert’s story inspiring local cancer survivors

Source: News Channel 9 Author: Kevin Sims Tuesday on the Oprah Winfrey Show, movie critic Roger Ebert is talking about his battle with oral cancer. That's a fight many folks here in the Tennessee Valley face everyday. And now there's a support group specifically for those survivors. Five days a week, Jeanna Richelson is an engineer at Sisken Steel. 365 days a year, she's an oral cancer survivor. "They found it in the base of my tongue. I had surgery and spent nine days in the hospital," says Richelson. "I had a feeding tube, I was a mess." What a difference a decade makes. Nearly ten years after her diagnosis, Jeanna is cancer-free and is spear-heading that support group for others. "I'm meeting people who are young mothers in their 20's who have oral cancer and they've never smoked," says Richelson. "It used to be the old man's smoking disease but not anymore." When she started her support group last summer, one person showed up for the first meeting. Now they're up to twenty. That's why she says it's so important for celebrities like Roger Ebert to tell their stories. At times, even though she's happily married, Richelson felt like she had nowhere to turn. Now she wears her battle scars proudly. Like the one on her right arm where doctors transplanted a muscle to her tongue. "There are some (victims) that are newly diagnosed and they can see that we have survived it no matter how difficult it is," says Richelson. The hard parts aren't all behind [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-03-05T07:34:53-07:00March, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

OralDNA Labs introduces OraRisk HPV salivary diagnostic test

Source: www.rdhmag.com Author: press release OralDNA Labs , a leader in advancing wellness in dentistry through salivary diagnostics and a subsidiary of Quest Diagnostics, recently introduced a OraRisk HPV test. The test is a noninvasive, screening tool to identify the type(s) of oral human papillomavirus (also called HPV). Oral HPV is a mucosal viral infection that is a known risk factor for oral, head, and neck cancers. High-risk types of HPV that persist present an increased risk for cancers in these regions. This test will provide the dental clinician with the ability to establish risk for HPV-related cancers of the oral, head, and neck regions, and determine appropriate referral and monitoring conditions. Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, which can be found in the oral cavity, tongue, tonsils, oropharynx, and larynx, affects approximately 40,000 individuals in the United States each year. The most common symptoms of SCCHN include sore throat, earache, hoarseness--and often--enlarged lymph nodes in the neck. Early detection of oral HPV presents an important opportunity to detect those at risk for these types of cancers before symptoms appear. According to OralDNA Labs' Medical Director Ronald C. McGlennen, MD, "The availability of the OraRisksm HPV test marks an important and timely advance in oral diagnostics, because the at-risk profile for oral cancer is rapidly changing." The use of tobacco and heavy alcohol consumption has traditionally been considered to be the primary risk factor for SCCHN, but an alarming number of new cases are being diagnosed each year [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-03-02T13:31:45-07:00March, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Determined to play: man uses air compressor to play saxophone

Source: www.theindependent.com Author: Tracy Overstreet Jerry True just has the music in him. "Anything I touch -- it plays for me," he said. So when throat cancer took away his voice box -- and the air he needed to play the saxophone -- he took up the drums. But that was only until he could manufacture a way to play his Selmer mark VI B-flat sax with an air compressor. "It took me two years to get it just right," True said. True is now back on the band circuit playing in the front row for the Paul Kothe band of Hastings. "We've been playing together for 35 years," True said of Kothe. "He sounds just like he always did," Paul Kothe said. "He has a beautiful sound." True was front and center at the Feb. 21 Kolache Shoot-Out in Elba playing his saxophone with the Kothe Band. The band paused long enough for judges to announce the kolache winners and then for the audience to sing "Happy Birthday" to True -- his 83rd. True was raised in Arcadia and taught himself how to play the sax when his father, a part-time string instructor, brought the instrument home and couldn't make it work. "He sounded like a Canadian goose," True said through the Servox voice simulator he touched to his throat. But the instrument Leonard True couldn't get to work, simply sang for his son. "I was in a dance band by the time I was 12," True said. True's [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-03-01T19:47:11-07:00March, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Ipsilateral radiation controls tonsil cancer

Source: www.medpagetoday.com Author: Charles Bankhead, Staff Writer, MedPage Today Patients with newly diagnosed tonsillar cancer can have long-term disease control and minimal risk of contralateral recurrence with ipsilateral (same side) radiation therapy, data from a large patient series showed. Only two of 102 patients had contralateral failure during a treatment experience dating back to 1970. Ipsilateral radiation therapy resulted in 100% locoregional control at the primary site and ipsilateral neck. "In properly selected patients, ipsilateral radiotherapy to the involved primary site and neck provides excellent local control with a low risk of contralateral nodal failure," Gregory Chronowski, MD, of M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, reported at the Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium. "High neck, nonbulky, N2b neck disease does not appear to be a contraindication to ipsilateral radiotherapy in patients with T1-T2 primary tumors. Neck dissection appears to offer reasonable salvage therapy in the event of isolated contralateral neck failure." Limiting radiation therapy to the ipsilateral primary site and neck offers potential advantages over more extensive irradiation. Limiting the treated area minimizes the risk of xerostomia and avoids complications related to exposure of the uninvolved contralateral vasculature, dentition, and musculature. A retrospective review of a large case series from Toronto provided the first evidence that a limited approach to radiation therapy offers good local control and minimal risk of contralateral failure (Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 2001; 51: 332-43). That analysis showed a three-year local control rate of 77%, cause-specific survival of 76%, and contralateral failure rate [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-03-01T19:21:16-07:00March, 2010|Oral Cancer News|