Oral Cancer News – Page 58 – The Oral Cancer Foundation News Archive

Dad-of-two, 35, dies after being told he was too young to have throat cancer

Source: www.mirror.co.ukAuthor: Amber Hicks Ryan Greenan went to his doctor in Edinburgh in September after he started having trouble swallowing, eating and drinking. The 35-year-old from Scotland was advised his symptoms were most likely caused by reflux and anxiety, reports the Scotsman , despite his family having a history of throat cancer. Ryan's sister Kerry, 33, said her brother took this diagnosis at face value "because the general advice was that oesophageal cancer only really affected older people". However, the symptoms persisted and Ryan started to rapidly lose weight before collapsing at work in December. He was taken to hospital and it was then that a tumour was discovered in his throat and he was diagnosed with cancer on December 28. There was more heartache when it was revealed it had also spread to his lungs and liver and there was nothing that could be done to save him. Three weeks later Ryan sadly died. His sister is now calling on doctors to thoroughly test for the illness, even in younger patients. Kerry told the Scotsman : “When Ryan first went to the doctor, he was told it was anxiety and that he was too young for it to be cancer because he was only 35. “He just took that as his diagnosis and didn’t go back because the general advice was that oesophageal cancer only really affected older people. “If it had been picked up earlier, they could have operated, they could have given him chemotherapy, but after three months it had spread, there was [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2019-02-05T12:55:53-07:00February, 2019|Oral Cancer News|

How aspirin may benefit some people with head and neck cancer

Source: www.medicalnewstoday.com Author: Catharine Paddock PhD, fact checked by Paula Field Recent research has tied regular use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as aspirin, to longer survival in some people with head and neck cancer. The researchers propose that there should now be a clinical trial to test the effectiveness and safety of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for this purpose. They suggest that the effect that they observed is likely due to the NSAIDs reducing prostaglandin E2, a molecule that promotes inflammation. A paper on their findings now features in the Journal of Experimental Medicine. Head and neck cancers are cancers in which tumors develop in the nose, sinuses, larynx, throat, and mouth. In most cases, the tumors arise in the flat thin squamous cells that form the tissue lining of surfaces. For this reason, they bear the name head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs). In the United States, people with HNSCCs account for around 4 percent of all those with cancer. These types of cancer also tend to have a lower rate of survival compared with many other types. The main risk factors for HNSCC are tobacco use, heavy use of alcohol, sun exposure, and infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV). Aspirin and HNSCC Previous research has suggested that taking aspirin regularly can reduce the risk of developing HNSCCs. However, the recent study is the first to link the use of aspirin and other NSAIDs to longer survival in some people who already have HNSCC. It found that, [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2019-01-28T19:30:02-07:00January, 2019|Oral Cancer News|

Tumor Mutational Burden Predicts Who Will Respond to Immunotherapy

The advent of immunotherapy has significantly shifted the treatment paradigm and prognosis for multiple advanced-stage cancers. In cancers like metastatic melanoma and non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the treatment class has greatly improved survival rates. However, not all patients respond to the treatments, highlighting the need for predictive biomarkers to determine which patients will benefit. Early reports and small cohorts have suggested high tumor mutational burden being associated with improved clinical response, and now a large study has confirmed the hypothesis. “Given the potential toxicities of immunotherapy and the highly variable response to immune checkpoint inhibitors, as well as the significant economic cost of these agents, there is an urgent need for biomarkers that can predict immunotherapy response,” explained the researchers of the study. Looking at data from more than 1000 patients with stage IV or metastatic disease for which immune checkpoint inhibitors are approved, including NSCLC, melanoma, renal cell carcinoma, bladder cancer, and head and neck cancer, researchers found that higher somatic tumor mutational burden is associated with improved overall survival. Patients were treated with atezolizumab, avelumab, durvalumab, ipilimumab, nivolumab, pembrolizumab, or tremelimumab. Tumor mutational burden was calculated by normalizing the number of somatic nonsynonymous mutations to the total number of megabases sequenced, and noting that mutational load varies across tumor types, the researchers defined tumor mutational burden within each cancer type. The authors found that, across all cancers, more mutations translated into improved overall survival. The authors noted that the association remained even when removing NSCLC and melanoma [...]

Charlotte Parker2019-01-22T11:03:57-07:00January, 2019|Oral Cancer News|

Researchers Uncover Major Clue In Predicting Response To Immunotherapy

Researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York have discovered that cancer cells with high numbers of faults in their DNA are more likely to respond to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI), a major class of immunotherapy drugs, which includes Keytruda. The study, published today in Nature Genetics adds important pieces to the puzzle as to why some cancer patients respond to immunotherapy whereas others do not. The researchers measured 'tumor mutation burden (TMB)', essentially counting how many DNA faults a tumor contains by looking for errors in the DNA sequence. "People assume that TMB is important in predicting response to immunotherapy in all cancers, but up until now, all we've had is data from small studies and clinical trials on mostly lung cancers and melanoma," said Luc Morris, MD, surgical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and one of the lead authors of the paper. The researchers studied the DNA of 1,662 patients with advanced cancer (classified as stage IV or metastatic disease) treated with one or more of several FDA-approved ICI drugs and DNA from 5,371 patients with advanced cancer who had not had ICI. They used a tool called MSK-IMPACT, which looks at just 3% of the coding-regions in DNA, but is correlated to the number of mutations in the genome. "Is TMB associated with likelihood that immunotherapy has benefit? Is this true in all cancers? We wanted to find out whether TMB had broad applicability," said Morris. The researchers found that if they took [...]

Charlotte Parker2019-01-16T11:03:13-07:00January, 2019|Oral Cancer News|

New app gives throat cancer patients their voice back

Source: www.straitstimes.com Author: staff Throat cancer patient Vlastimil Gular can say what he wants in his own voice thanks to technology that uses past recordings of his voice to create synthetic speech that can be played on his mobile phone via an app. Photo: AFP Vlastimil Gular's life took an unwelcome turn a year ago: minor surgery on his vocal cords revealed throat cancer, which led to the loss of his larynx and with it, his voice. But the 51-year-old father of four is still chatting away using his own voice rather than the tinny timbre of a robot, thanks to an innovative app developed by two Czech universities. "I find this very useful," Mr Gular told AFP, using the app to type in what he wanted to say, in his own voice, via a mobile phone. "I'm not very good at using the voice prosthesis," he added, pointing at the hole the size of a large coin in his throat. This small silicon device implanted in the throat allows people to speak by pressing the hole with their fingers to regulate airflow through the prosthesis and so create sound. But Mr Gular prefers the new hi-tech voice app. It was developed for patients set to lose their voice due to a laryngectomy, or removal of the larynx, a typical procedure for advanced stages of throat cancer. The joint project of the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, Prague's Charles University and two private companies - CertiCon and [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2019-01-14T13:32:07-07:00January, 2019|Oral Cancer News|

Living well with a feeding tube

Source: health.usnews.com Author: Lisa Esposito, Staff Writer Nearyly 450,000 Americans with swallowing or digestive problems manage tube feedings – also called home enteral nutrition – on their own. Some have temporary feeding tubes, while others leave the hospital with feeding tubes surgically placed for the foreseeable future. Veteran users or "tubies" accept long-term feeding tubes as the best or only way to nourish themselves. Many resume school, work and social lives that were once threatened by severe weight loss and malnutrition. For them, getting a feeding tube means getting their active lives back. Feeding Tube Benefits Feeding tubes can prevent weight loss, boost energy and bolster your immune system. They also offer important health benefits for people coping with the following health issues: Tube feeding for chronic swallowing challenges. For people with chronic health conditions that can cause swallowing difficulties, it helps keep them well-nourished. Neurologic conditions such as Parkinson's disease, stroke or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease) can impair nerves, affecting swallowing ability. Tube feeding for oral and throat cancer. Inability to swallow food because of cancer of the mouth or throat is a major contributor to people receiving one, says Lisa Epp, a registered dietitian nutritionist with Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Tube feeding for nutrition during recovery. A patient who has a short-term eating problem likely to eventually resolve, such as someone recovering from a surgery, brain injury or stroke, may benefit from having one. Tube feeding for gastric problems. Gastric problems in which [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2019-01-06T09:28:05-07:00January, 2019|Oral Cancer News|

CDC: Top HPV-Associated Cancer Is Now Oropharyngeal

Date: 08/23/18 Source: medscape.com Author: Nick Mulcahy Oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is now the most common HPV-associated cancer in the United States, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that covers the years 1999 to 2015. During that period, cervical cancer dropped from being the top HPV-associated cancer and oropharyngeal SCC took its place. The transition happened because cervical carcinoma incidence rates decreased 1.6% per year, and oropharyngeal SCC incidence rates increased 2.7% per year among men and 0.8% per year among women. In 2015, there were a total of 11,788 cervical cancers compared with 18,917 oropharyngeal SCCs. The decline in cervical cancer is a "continued trend since the 1950s as a result of cancer screening," write the report authors, led by Elizabeth Van Dyne, MD, MPH, an epidemic intelligence service officer at the CDC. The uptick in oropharyngeal SCC could be due in part to "changing sexual behaviors," including unprotected oral sex, especially among white men, who report having the highest number of sexual partners and performing oral sex at a younger age compared with other racial/ethnic groups, the authors say. Oropharyngeal SCCs include those at the base of tongue, pharyngeal tonsils, anterior and posterior tonsillar pillars, glossotonsillar sulci, anterior surface of soft palate and uvula, and lateral and posterior pharyngeal walls. The new report was published August 24 in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The study authors defined HPV-associated cancer as "an invasive malignancy in which HPV DNA was frequently [...]

Charlotte Parker2019-01-02T13:54:33-07:00January, 2019|Oral Cancer News|

Five Things To Look Out For In Cancer Research In 2019

Date: 12/28/18 Source: Forbes.com Author: Victoria Forster 2018 was a remarkable year for cancer research, with great strides made in diagnosing and treating various types of cancer as well as important breakthroughs looking at the health of cancer survivors. What can we expect to see from cancer research in 2019? As a cancer research scientist, here are the top five topics that I'll be looking out for. 1. Immunotherapy. Who will respond, who won't respond and why? Immunotherapy is now seemingly everywhere, with several therapies approved for various cancer types, including CAR T-cells and immune checkpoint inhibitors and several more in development such as tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy. TILs successfully cleared all tumors from a woman with metastatic breast cancer, in a research breakthrough which was one of the most reported in 2018. Over 2,500 trials are now registered worldwide, but as the use of immunotherapy grows, there are still major questions to be answered. One particularly important to the use of immune-checkpoint blocking drugs such as those which target PD-1 or CTLA-4 is 'why do some patients respond whereas others do not?' Several research teams worldwide are currently grappling with this question, which is unlikely to have a single, clear answer, but I expect to see much more research published on this in 2019, which will hopefully start to benefit patients by identifying who will and won't respond to these expensive drugs. 2. Liquid biopsy tests. More clarity on precisely what they do and more evidence that they [...]

Charlotte Parker2019-01-02T13:07:21-07:00January, 2019|Oral Cancer News|

Hospitals required to post all prices online beginning January 1

Date: 12/26/18 Source: KATV Author: Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Medicare will require hospitals to post their standard prices online and make electronic medical records more readily available to patients, officials said Tuesday. The program is also starting a comprehensive review of how it will pay for costly new forms of immunotherapy to battle cancer. Seema Verma, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said the new requirement for online prices reflects the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to encourage patients to become better-educated decision makers in their own care. “We are just beginning on price transparency,” said Verma. “We know that hospitals have this information and we’re asking them to post what they have online.” Hospitals are required to disclose prices publicly, but the latest change would put that information online in machine-readable format that can be easily processed by computers. It may still prove to be confusing to consumers, since standard rates are like list prices and don’t reflect what insurers and government programs pay. Patients concerned about their potential out-of-pocket costs from a hospitalization would still be advised to consult with their insurer. Most insurance plans nowadays have an annual limit on how much patients must pay in copays and deductibles — although traditional Medicare does not. Likewise, many health care providers already make computerized records available to patients, but starting in 2021 Medicare would base part of a hospital’s payments on how good a job they do. Using electronic medical records remains a cumbersome task, and [...]

Charlotte Parker2019-01-02T12:52:16-07:00January, 2019|Oral Cancer News|

The US surgeon general just issued a rare advisory about e-cigs like the Juul — here’s why vaping is so dangerous

In a rare national advisory, the top US public health official warned Americans of the dangers of e-cigarettes like the Juul, a popular device that lets users inhale nicotine vapor without burning tobacco. US Surgeon General Jerome Adams said in the advisory on Tuesday that e-cigs like the Juul are a particular danger to kids and teens and called for fresh measures to halt their rising popularity. "We need to protect our kids from all tobacco products, including all shapes and sizes of e-cigarettes," Adams said in a statement, adding, "We must take action now to protect the health of our nation's young people." The advisory singles out Juul multiple times, saying the sleek devices are popular among teens because they're easy to conceal and don't emit much odor. It tells parents, health professionals, and teachers to be on the lookout for all forms of nicotine-delivery devices, including e-cigs. Adams' announcement comes on the heels of warnings from several other federal agencies about a rise in e-cig use, including from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration. In November, after new CDC data pointed to a 78% increase in e-cig use among high-school students, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottliebannounced moves to further restrict sales of e-cigarettes to prevent them from getting into the hands of young people. That included a crackdown on flavored offerings, which researchers say appeal strongly to young people. Several days before the FDA's announcement, Juul Labs, the Silicon Valley startup behind the most popular e-cig in the US, temporarily halted sales of [...]

Brian Hill2018-12-19T16:41:28-07:00December, 2018|Oral Cancer News|