immunotherapy – Page 5 – Oral Cancer News

Study: Immunotherapy better than chemotherapy for subtype of head and neck cancer

Date: November 30th, 2018 Source: Scienmag A randomized clinical trial involving 97 medical centers in 20 countries, including Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health, found that treating patients who have chemotherapy-resistant head and neck cancer with the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab is more effective and less toxic than standard chemotherapy, reports an international team of researchers in the November 30 online issue of The Lancet. Previous research had shown that pembrolizumab (Keytruda) was safe and effective for treating patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma whose disease had progressed while on or after receiving standard chemotherapy. Data from this clinical trial called KEYNOTE-040, a phase III study sponsored by Merck & Co., the manufacturer of the drug, takes the research a step further by comparing the immunotherapy drug head-to-head to three go-to chemotherapy drugs currently used as standard treatment: methotrexate, docetaxel and cetuximab. "We compared pembrolizumab against standard of care to see if it fulfilled the promise of early data for patients who are unlikely to do well on standard therapy," said Ezra Cohen, MD, professor of medicine at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and corresponding author on the study. "In this trial, patients who received pembrolizumab alone had a higher response rate compared to those receiving standard chemotherapy while those responses lasted, on average, one-and-a-half years. Furthermore, the median survival at one year was markedly better. I feel it is safe to say that these types of therapies should be the [...]

Charlotte Parker2018-12-03T11:14:28-07:00December, 2018|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|

Silent no more: Woman lends voice to hope after cancer

Source: health.ucsd.edu Author: Yadira Galindo Singing hymns in church has always brought Cynthia Zamora joy. Today, her once sharp intonation has given way to a raspy voice. But Zamora is thankful that she has a voice at all after spending three months without the ability to utter even one syllable. “I miss going to church and singing with people,” said Zamora. “Although, if I am in the back I'm still singing. I'm just hoping they don't hear what sounds like a 13-year-old pubescent boy back there, because that's how I sound. I know God thinks it's beautiful, so I don't worry about it. I just go on with life.” In 2017, Zamora bit her tongue while sleeping, splitting her tongue nearly in half. She was referred to a specialist when her wound would not heal. They found a 5.4-centimeter tumor that enveloped more than half of her tongue. To save her life, her surgeon, Joseph Califano, MD, delivered grim news: Zamora would have to undergo a glossectomy — the surgical removal of all or part of the tongue. “By the time I saw her she was really having a hard time speaking and swallowing,” said Califano, director of the Head and Neck Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health. “With Cynthia that was a difficult discussion because it was unclear how much tongue we would save and how good the function would be with the remaining tongue that would be preserved.” A multidisciplinary team of experts that included medical oncology, [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2018-07-10T10:03:53-07:00July, 2018|Oral Cancer News|

Praised West Palm attorney fought for many, but is now fighting for his life

Source: www.mypalmbeachpost.com Author: Daphne Duret - Palm Beach Post Staff Writer A knock on a door stopped Richard Tendler mid-sentence. His back straightened almost instinctively in his chair, just as it has at the first sign of every verdict. Two decades as a criminal defense attorney in Palm Beach County have taught the 51-year-old West Palm Beach man to never predict how things will go. “I’ve had cases I thought I won come back guilty,” Tendler had said hours earlier. “Then there were cases I was sure I lost, and the jury would come back not guilty.” Another certainty: Tendler knew was that he would go home a free man that night, regardless of his client’s fate. This time was different. Tendler was seated in an examination room at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, where he is one of 10 patients in an exclusive clinical trial for cancer patients whom other doctors have told to prepare to die. Knocking on the door was Dr. Christine Chung, who is treating Tendler and nine others with an immunotherapy regimen as part of a trial that includes 500 patients in the U.S. and around the world. Chung, the chief of head and neck oncology at Moffitt, was ready to deliver her own verdict — on the results of Tendler’s third six-week cycle. She greeted Tendler’s larger-than-usual entourage that day with polite handshakes and a tight smile. After the first two cycles, she said, the treatments have cut in half the size of one [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2018-06-21T19:59:41-07:00June, 2018|Oral Cancer News|

The rise of HPV-related cancers in men

Source: www.tmc.edu Author: Alexandra Becker Scott Courville admired his full beard and round belly in the mirror: He was ready for the upcoming holiday season. It was November 2015 and Courville, who plays Santa Claus in Lafayette, Louisiana, was too excited about his favorite time of year to worry much about the pain developing in his jaw. By February, though, the ache had worsened and was accompanied by new symptoms: white spots on his right tonsil, difficulty swallowing and lumps in his throat. He finally made his way to a walk-in clinic where he was diagnosed with tonsillitis and prescribed antibiotics. “They sent me home and said, ‘In two weeks everything should clear up,’” Courville recalled. But his symptoms only worsened. Courville made an appointment with a local ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist who also diagnosed Courville with tonsillitis. The doctor prescribed more antibiotics and steroids, but two weeks later there were no improvements. Courville was referred to a dentist—“In case they see something we don’t”—but that, too, was a dead end. Courville’s dentist insisted he return to his ENT, where he ultimately had a CT scan that revealed a mass in his throat. That was June 6, 2016. Two days later, Courville underwent a biopsy. When he awoke from the surgery, his doctor was standing over him. Courville always gets choked up retelling this part of his story. “The hardest part for me is always remembering when the doctor said, ‘I’m sorry, but you’ve got cancer.’” Courville was [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2018-06-06T12:31:29-07:00June, 2018|Oral Cancer News|

The Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer highlights immunotherapy during Oral, Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Week

Source: www.prweb.com Author: press release The Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) recognizes Oral, Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Week, April 8-15, 2018, in an effort to highlight targeted immunotherapy to treat patients with these types of cancer. To educate and guide patients, SITC provides informative and engaging online education dedicated to cancer immunotherapy through SITC Cancer Immunotherapy connectED. Two head and neck cancer-specific resources are available on SITC connectED: Beyond Chemotherapy for Treatment of Head and Neck Cancer: Developed for patients with head and neck cancers and their care partners, the goal of this online class is to learn about treatment options for the newly diagnosed, treatment after chemotherapy, and questions to ask the patient’s healthcare team. Understanding Cancer Immunotherapy Patient Resource Guide: This guide provides current, medically accurate information on cancer (including head and neck cancers) – intended for patients and caregivers to outline available cancer immunotherapy options, the role of the immune system in this type of cancer treatment and what to expect while undergoing treatment. (free registration required) Aiming to make cancer immunotherapy a standard of care for cancer patients everywhere, these SITC connectED resources educate and guide patients on immunotherapy treatment options for head and neck cancer. For more information, visit the SITC website at sitcancer.org. About SITC Established in 1984, the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) is a nonprofit organization of medical professionals dedicated to improving cancer patient outcomes by advancing the development, science and application of cancer immunotherapy and tumor immunology. SITC [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2018-04-10T16:05:39-07:00April, 2018|Oral Cancer News|

Evolving role of surgery in multidisciplinary care for head and neck cancer

Source: www.onclive.com Author: Danielle Bucco Even with the advent of systemic therapeutic advancements to the armamentarium of head and neck cancer, surgery and novel techniques continue to rapidly evolve to effectively treat patients and leave less opportunity for adverse events (AEs). Additionally, the role of the surgeon has changed to be a more integrative role in patient care. “We are more precise and more integrated with other therapeutic modalities,” said Joseph A. Califano, MD. “Together, we work as a team and that is the best way that patients can receive their optimal outcomes. We do not just want to cure their cancer but to get back to function and wellness.” In an interview during the 2017 OncLive State of the Science SummitTM on Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Califano, a professor of surgery at the University of California, San Diego, discussed how surgery factors into modern multidisciplinary care for patients with head and neck cancer. OncLive: Please provide an overview of your presentation on surgery for patients with head and neck cancer. Califano: I discussed the fact that the surgery that we do now for head and neck cancers is very different from what used to be done 15 to 20 years ago. Our ability to do effective surgery is good, but now we can do it in a way that leaves patients with excellent function and cosmetic results. When you see someone walking down the street who has had major head and neck surgery, you wouldn't know it [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2017-12-19T09:27:11-07:00December, 2017|Oral Cancer News|

What’s next after creating a cancer-prevention vaccine?

Source: www.scientificamerican.com Author: Dina Fine Maron A winner of this year’s Lasker Awards talks about his work with HPV Imagine a vaccine that protects against more than a half-dozen types of cancer—and has a decade of data and experience behind it. We have one. It’s the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, and it was approved for the U.S. market back in June 2006. It can prevent almost all cervical cancers and protect against cancers of the mouth, throat and anus. It also combats the sexually transmitted genital warts that some forms of the virus can cause. On Wednesday, two researchers who completed fundamental work on these vaccines received one of this year’s prestigious Lasker Awards, a group of medical prizes sometimes called the “American Nobels.” Douglas Lowy and John Schiller, whose research provided the basis for the HPV vaccine, were selected alongside a researcher who separately unraveled key aspects of metabolic control of cell growth. Planned Parenthood was also given an award, for its public service. Lowy and Schiller, who both work at the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI), received the Lasker for their research on animal and human papillomaviruses—work that enabled the development of a vaccine against HPV-16 type, a form of the virus that fuels many HPV malignancies. The duo’s experiments proved that the vaccine is effective in animals, and they also conducted the first clinical trial of an HPV-16 vaccine in humans. That gave pharmaceutical companies the evidence they needed to invest in their own vaccines designed to [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2017-09-06T08:08:49-07:00September, 2017|Oral Cancer News|

Health Beat: Hunting head and neck cancer cells

Source: www.wfmz.com Author: Melanie Falcon Leonard Monteith led a healthy lifestyle. That's why sudden problems with his mouth caught his attention. "I noticed that when I would stick my tongue out, it would deviate to one side, and I thought that's not right," said Monteith, 66. Doctors found an inch-wide tumor at the base of Monteith's tongue. He was diagnosed with HPV positive cancer. "The traditional treatment for head and neck cancer is really toxic and exhaustive and leads to side-effects that are very significant," said Dr. Nabil Saba, a medical oncologist at Emory University Winship Cancer Institute in Atlanta. After treatment, Monteith's cancer went away for six months, but then it came back in his lungs. Saba is a nationally-known expert in the treatment of head and neck cancers. He thought Monteith would be a good candidate for a new therapy. "Immunotherapy is really, I think, a complete game changer," said Saba. Saba said two separate immunotherapy drugs are showing real promise. A drug called Nivolumab blocks the cancer receptors, allowing the body's immune system to fight the cancer. Another drug, Pembrolizumab, also works in a similar way. Because the trials are ongoing, Saba can't say which specific drug Monteith was on. "He had very good response to the treatment, to the point where we could not see any more lung lesions on the scan," Saba said. Monteith has been improving for three years, but he knows his condition could change without warning. "I just live my life as [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2017-05-22T07:29:34-07:00May, 2017|Oral Cancer News|

Magnolia man joins exclusive trial in battle against cancer

Source: www.cantonrep.com Author: Denise Sautters Rich Bartlett is looking forward to getting back to his hobbies — woodworking and nature watching — and enjoying a good steak and potato dinner. Until then, though, he is in a fight for his life, one he plans to win. Bartlett is a cancer patient and the first participant in a clinical trial at University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center in Cleveland to test the safety of an immunotherapy drug — Pembrolizumab — when added to a regimen of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Back to the beginning Bartlett went to the dentist in October for a checkup. "He had a sore in his mouth he thought was an abscess," explained his wife, Nancy Bartlett, who pointed out that, because radiation and chemo treatments cause the inside of the mouth to burn and blister, it is hard for Bartlett to talk. "When the dentist looked at his sore, he sent Richard to a specialist in Canton, and in early November, he had a biopsy done. It came back positive for cancer." From there, he was referred to Dr. Pierre Lavertu, director of head and neck surgery and oncology at University Hospitals, and Dr. Chad Zender from the otolaryngology department, who did Bartlett's surgery. "They let us know it was serious," said Nancy. "It had gone into the bone and the roof of the mouth, but they were not sure if it had gone into the lymph nodes. By the time we got through that appointment, [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2017-03-20T08:31:02-07:00March, 2017|Oral Cancer News|