chemotherapy – Page 9 – Oral Cancer News

Three shots that could stop cancer

Source: tucson.com Author: Meredith Wadman Not so long ago, when my sons still had smooth cheeks and children's voices, I had them vaccinated against human papillomavirus, the most common sexually transmitted disease. It was late 2011, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had just recommended that boys join girls in being vaccinated at age 11 or 12. I was certainly receptive: HPV, as it's commonly called, causes cervical cancer, cancer of the tonsils, cancer of the back of the tongue and, less often, cancers of the vulva, vagina, anus and penis. It seemed important to ensure that my kids were protected. Yet numbers released last month by the CDC show that my sons, now 14 and 15, are among a small minority of adolescent males who have been vaccinated. In 2013, just 14 percent of American boys ages 13 to 17 had received all three recommended doses of the HPV vaccine. (The CDC also recommends "catch-up" vaccination for males up to age 21.) Not that parents are rushing to have their girls vaccinated either, even though the CDC first recommended the vaccine for prepubescent girls in 2007 and virtually all insurers pay for it. In 2013, fewer than 38 percent of American girls between 13 and 17 had received the full three-dose course. It is heartbreaking to watch a safe, effective vaccine go unused. Consider this: The CDC estimates that increasing the vaccination rate of American girls to 80 percent would prevent 53,000 cervical cancers during the lifetimes [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2014-08-26T06:24:27-07:00August, 2014|Oral Cancer News|

Blood test could predict oral cancer recurrence

Source: www.livescience.com Author: Rachael Rettner, Senior Writer A new blood and saliva test that looks for traces of the human papillomavirus (HPV) can predict whether some people with oral cancers will have their cancer come back, early research suggests. It helps to know as soon as possible that cancer has returned, because tumors that are caught early are easier to treat. In the study, the researchers analyzed blood and saliva samples from 93 people with head and neck cancers; about 80 percent of these patients had cancers that tested positive for HPV. All of their cancers had previously been treated with surgery, radiation or chemotherapy. The researchers looked for fragments of DNA from HPV-16, a strain of the virus that is strongly linked with head and neck cancer. The virus may be found in cancer cells that linger in the body after treatment, the researchers said. Among people with HPV-positive tumors, the new test identified 70 percent of those whose cancer returned within three years, the researchers said. "Until now, there has been no reliable biological way to identify which patients are at higher risk for recurrence, so these tests should greatly help [to] do so," study researcher Dr. Joseph Califano, professor of otolaryngology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, said in a statement. Patients with head and neck cancer typically visit the doctor every one to three months during the first year after their diagnoses to check for cancer recurrence. But new tumors in the tonsils, throat and base [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2014-08-02T11:03:13-07:00August, 2014|Oral Cancer News|

University of Michigan researchers find protein that fuels repair of treatment-resistant cancer cells

Source: http://www.dentistryiq.com/ Author: DentistryIQ Editors Imagine that you're fighting for your life, but no matter how hard you hit, your opponent won't go down. The same can be said of highly treatment-resistant cancers, such as head and neck cancer. During radiation and chemotherapy, some cancer cells repair themselves to survive and thrive. Head and neck cancer is the sixth most common cancer in the world, but the late detection and treatment resistance result in a high mortality rate. Now, University of Michigan researchers have found that a particular protein – TRIP13 – encourages those cancer cells to repair themselves, and they have identified an existing chemical that blocks this mechanism for cell repair. Left: Untreated head and neck cancer cells are tagged fluorescent green. Right: Shows cells treated with the chemical inhibitor that blocks TRIP13, which results in a dramatically smaller tumor. "This is a very significant advance because identifying the function of the protein that fuels the repair of cancer cells and having an existing chemical that blocks the process could speed the process of moving to clinical trials," said principal investigator Nisha D'Silva, University of Michigan professor of dentistry and associate professor of pathology. Typically, if scientists discover a promising drug therapy target, it takes years to develop drug compounds from scratch and move these into clinical trials. Top: Cancer cells with TRIP13, the protein that encourages cancer cells to repair themselves. Bottom: Cancer cells in which researchers have removed or decreased TRIP13, which results [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2014-08-02T10:57:10-07:00August, 2014|Oral Cancer News|

Docetaxel regimen tops cisplatin in head and neck cancer

Source: www.cancernetwork.com Author: Anna Azvolinsky, PhD A phase II study has demonstrated that combining docetaxel-based chemoradiotherapy and the antibody cetuximab postoperatively in patients with high-risk squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck led to improved disease-free and overall survival, with no unexpected toxicities. The results of the study were published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Two-hundred and thirty-eight stage III and IV patients were randomized to receive radiation therapy (60 Gy) plus cetuximab and either cisplatin (30 mg/m2) or docetaxel (15 mg/m2) once per week as part of the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) 0234 clinical trial. The 2-year overall survival (OS) was 69% in the cisplatin treatment arm and 79% in the docetaxel treatment arm. The 2-year disease-free survival (DFS) was 57% and 66% in the cisplatin and docetaxel arms, respectively. Previously, two large phase III trials, the RTOG 9501 and the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) 22931 trials, both showed a small but significant survival benefit for postoperative head and neck cancer patients who received adjuvant radiation and chemotherapy concurrently, resulting in the incorporation of cisplatin in an adjuvant regimen for high-risk patients. The drawback was that adding cisplatin to radiation therapy increased toxicity. Many of these patients are not candidates for the combination therapy due to poor performance status, older age, and renal insufficiency. The purpose of the current trial was to test whether combining a molecular therapy such as cetuximab with chemotherapy would improve survival with a better toxicity profile, [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2014-07-19T07:13:12-07:00July, 2014|Oral Cancer News|

Salivary gland cancers rare, but sometimes deadly

Source: articles.baltimoresun.com Author: Andrea K. Walker Professional baseball great Tony Gwynn Sr., also known as Mr. Padre, died last month of salivary gland cancer, which he believed was caused by years of using smokeless chewing tobacco. The cancer is a rare form that begins in any of the salivary glands in the mouth, neck or throat. Two adults in 100,000 are diagnosed with salivary gland cancer each year. The chances of survival drop if the cancer has spread to other parts of the body. Dr. Patrick K. Ha, with Johns Hopkins Head and Neck Surgery at Greater Baltimore Medical Center, says new types of treatments and therapies are in the works to treat the disease. What is salivary gland cancer and how common is it? Salivary gland cancers are a diverse group of rare malignancies that can involve any of the major salivary glands (the parotid, submandibular and sublingual) or minor salivary glands, which are found within the lip, palate, tongue base, nasal cavity or sinuses. There are numerous different cancers that may arise from the salivary glands, and these may behave differently based on their cell of origin. What causes it, and who is more likely to get it? Little is known about the causes of salivary gland cancers. Unlike the more common head and neck cancers, which have a clear association with smoking, drinking or even the human papillomavirus (HPV), salivary gland cancers do not have such strong associations. There may be a link between significant radiation exposure (i.e., treatment [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2014-07-12T08:55:49-07:00July, 2014|Oral Cancer News|

An effective and well-tolerated strategy in recurrent and/or metastatic head and neck cancer: successive lines of active chemotherapeutic agents

Source: 7thspace.com Author: staff The combination platinum, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and cetuximab is the standard first-line regimen of recurrent and/or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Due to the toxicity of this treatment, alternative therapies are often offered to patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the overall survival obtained with a first line chemotherapy adapted to patients functional status and the administration of all active drugs within successive lines of chemotherapy. Methods: This series included a total of 194 patients with recurrent and/or metastatic HNSCC treated from 2006 to 2011 in a single institution where the administration of successive lines of chemotherapies has been the standard clinical approach. Treatment was administered according to clinical practice guidelines. Results: Most patients received at least two treatment lines. Only 11 patients (6%) were treated with a combination of cisplatin, 5-FU and cetuximab in front line, but most patients received at least one platinum-based regimen (n = 154 patients, 78%); 162 (82%) received taxanes, 36 (18%) received 5-FU, 27 (14%) received capecitabine, 67 (34%) received methotrexate and 134 (68%) received cetuximab. The median overall survival was 9.8 months (95% CI: 8.1-11.4 months) and reached 13.1 months among the subgroup of 131 patients eligible for inclusion in a clinical trial. Conclusion: The survival outcomes of patients treated in the first-line setting with chemotherapy regimens adapted to their functional status, followed by several subsequent regimens were comparable with published outcomes of patients treated by platinum, 5-FU and cetuximab. Credits/Source: BMC Cancer 2014, [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2014-07-12T08:48:52-07:00July, 2014|Oral Cancer News|

Researchers find way to diagnose aggressiveness of oral cancer

Source: www.news-medical.net Author: staff Studying mouth cancer in mice, researchers have found a way to predict the aggressiveness of similar tumors in people, an early step toward a diagnostic test that could guide treatment, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. "All patients with advanced head and neck cancer get similar treatments," said Ravindra Uppaluri, MD, PhD, associate professor of otolaryngology. "We have patients who do well on standard combinations of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, and patients who don't do so well. We're interested in finding out why." Reporting in Clinical Cancer ResearchK/em>, the investigators found a consistent pattern of gene expression associated with tumor spreading in mice. Analyzing genetic data from human oral cancer samples, they also found this gene signature in people with aggressive metastatic tumors. "We didn't automatically assume this mouse model would be relevant to human oral cancer," said Uppaluri, who performs head and neck surgeries at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. "But it turns out to be highly reflective of the disease in people." Rather than use genetic methods to induce tumors in the mice, the research team repeatedly applied a known carcinogen, in much the same way humans develop cancer of the mouth. "Patients often have a history of tobacco and alcohol use, which drive the development of these tumors," Uppaluri said. "We felt that exposing the mice to a carcinogen would be more likely to produce similar kinds of tumors." The researchers, including first author Michael D. Onken, PhD, research assistant [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2014-06-29T20:25:48-07:00June, 2014|Oral Cancer News|

In one study, lower dose treatment for HPV oropharyngeal cancers is successful

Author: Anthony Cmelak, M.D.Source: medicalnewstoday.com A new study suggests that lowering the dose of radiation therapy for some head and neck cancer patients may improve outcomes and cause fewer long-term side effects. The research was presented by lead author Anthony Cmelak, M.D., professor of Radiation Oncology at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC), during the 50th annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), held recently in Chicago. The study focused on patients with newly-diagnosed oropharyngeal cancers related to the human papilloma virus (HPV). More than two-thirds of new head and neck cancer patients have HPV-positive tumors and the number of these patients is on the rise. Cmelak's prior cooperative group study found that patients with HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer have significantly longer survival rates than patients whose tumors are HPV negative. For the new study, 80 HPV-positive patients with stage III, or IVa,b squamous cell cancer of the oropharynx received inductionchemotherapy, including paclitaxel, cisplatin and cetuximab. After chemotherapy, 62 of the patients showed no sign of cancer and were assigned to receive a 25 percent lower dose of intensity-modulated radiation therapy - an advanced technology that targets the radiation beam more accurately to treat the tumor without harming surrounding tissue. The rest of the patients received a standard IMRT dose. The drug cetuximab was also given to both groups of patients along with the IMRT treatment. Two years after treatment, the survival for the low-dose IMRT patients was 93 percent. Those who did not have complete resolution of cancer following induction and went on to [...]

Charlotte Parker2014-06-25T16:35:42-07:00June, 2014|Oral Cancer News|

Plasmonic nanobubbles can detect and kill only cancer cells

Source: www.azonano.com Author: staff The first preclinical study of a new Rice University-developed anti-cancer technology found that a novel combination of existing clinical treatments can instantaneously detect and kill only cancer cells — often by blowing them apart — without harming surrounding normal organs. The research, which is available online this week Nature Medicine, reports that Rice’s “quadrapeutics” technology was 17 times more efficient than conventional chemoradiation therapy against aggressive, drug-resistant head and neck tumors. The work was conducted by researchers from Rice, the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Northeastern University. “We address aggressive cancers that cannot be efficiently and safely treated today,” said Rice scientist Dmitri Lapotko, the study’s lead investigator. “Surgeons often cannot fully remove tumors that are intertwined with important organs. Chemotherapy and radiation are commonly used to treat the residual portions of these tumors, but some tumors become resistant to chemoradiation. Quadrapeutics steps up when standard treatments fail. At the same time, quadrapeutics complements current approaches instead of replacing them.” Lapotko said quadrapeutics differs from other developmental cancer treatments in that it radically amplifies the intracellular effect of drugs and radiation only in cancer cells. The quadrapeutic effects are achieved by mechanical events — tiny, remotely triggered nano-explosions called “plasmonic nanobubbles.” Plasmonic nanobubbles are non-stationary vapors that expand and burst inside cancer cells in nanoseconds in response to a short, low-energy laser pulse. Plasmonic nanobubbles act as a “mechanical drug” against cancer cells that cannot be surgically removed and are otherwise resistant to [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2014-06-03T06:07:14-07:00June, 2014|Oral Cancer News|

Cannabinoids may offer hope for patients with oral cancer pain

Source: www.elements4health.com Even the strongest available pain medications are largely ineffective for many cancer patients, particularly those with oral cancers. One of the nation’s leading oral cancer treating clinicians, speaking at the American Pain Society’s annual meeting, said he believes that while prospects for major treatment advances remain bleak, a new cannabinoid-based medication may have some promise for providing meaningful pain relief. Brian Schmidt, DDS, MD, PhD, professor, New York University College of Dentistry and School of Medicine, delivered the Global Year Against Pain Lecture and reported that today, more than 100 years since President Ulysses S. Grant died from oral cancer, there is only modest improvement in patient survival. Grant is the only American president to die from cancer. “Oral cancer is one of the most painful and debilitating of all malignancies,” said Schmidt, “ and opioids, the strongest pain medications we have, are an imperfect solution. They become dramatically less effective as tolerance to these drugs develops.” Now considered to be the fastest increasing cancer in the United States, oral and oropharyngeal malignancies usually begin in the tongue. Human papillomavirus transmitted through oral sex, tobacco use and excessive alcohol consumption are the leading causes of this increase in oropharyngeal cancer. In the United States, some 43,000 new cases of oral cancer are diagnosed every year and the disease is more widespread worldwide with 640,000 new cases a year. Schmidt said oral cancer patients often undergo multiple surgeries as tumors recur and also are treated with radiation and chemotherapy. [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2014-05-15T08:40:08-07:00May, 2014|Oral Cancer News|