10/26/2005 New York, NY staff www.cancerpage.com The difference in quality of life (QOL) between head and neck cancer patients who undergo surgery and those who opt for nonsurgical therapies has narrowed considerably, new research suggests. It has generally been assumed that QOL for these patients is better when treated with concurrent chemotherapy and radiation than with surgery and radiation, study co-author Dr. Gerry F. Funk, from the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, and colleagues report. Yet, few studies have addressed this topic. As reported in the Archives of Otolaryngology: Head & Neck Surgery for October, the researchers assessed QOL and functional outcomes in 54 matched patients who were treated with surgery and radiation or concurrent chemotherapy and radiation. All of the subjects had stage III or IV squamous cell cancer of the oropharynx, hypopharynx or larynx. No significant difference was seen between the groups in overall QOL or in eating, speech, aesthetics and social disruption, the report indicates. The Beck Depression Inventory score was worse for concurrent chemotherapy and radiation-treated patients, but not significantly different from the score in the surgery and radiation group. The authors believe that the gap in QOL between these treatment approaches has narrowed because nonsurgical therapies have become more aggressive, while just the opposite has occurred with surgical treatments. "Although the assumption that preserving an organ will uniformly result in a higher QOL seems reasonable, the complexities of human adjustment and the multitude of potential treatment effects, from both surgery-based or [...]

10/26/2005 Ireland Deborah Condon irishhealth.com Around 400 new cases of oral cancer are diagnosed in Ireland every year, yet the condition continues to receive little attention here, a major conference will be told later this week. 'Oral Cancer - the Patient's Journey' is the theme of this year's Royal College of Surgeon's (RCSI) annual scientific meeting. Speakers will include Dr Joe Briscoe, a retired dentist who was himself diagnosed with the disease in 1989. Oral cancer is cancer that occurs in the mouth (oral cavity). The mouth is made up of many parts, such as the lips, tongue, the inside of the cheeks and the salivary glands. It also refers to the oropharynx, which consists of the back one-third of the tongue, the soft palate, the tonsils and the back of the throat. The disease is three times more common in men than women. Men who live in urban areas and who smoke and drink are particularly at risk. Overall, smoking, drinking alcohol and poor diet are major risk factors. Both men and women are advised to attend their dentist at least once a year for a routine check-up. This allows for problems to be detected as early as possible. Like other cancers, the outlook improves significantly the earlier oral cancer is detected. Unlike other cancers however, it has the advantage of having two professional groups who are trained to detect it - doctors and dentists. All dentists are trained to detect oral cancer and precancerous lesions. The vast majority [...]

10/26/2005 Orlando, FL staff Ivanhoe.com Research presented this week at the 47th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology in Denver offers new hope to people with head and neck cancers. Eric Horwitz, M.D., from Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, says, "Not only did this clinical trial show efficacy with our regimen, but it appears to significantly increase the probability of survival when compared to the current standard treatment." The current standard treatment is chemotherapy. Currently, there are few options for people with head and neck cancers who develop a second tumor or for those whose disease comes back in a place that has already been radiated. Researchers studied patients with recurrent squamous-cell head and neck cancer or a second tumor that had developed in a previously radiated area. More than 100 patients from the United States and Canada were enrolled in the study. Patients were given a new combination treatment. One part of that treatment consisted of hyperfractionated radiation therapy, in which the patients were given radiation twice a day for five days every two weeks for four cycles. Patients also received chemotherapy with cisplatin (Platinol) and paclitaxel (Taxol, Onxol or Paxene) every day for two weeks for four cycles. Patients receiving chemotherapy alone have an average survival of six months to eight months. The results of this new study show 50 percent of patients receiving the combination treatment survived for at least one year. Nearly 26 percent survived two years. This extended survival [...]

10/24/2005 The Netherlands Jolijn Brouwer et al. Laryngoscope, October 1, 2005; 115(10): 1813-1817 Objectives/Hypothesis: The detection of distant metastases during screening influences the choice of treatment in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. A previous study in the authors' institution showed that chest computed tomography (CT) scan was the most important screening technique. Different clinical risk factors in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma for the development of distant metastases were identified. Study Design: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: To evaluate the authors' diagnostic strategy, the accuracy of screening for distant metastases with chest CT in 109 consecutive patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma with risk factors between 1997 and 2000 was retrospectively analyzed. Results: Preoperative screening with CT revealed 20 patients (18%) with lung metastases and 1 liver metastasis. Despite negative screening with chest CT, 9 (11%) patients developed distant metastases within 12 months during follow-up. Sensitivity of the chest CT was 73%; the specificity was 80%. Conclusion: Although chest CT frequently detects distant metastases, there seems to be a need for a more sensitive and whole-body screening technique. Authors: Jolijn Brouwer, Remco de Bree, Otto S Hoekstra, Richard P Golding, Johannes A Langendijk, Jonas A Castelijns, and C Rene Leemans Authors' affiliation: From the Departments of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery (j.b., r.d.b., r.c.l.), Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics (o.h.s.), Nuclear Medicine and Positron Emission Tomography Research (o.h.s.), Radiology (r.p.g., j.a.c.), and Radiation Oncology (j.a.l.), VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

10/23/2005 Milwaukee, WI Kawanza Newson Milwaukee Sentinel Jouranl (www.braneton.com) Byron Liebner is a sun lover, and he has several tiny scars to prove it. But it's the spot on his left forehead that he likes to talk about most. The skin there is dry and red, like a bad sunburn, and is a visual reminder of the high doses of radiation he receives each weekday to prevent his cancer from spreading into his eye. For the past five weeks, Liebner has had a mesh mask placed over his face to hold his head perfectly still and had his feet tied together to prevent wiggling so high-intensity radiation can be blasted into the nerve above his eye for 438 seconds. He's scheduled for seven weeks of radiation. "They have to be careful because it's a delicate situation," said Liebner, 84. "They told me I could lose clusters of hair in the back because the radiation goes right through the head," he said. "But I wouldn't care if I lost it because I don't have that much hair anyway." Surgery was not a feasible option for Liebner because his eyeball would have been removed, and he may have still needed radiation therapy later. Throughout the United States, cancer patients are benefiting from technological advancements that increase the precision of radiation treatment to the tumor while decreasing damage to the normal tissue or organs surrounding it. More precise treatment means patients can get higher doses of radiation over a shorter time span, and [...]

10/23/2005 Italy staff CancerConsultants.com According to an early on-line publication in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, a type of immunotherapy targeted against cancer cells appears to provide some anticancer responses in patients with advanced nasopharyngeal cancer that has stopped responding to radiation and chemotherapy. Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a type of head and neck cancer. Stage IV NPC refers to cancer that has spread from its site of origin and invaded nearby tissues or more distant areas of the body. Standard treatment for stage IV NPC typically includes radiation therapy and chemotherapy. However, a large portion of these patients will stop responding to these standard therapies and are left with very limited treatment options. NPC is a type of cancer that often appears related to infection with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). These cancer cells express specific antigens (proteins) on their surface associated with EBV. Immunotherapy is a type of therapy that stimulates the immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells within the body. Researchers have been evaluating ways in which to stimulate the immune system to recognize very specific antigens on cancer cells, such as the EBV antigens. Researchers from Italy recently conducted a small clinical trial to evaluate a type of immunotherapy for the treatment of 10 patients with advanced NPC that has stopped responding to chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Immunotherapy was used to stimulate the immune system to attack the cancer cells that displayed EBV antigens. Overall, the immunotherapy produced anticancer activity: 20% of patients experienced a [...]

10/18/2005 Gainesville, FL press release EurekAlert (ww.eurekalert.org) Some patients with head and neck cancer can be safely spared the risk and expense of surgery by undergoing a CT scan to predict whether the disease is in check after radiation therapy, according to study findings University of Florida doctors released today (Oct. 18) at the annual meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology. Researchers with the UF Shands Cancer Center have identified criteria doctors can use to evaluate CT scans four weeks after patients undergo initial treatment. If these criteria are met, there is a 94 percent likelihood a patient's lymph nodes are cancer free, said Stanley L. Liauw, M.D., a resident in radiation oncology. Using a CT scan was found to be much more accurate than relying on a physical exam to assess response to treatment. Radiation therapy is commonly used to treat the more than 40,000 U.S. patients a year who develop advanced head and neck cancer. After radiation therapy, doctors often operate to remove affected lymph nodes. But UF physicians say in some cases surgery is unnecessary, and can increase recovery time, lead to infection and possibly compromise a patient's quality of life. The current study builds on previous research involving 95 head and neck cancer patients. In two-thirds of the patients who underwent surgery after radiotherapy, the removed lymph nodes turned out to be cancer free, noted UF radiologist Anthony Mancuso, M.D. Mancuso collaborated with UF radiation oncologists Robert Amdur, M.D., Christopher Morris, M.S., [...]

10/18/2005 Houston, TX staff Biocompare Life Science News (news.biocompare.com) Curcumin, the main ingredient of turmeric and the compound that gives curry its mustard-yellow color, inhibits metastasis to the lungs of mice with breast cancer, report researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. The study, to be published in the Oct. 15 issue of the journal Clinical Cancer Research, reports that the spice appears to shut down a protein active in the spread of breast cancer to a major target for metastasis. Though the study results are early, researchers found that the nontoxic natural substance not only repelled progression of the disease to the lungs, but also appeared to reverse the effects of paclitaxel (Taxol(tm)), a commonly prescribed chemotherapy for breast cancer that may trigger spread of the disease with use over a long period of time. Because Taxol is so toxic, it activates a protein that produces an inflammatory response that induces metastasis. Curcumin suppresses this response, making it impossible for the cancer to spread. In fact, researchers found that adding curcumin to Taxol actually enhances its effect. Curcumin breaks down the dose, making the therapy less toxic and just as powerful while delivering the same level of efficacy. "We are excited about the results of the study and the possible implications for taking the findings into the clinic in the next several years," says Bharat Aggarwal, Ph.D., professor of cancer medicine in M. D. Anderson's Department of Experimental Therapeutics. "At this time, advanced breast cancer [...]

10/18/2005 Mark El-Deiry, MD et al. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2005;131:879-885 Objective: To compare the long-term, health-related quality-of-life outcomes in patients with advanced head and neck cancer (HNC) treated with surgery and postoperative radiation therapy (SRT) or concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy (CRT). Design: Matched-pair study comparing patients with advanced HNC treated with SRT or CRT at least 12 months after treatment. Patients completed 2 validated surveys addressing HNC-specific outcomes and depressive symptoms and provided information on employment and tobacco and alcohol use. Results for the 2 groups were compared using paired-sample t test and 2 analysis. Setting: University-based study. Patients: Patients with stage III or IV squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx, hypopharynx, and larynx who underwent SRT or received CRT. Main Outcome Measures: Head and neck cancer–specific health-related quality of life from the Head and Neck Cancer Inventory and level of depressive symptoms from the Beck Depression Inventory. Results: The matching process resulted in 27 patients in each treatment group. The HNC-specific domain scores (with higher scores representing better outcomes) for CRT vs SRT were eating, 37.8 vs 40.8 (P = .69); speech, 65.1 vs 56.0 (P = .23); aesthetics, 80.3 vs 69.2 (P = .14); and social disruption, 69.7 vs 70.6 (P = .90). Overall health-related quality of life was 64.0 with SRT and 55.0 with CRT (P = .142). For the Beck Depression Inventory (with higher scores representing worse outcomes), patients who underwent SRT had a mean score of 9.6 compared with 11.6 for patients [...]

10/18/2005 Denver, CO Robert Preidt Forbes (www.forbes.com) A new combination of radiation therapy and chemotherapy may offer a much greater chance of survival for head and neck cancer patients who develop a second tumor or whose disease recurs in an area that's already been treated with radiation, says a study by Canadian and American researchers. Few treatment options currently exist for these patients, according to background information from the study. This study included 99 patients who received split-course hyperfractionated radiation therapy twice a day for five days every two weeks for four cycles. The patients also received chemotherapy with cisplatin (daily every two weeks for four cycles) and paclitaxel (daily every two weeks for four cycles). The median follow-up for surviving patients was 23.6 months and the median survival was 12.1 months. The median survival for patients treated with the current standard of chemotherapy alone is six to eight months, and one-year survival rates are typically less than 35 percent, the researchers said. Fifty percent of the patients in this study survived for at least a year while 26 percent survived two years. The findings were presented Monday at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology annual meeting, in Denver. "The side effects from this experimental regimen were significant, but these patients were among those with the most serious cancers," Dr. Eric Horwitz, study co-principal investigator and clinical director in the radiation oncology department at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, said in a prepared statement. Eight of the [...]