Oral Cancer News – Page 40 – The Oral Cancer Foundation News Archive

A deep learning algorithm for detection of oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma from photographic images: a retrospective study

Source: www.thelancet.com Authors: Qiuyun Fu et al. Abstract Background: The overall prognosis of oral cancer remains poor because over half of patients are diagnosed at advanced-stages. Previously reported screening and earlier detection methods for oral cancer still largely rely on health workers’ clinical experience and as yet there is no established method. We aimed to develop a rapid, non-invasive, cost-effective, and easy-to-use deep learning approach for identifying oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OCSCC) patients using photographic images. Methods: We developed an automated deep learning algorithm using cascaded convolutional neural networks to detect OCSCC from photographic images. We included all biopsy-proven OCSCC photographs and normal controls of 44,409 clinical images collected from 11 hospitals around China between April 12, 2006, and Nov 25, 2019. We trained the algorithm on a randomly selected part of this dataset (development dataset) and used the rest for testing (internal validation dataset). Additionally, we curated an external validation dataset comprising clinical photographs from six representative journals in the field of dentistry and oral surgery. We also compared the performance of the algorithm with that of seven oral cancer specialists on a clinical validation dataset. We used the pathological reports as gold standard for OCSCC identification. We evaluated the algorithm performance on the internal, external, and clinical validation datasets by calculating the area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUCs), accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity with two-sided 95% CIs. Findings: 1469 intraoral photographic images were used to validate our approach. The deep learning algorithm achieved an AUC of [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2020-09-24T13:41:39-07:00September, 2020|Oral Cancer News|

Deadly Spread of Some Cancers May Be Driven by a Common Mouth Microbe

Source: Scientific American Author: Claudia Wallis Image courtesy of Fatinha Ramos When people hear that they might have cancer, perhaps the only thing more frightening than the C word is the M word. Metastatic disease—in which the malignancy has traveled beyond its primary site to other spots in the body—is responsible for nine out of every 10 cancer deaths. Recently an unexpected player in this process has emerged: a common bacterium. Fusobacterium nucleatum, which normally lives harmlessly in the gums, appears to have a role in the spread of some cancers of the colon, esophagus, pancreas and—possibly—breast. Laboratory studies and evidence in patients indicate that the microbe can travel through the blood and infect tumor cells by attaching to a sugar molecule on their surface. There it provokes a range of signals and immune responses known to cause tumor cells to migrate. If further confirmed, the work with F. nucleatum could add to a growing understanding of how the microbiome influences cancer progression and may even point the way to fresh approaches to treatment. In a healthy human mouth, F. nucleatum is a law-abiding member of the microbial community. With poor dental hygiene, uncontrolled diabetes and other conditions, however, it can go rogue and cause periodontitis, tonsillitis, appendicitis and even preterm labor. A connection to colorectal cancer was first hinted at about nine years ago, when two research groups discovered that the bacterium’s DNA was overrepresented in colon tumor tissue compared with normal tissue. Dozens of studies have since found [...]

Charlotte Parker2020-09-24T11:24:02-07:00September, 2020|Oral Cancer News|

FDA clears IND application for cell therapy to treat radiotherapy-induced dry mouth

Source: www.healio.com Author: staff The FDA cleared an investigational new drug application for a mesenchymal stromal cell therapy to treat radiotherapy-induced xerostomia, also known as dry mouth. Researchers at University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center developed the therapy, which uses the patient’s interferon-gamma activated marrow stromal cells. Xerostomia is a one of the most common adverse effects of radiation therapy for head and neck cancers and may cause difficulties eating, speaking and sleeping, in addition to oral health complications. “There is a critical need for improved treatments for this condition,” Randy Kimple, MD, PhD, associate professor of human oncology at University of Wisconsin School of Medicine, said in a press release. “For most patients, the best care we can provide currently is to encourage them to eat specially prepared food, suck on hard sugar-free candies and carry a water bottle with them all day.” Kimple told Healio the therapy process involves the patient undergoing a bone marrow biopsy to harvest mesenchymal stromal cells. Kimple — who will lead the forthcoming phase 1 trial for the therapy — said the cells will be prepared by the Program for Advanced Cell Therapy's lab at UW Health's University Hospital. Patients will receive the therapy via injection into the submandibular gland after completion of radiation therapy. The phase 1 trial soon will begin enrolling up to 30 patients and will be conducted by University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health as a single-center study of patients treated at Carbone Cancer Center. Study [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2020-09-12T10:26:52-07:00September, 2020|Oral Cancer News|

Mouth cancer rates set to go ‘through the roof’ following missed dental appointments

Source: www.dentistry.co.uk Author: staff Mouth cancer rates are set to skyrocket in the UK following millions of missed dental appointments as a result of lockdown. This is according to the Association of Dental Groups (ADG), which is calling on ministers to take urgent action. Dentists have warned that thousands of cases may have gone undetected. This could be due to the public avoiding dental practices, as well as the two and a half month pause on face-to-face dental appointments. For example, 49% of households have at least one adult who has missed or decided against visiting the dentist. Considering there are 27.8 million households across the UK, these figures suggest 13 million adults have missed an appointment. Calls for urgent action Part of a major campaign urging ministers to rescue the worsening dentistry crisis in the UK, the ADG poll revealed: 17% of households have someone who missed a visit because they struggled to get an appointment 13% of households have someone who decided against making an appointment 11% of households have someone who decided not to go in for a scheduled check up 12% of households have someone who did not go to the dentist for another reason. The latest figures show that more than 8,300 people in the UK are diagnosed with mouth cancer every year. Additionally, an estimated 2,700 people lost their life to mouth cancer last year. And over the last year, new cases have increased by 10%. Deeply alarming ‘The fact that so many people [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2020-09-11T06:28:46-07:00September, 2020|Oral Cancer News|

Need another reason not to vape? Your oral health is at risk

Source: www.health24.com Author: Healthday staff The warnings about vaping – inhaling the vapour of electronic cigarettes – tend to focus on the potential dangers to the heart and lungs. But an increasing amount of research shows the chemicals in e-cigarettes start to inflict damage right where they enter the body: your mouth. Because e-cigarettes are a recent phenomenon, said Dr Crystal Stinson, assistant professor at Texas A&M College of Dentistry in Dallas, "Studies on their impact are really new. But now we have a solid amount of evidence that shows the link between e-cigarettes and poor oral health." Nicotine, whether smoked or vaped, restricts blood flow to the gums, which can contribute to periodontal disease. The fluid in e-cigarettes, which can include propylene glycol, benzene, formaldehyde and other chemicals, only increases the risks. Irreversible issues A study published earlier this year in the journal iScience showed that 43% of people using e-cigarettes had gum disease and oral infections. That figure was higher among smokers – 73% – but only 28% among people who neither smoked nor vaped. "The oral cavity is really resilient tissue that heals faster than other parts of the body," Stinson said. "But we also know that when you repeatedly traumatise it, that's when you end up having issues that are irreversible." Those issues, she added, range from inflammation and tooth cavities to loss of bone that anchors teeth to the jaw, called periodontitis, and oral cancer. Another study published in May in Science Advances concluded the [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2020-09-08T06:09:52-07:00September, 2020|Oral Cancer News|

Scientists have combined two potent immunotherapies to eliminate big tumors

Source: www.drewreportsnews.com Author: Drew Simms City of Hope researchers have actually combined two potent immunotherapies– an oncolytic infection and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy– to target and remove solid growths that are otherwise difficult to treat with CAR T treatment alone, according to a brand-new Science Translational Medication study. In pre-clinical research that could lead to a medical trial for clients with intractable solid tumors, City of Hope scientists genetically crafted an oncolytic virus to go into growth cells and require their expression of CD19 protein on their cell surface area. Scientists were then able to use CD19-directed CAR T cells to recognize and attack these solid tumors. CD19-CAR T cell therapy is authorized by the U.S. Fda to treat particular types of blood cancers, specifically B cell lymphomas and intense lymphoblastic leukemia. This brand-new research might broaden using CD19-CAR T cells for the treatment of patients with possibly any strong tumor. “Our research demonstrates that oncolytic viruses are a powerful and promising approach that can be combined strategically with CAR T cell therapy to more effectively target solid tumors” said Saul Priceman, Ph.D., the study’s senior author and an assistant professor in City of Hope’s Department of Hematology & Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation. “In addition, this therapeutic platform addresses two major challenges that make solid tumors so difficult to treat with immunotherapy. There are limited, established solid tumor targets that T cells can be redirected against with CARs,” Priceman added. “Furthermore, solid tumors are surrounded by a brick [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2020-09-07T10:52:20-07:00September, 2020|Oral Cancer News|

UCM computer science professor researches use of AI in cancer treatment

Source: www.dailystarjournal.com Author: Sara Lawson New research by a University of Central Missouri faculty member uses an innovative Artificial Intelligence (AI) technique to allow physicians to predict which patients are at low risk of distant metastasis in order to help minimize severe side effects from radiation treatment. The research conducted by Zhiguo Zhou, assistant professor of computer science, is titled “Multifaceted radiomics for distant metastasis prediction in head-and-neck cancer.” Zhou’s research was published in the journal, Physics in Medicine and Biology, and subsequently reported in the July 2020 issue of Physics World. Zhou, who has explored AI in medicine for 10 years, joined the UCM faculty in 2019. He began working on this recently published study more than three years ago while serving in the Department of Radiation in oncology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. One of his UT colleagues, Jing Wang, served as co-author on the journal article. Zhou said the research proposes a novel model for predicting metastasis in head-and-neck cancer after radiotherapy with “outstanding results.” It is a study he believes could provide a general framework which could be extended to predict treatment outcomes for primary cancers in other parts of the human body. While the research now undergoes a validation process that involves a multi-institutional prospective study, Zhou is hopeful that it can be applied in clinical settings within the next two to three years. “Nowadays, radiotherapy has become one of the most important treatment methods in cancer therapy,” Zhou said. [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2020-09-06T06:44:52-07:00September, 2020|Oral Cancer News|

There has to be more to dental hygiene than this: A systemic approach

Source: www.dentistryiq.com Author: Michelle Strange, MSDH, RDH Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there will be added pressure on dental hygienists as patients return to our practices. During the lockdown, patients did not have access to our services. Now that the doors have reopened, patient treatments have begun with a renewed focus on protection from the virus. Even though practices will be extra busy, now is a great time to make some changes to our services. What if we stop simply reacting to the apparent problems and instead make the shift from purely corrective to a preventive dental service, and from oral health to holistic health? A holistic approach Dentistry has the potential to assimilate and integrate into the holistic health approach. Until now, patients and other health professionals have considered a visit to a dental office as totally separate from other health care. Patients often view their twice-a-year visits as mandatory checkups and “cleanings” but fail to grasp the entire value we provide. Dental health is connected to our entire well-being and is even thought to be related to heart health.1 Poor dental hygiene may lead to a higher susceptibility to the human papillomavirus that can contribute to mouth and throat cancers.2 In 2013, a study from the University of Central Lancashire School of Medicine and Dentistry pinpointed a specific oral bacteria, Porphyromonas gingivalis, as present in the brains of four out of 10 participants with dementia.3 Research has found that erectile dysfunction,4 type 2 diabetes,5 irritable bowel syndrome,6 and [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2020-09-04T10:31:03-07:00September, 2020|Oral Cancer News|

Blood marker may reduce cancer burden: Progress with microRNA biomarker

Source: www.eurekalert.org Author: Flinders University Researchers at Flinders University are expanding work on a promising blood test model to help predict or diagnose head and neck cancer, a difficult cancer to pick up early and treat. With cancer accounting for almost 10 million a year, the Global Burden of Disease report (2017) attributed more than 380,000 deaths to head and neck cancer. The Australian research at Flinders University has discovered a blood serum microRNA biomarker signature for oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma, recently reported in a new study in the Journal of Translational Medicine (BMC Springer Nature). The signature might have potential for the detection of other squamous mucosal Head and Neck cancers, the researchers say, adding the latest development, flowing from previous NHMRC Australian Government funding for developing blood biomarkers for oesophageal cancer, is encouraging. "MicroRNAs are potential biomarkers for early head and neck squamous cell cancer diagnosis, prognosis, recurrence, and presence of metastatic disease. However, there is no widespread agreement on a panel of miRNAs with clinically meaningful utility for head and neck squamous cell cancers," says Flinders University researcher Dr Damian Hussey. "If our test can be translated to clinic, then it could facilitate surveillance, earlier diagnosis and treatment - including for identifying people with early stage, or at increased risk of developing, Head and Neck cancer," says fellow researcher Associate Professor Eng Ooi. The latest study used a novel approach to produce a biomarker signature with good cross validated predictive capacity. Researchers say the results warrant further [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2020-09-01T18:20:29-07:00September, 2020|Oral Cancer News|

Robotics surgery may improve outcomes in mouth and throat cancer

Source: eandt.theiet.org Author: E&T editorial staff Robotic surgery may improve the health outcomes in mouth and throat cancer patients, including better long-term survival, new research suggests. The method used for the study focused on oropharyngeal cancer that occurs in the back of the throat and includes the base of the tongue and tonsils. In transoral robotic surgery, a surgeon uses a computer-enhanced system to guide an endoscope – a flexible tube with a light and camera attached to it – to provide high-resolution, 3D images of the back of the mouth and throat. Naturally, this is an area that is difficult to reach with conventional tools; therefore, robots can be used during this procedure. Here, two robotically guided instruments, acting as a surgeon’s arms, work around corners to safely remove tumours from surrounding tissue. The observational study, conducted by non-profit Los Angeles hospital Cedars-Sinai, used data from the US National Cancer Database and included 9,745 surgical patients – 2,694 of whom underwent transoral robotic surgery between 2010 and 2015. “At a minimum, robotic surgery for oropharyngeal cancer patients seems safe and effective compared to what’s been the standard of care for many years,” said Zachary S Zumsteg, assistant professor of Radiation Oncology at Cedars-Sinai, referring to standard surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. The researchers found that the five-year overall survival rate for patients with early-stage disease who underwent robotic surgery was 84.5 per cent, compared with 80.3 per cent for patients who had non-robotic surgery. They adjusted for differences in [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2020-08-22T12:27:13-07:00August, 2020|Oral Cancer News|