chemotherapy

Anti-malarial drug can make cancer chemotherapy more effective

Source: medicalxpress.com Author: Emma McKinney, University of Birmingham Scientists at the University of Birmingham have found an anti-malarial drug was effective in treating head and neck cancer in mice. The drug quinacrine was used extensively to prevent and treat malaria in soldiers fighting in mosquito-ridden areas during World War Two. It is similar to the quinine that makes tonic water glow, has minimal side-effects, and is now used for treating parasite infections and other conditions. Each year around 11,900 people are diagnosed with head and neck cancer in the UK. Current treatment relies heavily on debilitating surgery and toxic chemotherapy, but despite this, it has a poor outcome with three to seven in 10 people surviving their disease for five years or more. The drug, quinacrine, was tested through a number of methods, including on cell cultures, in tumour biopsies from patients with head and neck cancer, and in mice. The research results, published in Oncotarget, show that in mice quinacrine can make standard chemotherapy more effective—suggesting a lower dose may be used, reducing toxic side effects. The results also showed the drug to be effective at reducing the growth of cancer cells grown in the lab, and in tumors. Significantly, the research in mice showed a combination therapy of quinacrine and chemotherapy, and so allowed for the chemotherapy dose to be halved while still maintaining the same impairment of tumor growth. Lead author Dr. Jennifer Bryant, of the University of Birmingham's Institute of Head and Neck Studies and Education, [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2019-10-01T14:04:25-07:00October, 2019|Oral Cancer News|

Psychological impact of head and neck cancers

Source: pharmafield.co.uk Author: Emma Morriss Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), in partnership with patient groups The Swallows and the Mouth Cancer Foundation, have announced the results from a patient survey into the psychological impact of head and neck cancers. The research explored the long-term burden of treatment on head and neck cancer patients. After undergoing treatment for head and neck cancer, which can include surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy, many patients report an ongoing impact on their day-to-day life. However, 55% of the 118 patients surveyed indicated they did not receive the right level of information in preparation for the complications encountered from treatment. There are around 11,900 new head and neck cancer cases in the UK every year and the incidence of head and neck cancer has increased by 32% since the early 1990s. Following treatment, the survey showed 56% of patients had problems with simple things like swallowing, often experiencing severe pain, while two-thirds of patients experienced changes in their voice or speech. The survey also showed self-reported change from pre- to post- treatment in vital areas including a drop in the ability to communicate (37%), memory loss (21%), and trouble sleeping (20%). As well as physical symptoms, treatment can have severe implications on mental health too. 52% of patients reported feelings of anxiety before treatment, which only reduced to 48% following treatment. However, emotional and psychological support was only offered to 46% of patients. A majority of patients did receive access to a clinical nurse specialist, however there was still [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2019-07-31T19:42:04-07:00July, 2019|Oral Cancer News|

Merck’s Keytruda wins FDA approval to treat head and neck cancer

Source: Reuters Date: June 11, 2019 Author: Reporting by Aakash Jagadeesh Babu; Editing by Shailesh Kuber (Reuters) - Merck & Co Inc said on Tuesday its blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda won approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat a type of head and neck cancer. The drug was approved for use as a monotherapy, as well as in combination with a common chemotherapy regimen, to treat previously untreated patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, Merck said. The approval is based on results from a late-stage trial, where Keytruda showed a significant improvement in overall survival in cancer patients, Merck said. Keytruda, a type of immunotherapy called a PD-1 inhibitor, is already an approved treatment for several forms of cancer, including lung and skin cancers. Head and neck cancer includes tumors in the mouth, tongue, nose, sinuses, throat and lymph nodes in the neck. Merck estimates that there will be more than 65,000 new cases of head and neck cancer diagnosed in 2019 in the United States. Keytruda works by increasing the ability of patients’ immune system to help detect and fight tumor cells. The drug has been amassing approvals as a standalone therapy and in combination with other drugs to treat several forms of cancer. It is the leading immunotherapy for treating lung cancer, ahead of rival drugs from Bristol-Myers Squibb, Roche and AstraZeneca. Keytruda, first approved for advanced melanoma in 2014, is Merck’s most important growth driver. It has overtaken Bristol’s Opdivo as the [...]

Brian Hill2019-06-12T09:48:16-07:00June, 2019|Oral Cancer News|

Merck’s Keytruda wins FDA approval to treat head and neck cancer

Source: www.pharmalive.com Author: staff, Reuters Health Merck & Co Inc said on Tuesday its blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda won approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat a type of head and neck cancer. The drug was approved for use as a monotherapy, as well as in combination with a common chemotherapy regimen, to treat previously untreated patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, Merck said. The approval is based on results from a late-stage trial, where Keytruda showed a significant improvement in overall survival in cancer patients, Merck said. Keytruda, a type of immunotherapy called a PD-1 inhibitor, is already an approved treatment for several forms of cancer, including lung and skin cancers. Head and neck cancer includes tumors in the mouth, tongue, nose, sinuses, throat and lymph nodes in the neck. Merck estimates that there will be more than 65,000 new cases of head and neck cancer diagnosed in 2019 in the United States. Keytruda works by increasing the ability of patients’ immune system to help detect and fight tumor cells. The drug has been amassing approvals as a standalone therapy and in combination with other drugs to treat several forms of cancer. It is the leading immunotherapy for treating lung cancer, ahead of rival drugs from Bristol-Myers Squibb, Roche and AstraZeneca. Keytruda, first approved for advanced melanoma in 2014, is Merck’s most important growth driver. It has overtaken Bristol’s Opdivo as the industry’s immuno-oncology leader with sales expected to top $10 billion this year [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2019-06-12T07:49:37-07:00June, 2019|Oral Cancer News|

How do speech-language pathologists support cancer patients?

Source: syvnews.com Author: Aundie Werner Question: What are speech-language pathologists and how do they support cancer patients? It is estimated that about 100,000 people will be diagnosed with a head, neck or thyroid cancer this year. Although this does not grab headlines as often as many other cancers, for those affected the disease and treatment can have a significant impact on their lives. In general, most people survive head and neck cancer; however, side effects of treatment can sometimes be a long-term problem. The support and guidance of a speech-language pathologist (SLP) can do much to help promote recovery and cope with the difficult symptoms of treatment. Ideally, the SLP becomes involved when the patient has been identified as having head and neck cancer before their surgery or before their chemotherapy/radiation protocol. Counseling and education are provided as to the functions of voice, speech and swallowing. Assessment is made to determine the patient’s baseline and to provide guidance as to the patient’s role in their rehabilitation. Frequently, the SLP works with patients who have difficulty eating and drinking. Treatment is based on the cause of the problem: anatomical changes from surgery, decreased saliva, changes in taste, difficulty opening the mouth due to trismus, and problems protecting the airway, which can result in coughing and choking during meals. Maintaining nutrition after surgery and during treatment is necessary to help the body heal. At times, the patient may need to have a feeding tube to help with nutrition when it becomes too [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2019-03-26T11:50:47-07:00March, 2019|Oral Cancer News|

Immunotherapy extends the life of head and neck cancer patients

Source: Pharmatimes.com Date: 12/3/18 Author: Anna Smith A new immunotherapy can greatly extend the lives of a proportion of people with advanced head and neck cancer, with some living for three years or more, reports a major new clinical trial. The study, by The Institute of Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, found that the drug – MSD’s Keytruda (pembrolizumab) - has been shown to have significant benefits for patients, with 37% of those who received it surviving for a year or more, compared with only 26.5% of those on standard care. The drug was evaluated in a trial of nearly 500 patients with very advanced head and neck cancer that had spread around the body and already become resistant to platinum chemotherapy, the first-line treatment for the disease. Some 247 patients were randomised to receive Keytruda and 248 to standard of care – chemotherapy or the targeted agent Erbitux (cetuximab). When chemotherapy or targeted therapies stop working, treatment options for people with advanced head and neck cancer are limited, and they are normally expected to survive for less than six months. Patients in the Keytruda arm survived for a median of 8.4 months, compared to 6.9 months with standard treatment. However, a minority of patients responded extremely well to Keytruda – 36 patients saw their cancer partially or completely disappear, and some are still cancer free three years after first receiving the drug. “Our findings show that the immunotherapy pembrolizumab extends the life of people with [...]

Charlotte Parker2018-12-05T17:20:46-07:00December, 2018|Oral Cancer News|

Standard chemotherapy treatment for HPV-positive throat cancer remains the most effective, study finds

Source: www.eurekalert.org Author: press release, University of Birmingham A new study funded by Cancer Research UK and led by the University of Birmingham has found that the standard chemotherapy used to treat a specific type of throat cancer remains the most effective. The findings of the trial, which aimed to compare for the first time the outcomes of using two different kinds of treatment for patients with Human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive throat cancer, are published today (November 15th) in The Lancet. Throat cancer is one of the fastest rising cancers in Western countries. In the UK, incidence was unchanged between 1970 and 1995, then doubled between 1996 and 2006, and doubled again between 2006 and 2010. The rise has been attributed to HPV, which is often a sexually transmitted infection. Most throat cancers were previously caused by smoking and alcohol and affected 65 to 70 year old working class men. Today, HPV is the main cause of throat cancer and patients are middle class, working, have young children and are aged around 55. HPV-positive throat cancer responds well to a combination of cisplatin chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and patients can survive for 30 to 40 years, but the treatment causes lifelong side effects including dry mouth, difficulty swallowing, and loss of taste. The De-ESCALaTE HPV study, which was sponsored by the University of Warwick, compared the side effects and survival of 164 patients who were treated with radiotherapy and cisplatin, and 162 who were given radiotherapy and cetuximab. The patients were enrolled [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2018-11-16T09:36:03-07:00November, 2018|Oral Cancer News|

A Look at Therapy Toxicities & Biology in Head & Neck Cancers

Source: journals.lww.com Author: Valerie Neff Newitt A measure of intrigue and discovery pertaining to head and neck cancer, spiked with compassion for patients struggling against treatment toxicities, helps quench the intellectual thirst of Yvonne Mowery, MD, PhD, Butler Harris Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology at Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C. Splitting time between the clinic and laboratory, Mowery is actively engaged in patient care as well as preclinical, translational, and clinical research. “I hope to get a better understanding of the biology of head and neck cancer and determine pathways that we can target to reduce metastatic spread of the disease and improve responsiveness to available treatments,” she told Oncology Times. Long before reaching her current status as an award-winning investigator, Mowery grew up in Richmond, Va., in the midst of a “completely non-scientific” family. “I was an oddball,” she joked, while recalling her parents' patience with her backyard composting experiments that became so foul-smelling that the health department was contacted. As a kid, her idea of a great present was an encyclopedia of science, and the thing that caught her eye at the toy store was a junior chemistry set. Science was clearly her path when she headed to the University of Virginia. In her sophomore year, Mowery began working in a genetics lab. That's where the lure of fruit flies took hold. “I looked at the development of their reproductive system and found that very interesting,” she recalled. Nearing the completion of her undergraduate education, Mowery debated [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2018-11-04T07:47:45-07:00November, 2018|Oral Cancer News|

No De-escalation of Therapy for HPV+ Throat Cancer

Source: www.medscape.com Author: Alexander M. Castellino, PhD Another trial has shown that de-escalating therapy does not work in patients with good prognosis human papillomavirus-positive (HPV+) oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma or throat cancers. Results from the De-ESCALaTE HPV study show that using the targeted drug cetuximab with radiotherapy does not improve side effects and, more importantly, has worse survival compared with the standard of care — chemotherapy with cisplatin and radiotherapy. The finding echoes the results from the US National Cancer Institute's Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) 1016 trial, the top-line results of which were released earlier this year, and details of which were presented this week at the American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) 2018 meeting. "Do not change your clinical practice of using cisplatin with radiotherapy in these patients," cautioned Hisham Mehanna, MBChB, PhD, chair of head and neck surgery at the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom, and lead investigator of the De-ESCALaTe study. He presented the results during a presidential session here at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2018 Congress (abstract LBA9). "Cetuximab did not cause less toxicity and resulted in worse overall survival and more cancer recurrence than cisplatin. This was a surprise — we thought it would lead to the same survival rates but better toxicity. Patients with throat cancer who are HPV+ should be given cisplatin, and not cetuximab, where possible," Mehanna said in a statement. Hope for Fewer Side Effects Cetuximab with radiation is already approved by the US Food and Drug [...]

Charlotte Parker2018-10-28T11:45:33-07:00October, 2018|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

Head and neck cancer: Novel treatment approaches

Source: www.curetoday.com Author: staff Meryl Kaufman, M.Ed., CCC-SLP, BRS-S, and Itzhak Brook, M.D., M.Sc., board members of the Head and Neck Cancer Alliance, share insight into the role of novel treatment approaches like immunotherapy, robotic surgery and de-escalation in the management of cancers of the head and neck. Transcript: Meryl Kaufman, M.Ed., CCC-SLP, BRS-S: Dr. Brook, traditionally the treatment for head and neck cancer has been surgery, radiation, chemotherapy or some combination of those three. But there are some new and emerging treatment approaches to head and neck cancer along with many other cancers. Can you tell us a little bit about immunology? What is immunotherapy in the care of the head and neck cancer patient? Itzhak Brook, M.D., M.Sc.: Most days, we don’t get cancer because our immune system is like the police department of our body. They detect cancer early and eliminate it. Unfortunately, in the case of cancer, the cancer cells can fool the immune system, and they go undetected and cause the disease. The main advantage of immunotherapy is that we are using the body’s defenses, the immune system, to kill the cancer in a much better way than the chemotherapy. Chemotherapy destroys the cancer cells, but it also affects the body cells. Immunotherapy is more precise. It is directed only to the cancer cells, so the rest of the body stays unscathed. That’s the beauty of immunotherapy. So, immunotherapy is an evolving field in cancer. They have many, many new drugs in the pipeline, and [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2018-09-04T12:56:32-07:00September, 2018|Oral Cancer News|