Squamous cell carcinoma survivor thankful he chose proton therapy

Source: www.mdanderson.org Author: Valerie Jones A routine dentist visit prompted a series of tests that led to Jay Rusovich’s squamous cell carcinoma diagnosis in early 2023. “My dentist was cleaning my teeth when he saw something in my throat,” says Jay. “He told me to get it checked out.” Jay visited his primary care doctor and took a multi-cancer early detection blood test. While awaiting the results, Jay visited an ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist. The ENT didn’t find anything, but Jay’s primary care doctor called him with the results of his blood test. “He said the test showed that there was cancer in my bloodstream coming from my throat,” says Jay, who was 67 at the time. He went back to his ENT and had a biopsy. It showed Jay had HPV-related squamous cell carcinoma. It was early-stage and located on his left tonsil. Jay hadn’t had any symptoms before his diagnosis. He had been going to the gym six days a week and eating organic foods. He didn’t drink or smoke. After the initial shock of his cancer diagnosis, Jay focused on getting treated. He lived in Houston and knew of MD Anderson’s reputation as a leader in cancer care. So, he requested an appointment. Determined to find the best squamous cell carcinoma treatment Jay first visited MD Anderson West Houston to learn about treatment options. After hearing about traditional radiation therapy and chemotherapy, Jay was hesitant about the possible side effects. After speaking to oral oncologist [...]

2024-02-26T14:32:26-07:00February, 2024|Oral Cancer News|
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AI-based home saliva test detects cancer with over 90% accuracy

Source: biz.crast.net Author: Shawn Johnson An AI-based home screening test to detect mouth and throat cancer from saliva samples is now available in the United States. (Credit: Creative Commons) An AI-based home screening test to detect mouth and throat cancer from saliva samples is now available in the United States. (Credit: Creative Commons) An AI-based home screening test to detect mouth and throat cancer from saliva samples is now available in the United States, which is expected to revolutionize mouth and throat cancer detection. Based on technology approved as a “breakthrough device” by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the saliva test can detect early signs of oral and throat cancer with more than 90 percent accuracy. Due to the lack of effective diagnostic tools, these cancers are often not diagnosed until they reach advanced stages, resulting in low survival rates. In a previous study, Maria Soledad Sosa of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Julio A. Sosa, now of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, led the study. Aguirre-Ghiso discovered that the ability of cancer cells to remain dormant is controlled by a protein called NR2F1. , This receptor protein can enter the cell nucleus and turn on or off several genes to activate a program that stops cancer cells from spreading. NR2F1 levels are usually low in primary tumors but increased in dormant disseminated cancer cells. NR2F1 protein levels then decrease once again when cancer cells begin to grow again and form [...]

2024-01-29T16:44:32-07:00January, 2024|Oral Cancer News|
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New research to develop AI to better predict risk of mouth cancer

Source: www.digitalhealth.net Author: Andrea Downey The University of Sheffield and Cancer Research UK have teamed up to develop artificial intelligence which will help predict the risk of mouth cancer. The study will look at the use of machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) to assist pathologists in spotting the disease, which has increased by 60% in the last 10 years. Samples of oral epithelial dysplasia (OED), pre-cancerous changes that can develop into cancer, along with five years of follow up data will be used to train AI algorithms. Currently, doctors must predict the likelihood of OED developing into cancer by assessing a patient’s biopsy on 15 different criteria to establish a score. This score then determines whether action is needed and what treatment pathway should be taken. But there are often huge variations in how patients with similar biopsy results are treated, researchers said. For example, one patient may be advised to undergo surgery and intensive treatment, while another patient may be monitored for further changes. Dr Ali Khurram, senior clinical lecturer at the University of Sheffield’s School of Clinical Dentistry, said: “The precise grading of OED is a huge diagnostic challenge, even for experienced pathologists, as it is so subjective. “Correct grading is vital in early oral cancer detection to inform treatment decisions, enabling a surgeon to determine whether a lesion should be monitored or surgically removed. “Machine learning and AI can aid tissue diagnostics by removing subjectivity, using automation and quantification to guide diagnosis and treatment. Until now [...]

2023-06-15T10:30:03-07:00June, 2023|Oral Cancer News|
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Multidisciplinary treatment approaches for oral cavity cancer

Source: dailynews.ascopubs.org Author: Mindy Tanzola, PhD An Education Session at the 2023 ASCO Annual Meeting will focus on the treatment of oral cavity cancer, one of the most common types of head and neck cancer worldwide. The session will feature experts from medical, radiation, and surgical oncology to address all 3 treatment modalities, said Session Chair Ali Hosni, MBBCh, MSc, PhD, of Princess Margaret Cancer Center in Canada. The session will take place on June 4. Although oral cavity cancer is diagnosed in more than 300,000 individuals worldwide each year,1 it receives less attention than other subsets of head and neck cancer, Dr. Hosni said, highlighting a need for education. In addition, oral cavity cancer often involves all 3 treatment modalities, which means there is a need for collaborative multidisciplinary care that also integrates the patient into treatment planning. Role of Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy In his update on surgical approaches for oral cavity cancer, Stephen Y. Lai, MD, PhD, FACS, a head and neck cancer surgeon at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, will first discuss the role of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) for these patients. Dr. Lai explained that lymph node metastases are sometimes found in patients with early-stage oral cavity cancer (T1-2) who are thought to be node-negative based upon imaging studies and clinical examination. However, evidence has shown that active management through elective neck dissection is associated with higher rates of overall survival and disease-free survival versus “watchful waiting” and therapeutic neck dissection.2 [...]

2023-05-12T13:58:14-07:00May, 2023|Oral Cancer News|
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Saliva: The next frontier in cancer detection

Source: knowablemagazine.org Author: Matías A. Loewy In the late 1950s, dentist and US Navy Capt. Kirk C. Hoerman, then a young man in his 30s, attempted to answer a bold question: Might the saliva of prostate cancer patients have different characteristics from that of healthy people? Could it contain traces of a disease that’s so far away from the mouth? Without wasting more of their own saliva on elaborate discussion, Hoerman and his colleagues from the department of dental research at the Naval Training Center in Great Lakes, Illinois, got down to work. They analyzed samples from more than 200 patients and healthy controls, and found that the saliva of patients with untreated prostate cancer showed a significant increase in the levels of enzymes called acid phosphatases. Writing in 1959 in the journal Cancer, the researchers then made a prescient reflection: that it may be valuable to observe discrete biochemical changes in tissues distant from the site of tumor origin. More than 60 years later, the idea that saliva analysis can be used to detect different types of cancer is gaining traction in the scientific community. In the specialized literature, papers containing the keywords “diagnosis,” “cancer” and “saliva” grew more than tenfold over the past two decades, from 26 in 2001 to 117 in 2011, 183 in 2016 and 319 in 2021, according to the PubMed database, a search engine for biomedical research articles. The appeal of this approach is obvious. Although cancer can be diagnosed through tissue biopsy, that [...]

2023-03-16T08:58:48-07:00March, 2023|Oral Cancer News|
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Biosensor allows rapid detection of oral cancer

Source: www.insideprecisionmedicine.com Author: staff A biosensor for oral cancer has been developed by researchers from the University of Florida and National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University in Taiwan. The device uses a rapid transistor-based system and is much faster and more convenient than current lab-based tests. Their study was published in Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology B. “Oral squamous cell carcinomas are one of the most common lip and oral cavity cancer types,” said Minghan Xian, co-author and a researcher at the University of Florida. “It requires early detection via various medical technologies to improve the survival rate.” Oral cancers are the 16th most common type of cancer. Cancers of the lip and oral cavity are the most common, with more than 377,700 cases worldwide in 2020, according to the World Cancer Research Fund International. Since oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) occurs in one of the most accessible sites in the body, it can be easily treated if detected promptly. Oral cancers that remain localized and are 2 centimeters or smaller can be cured — five-year survival rates exceed 90%. “The standard of care for oral cancer detection is a biopsy, which is invasive, expensive and takes several weeks to obtain results. Since our sensor is a true point of care, we envision this technology to offer chairside assistance to dentists on whether or not a biopsy is warranted,” Co-author Josephine Esquivel-Upshaw, professor at the University of Florida College of Dentistry, told Inside Precision Medicine. Biosensors have long been [...]

2022-12-15T13:31:19-07:00December, 2022|Oral Cancer News|
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WVU Medicine Head and Neck Cancer Team works to increase tonsil cancer awareness

Source: wvumedicine.org Author: staff, WVU Medicine News Head and neck surgical oncologists at WVU Medicine, the WVU Cancer Institute, and across the country are seeing increased incidences of tonsil cancer. “The majority of tonsil cancers, nearly 70 percent, are caused by human papilloma virus (HPV),” Meghan Turner, M.D., head and neck surgeon in the WVU Medicine Department of Otolaryngology, said. “In the last 10 years, tonsil cancer caused by HPV has become more common than cervical cancer caused by the same virus.” In most cases of HPV infection, the body fights off the virus like it would the common cold. In other cases, the virus remains in the body, increasing the risk of both tonsil and cervical cancer. Unlike cervical cancer, there is no regular screening for tonsil cancer. Most commonly, tonsil cancer is first diagnosed as a nontender mass in the neck. “Another common presentation for tonsil cancer is actually recurrent or persistent tonsil pain in spite of treatment for a throat infection,” Dr. Turner said. “This happens between the ages of 50 and 60. It may seem like recurrent strep throat, but it is uncommon for people in that age range to develop recurrent strep throat. If you’re having pain that isn’t resolved after a course of antibiotics, you should ask your doctor if it could possibly be something like tonsil cancer.” It is also regularly discovered during routine dental visits, appearing as asymmetrical tonsils. Those who have had their tonsils removed by tonsillectomy are not immune to [...]

2022-02-05T10:20:45-07:00February, 2022|Oral Cancer News|
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When a dentist dies from oral cancer

Source: www.dentistrytoday.com Author: Dr. Parul Dua Makkar & Dr. Sanjukta Mohant Dr. Manu Dua, a dentist practicing in Calgary, Alberta, discovered a lesion on his tongue around his 33rd birthday. He showed a photo of it to his sister, Parul, who is a dentist practicing in New York. “Get it biopsied,” she pleaded. He replied, “It can’t be cancer. I’m too young.” Less than 2 years later, Dr. Manu Dua died from oral cancer. He was 34. Manu had no risk factors for oral cancer. He was young and didn’t smoke. He only had an occasional drink. He was athletic and had a healthy diet. No one would suspect that the lesion on his tongue was cancer, not even him, not even the oral surgeon who thought it was lichen planus and prescribed him a steroid. His symptoms worsened: trouble speaking, pain on eating, and difficulty sleeping. Then came the devastating biopsy result – Stage 2 squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue. The cancer was treated by removing the left half of Manu’s tongue and the lymph nodes from the left side of his neck. His tongue was repaired using the radial artery from his left arm and skin from his right thigh. He had to learn to speak, chew and swallow again. He recovered quickly and returned to the dental office that he recently opened. Less than a year later, he noticed swelling on the left side of his neck after he had a restoration. The cancer was back. [...]

2021-12-15T16:57:01-07:00December, 2021|Oral Cancer News|
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Sentinel node biopsy makes case in oral cavity cancer

Source: www.medpagetoday.com Author: Charles Bankhead Patients with early-stage oral cavity cancers had similar survival with less neck disability with a less invasive approach to lymph node assessment, a multicenter randomized study showed. The 3-year overall survival (OS) rate was 87.9% with sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) and 86.6% with elective node dissection (ND). The 3-year disease-free survival (DFS) rate was 78.7% versus 81.3% in the SLNB and ND groups. Both outcomes met statistical criteria for noninferiority of the two approaches to lymph node assessment. The SLNB group had significantly better scores on a test of neck function, reported Yasuhisa Hasegawa, MD, PhD, of Asahi University Hospital in Gifu, Japan, and co-authors. "SLNB-navigated ND is noninferior and less invasive than elective ND," the authors wrote in the paper online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. "The results of this study may promote a widespread use of SLNB (for early-stage OCSCC [oral-cavity squamous cell carcinoma]) worldwide." The results added to a growing volume of evidence suggesting similar outcomes between SLNB and the more-invasive ND. Last year a randomized study from France showed a 2-year relapse-free survival rate of 89-91% with the two approaches to lymph node assessment in oral and oropharyngeal cancer. A large retrospective cohort study resulted in similar OS and a shorter hospital stay as compared with ND. Multiple studies have demonstrated improved functional outcomes and lower complication rates with SLNB, the authors noted. Optimal management of clinically node-negative early-stage OCSCC remains controversial. Advantages have been reported for observation, ND, [...]

2021-04-27T06:01:14-07:00April, 2021|Oral Cancer News|
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A story NOT silenced by oral cancer: a message to dental professionals

Source: dentistryiq Author: Eva Grayzel The storyteller gets tongue cancer? How ironic! Sharing my personal oral cancer journey publicly is a tribute to those who came before me and an obligation to those who will follow. Knowing my story will save lives. That’s why I tell it. Here it is, in a nutshell. Just a simple little sore spot It started with a sore on the left side of my tongue. A strange place for what seemed like an ordinary canker sore. After four weeks, I went to an oral surgeon, complaining of pain. He said if it bothered me so much, he could take it off. Two weeks later, the oral surgeon’s receptionist called to tell me my biopsy was negative. “Excuse me, are you calling the right patient?” I was never told about a biopsy. “The oral surgeon took tissue from your tongue, correct?” she questioned. “Yes, that was me.” I thought to myself, What could they possibly be looking for in a biopsy of the tongue? “You have nothing to worry about,” she assured me. I did not know I had to worry. She should have said my biopsy was negative for cancer. I had no idea you could get cancer in the mouth. No dental professional had ever used the word cancer in my presence. Cancer of the oral cavity was simply beyond my scope of understanding. “Nothing to worry about” Two years later, the sore returned right over the biopsy site. Eight weeks later, I [...]

2021-04-24T10:59:32-07:00April, 2021|Oral Cancer News|
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