oropharyngeal cancer – Page 9

Sexually transmitted virus leads to rise in oral cancer

Source: The Boston Channel Author: Staff Boston cancer specialists are trying to learn what’s behind an “epidemic” spike in oral cancer cases that they say is caused by the human papillomavirus, commonly known as HPV. “What you're seeing here is a five-fold increase in the numbers that we would expect,” said Dr. Marshall R. Posner, of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. “So that, to me, is an epidemic.” NewsCenter 5’s Heather Unruh reported Thursday that most adults have been exposed to HPV. Doctors say it can be sexually transmitted, even through deep kissing. What doctors don’t know yet is why in some people, such a common virus develops into cancer. “Most people who get infected with HPV naturally clear the virus,” said DFCI’s Dr. Karen Anderson. Anderson and her team of researchers are trying to isolate who’s at risk for oral cancer from HPV, and why. “Because then,” Anderson said, “we can focus on more aggressive screening approaches for people who are at higher risk and start to look at more therapeutic interventions earlier on.” Posner said that at least 20,000 cases of oropharyngeal cancer are diagnosed in the United States each year. Most patients are young. Three in four occur in men. Tony is one face among the statistics. Five days a week he psyches himself up for radiation to treat the cancer that grew at the base of his tongue, where it meets his throat. “What I say,” he said, “is, ‘It is not of me, or a [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-05-14T14:37:01-07:00May, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Transoral robotic surgery gets FDA approval

Source: Medgadget Author: Staff The FDA has given the go ahead for surgeons to use robotic surgery for procedures in the throat and nearby regions by going through the mouth. In effect, this is a new indication for the Da Vinci Surgical System from Intuitive Medical, as it is the only robot of its type that can be used to perform the procedures. The transoral applications of robotic surgery have been developed at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, where a special center was created to study the subject. Drs. Gregory S. Weinstein and Bert W. O’Malley, Jr. of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine’s Department of Otorhinolaryngology: Head and Neck Surgery founded the world’s first TransOral Robotic Surgery (TORS) program at Penn Medicine in 2004, where they developed and researched the TORS approach for a variety of robotic surgical neck approaches for both malignant and benign tumors of the mouth, voice box, tonsil, tongue and other parts of the throat. Since 2005, approximately 350 Penn patients have participated in the world’s first prospective clinical trials of TORS. Head and neck tumor treatments often involve a combination of surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. In many cases, surgery offers the greatest chance of cure; yet conventional surgery may require an almost ear-to-ear incision across the throat or splitting the jaw, resulting in speech and swallowing deficits for patients. In comparison, the minimally invasive TORS approach, which accesses the surgical site through the mouth, has been shown to improve long term [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-01-15T19:49:17-07:00January, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Oropharyngeal cancer patients experience post-surgery sleep apnea

Source: Sciencecodex.com Author: Staff San Diego, CA – Nearly all patients who underwent surgery to treat oropharyngeal cancer experienced some degree of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), according to new research presented at the 2009 American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF) Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO, in San Diego, CA. The pilot study, which collected data from 22 patients treated for oropharyngeal cancer, found that among those who underwent primary surgery with free flap reconstruction, 93 percent had OSA as defined by a common measurement scale, with 67 percent defined as experiencing moderate or severe OSA (respiratory disturbance index greater than 15). Furthermore, 100 percent of those treated with radiation or chemotherapy (including some of the surgical group) developed OSA, although only one-third of these patients had moderate or severe OSA. The authors intend to continue their research with a larger pre-post treatment cohort study. They believe OSA may play a significant role in treatment related fatigue in this patient population. They also contend that unrecognized OSA may lead to additional comorbidity in this patient population, and the diagnosis and treatment of sleep apnea postoperatively may improve quality of life for these patients.

Charlotte Parker2009-10-07T11:44:16-07:00October, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Oral sex cause of throat cancer rise

Source: webmd.com Author: Salynn Boyles Changing sexual practices have led to a dramatic rise in throat cancer in the United States over the past two decades, and experts say they fear an epidemic of the disease. The comments were made Wednesday at a news conference held by the American Association for Cancer Research to discuss research into the role of the sexually transmitted human papilloma virus ( HPV) in head and neck cancer. Increasing rates of HPV infection, spread through oral sex, is largely driving the rapid rise in oropharyngeal cancers, which include tumors of the throat, tonsils, and base of the tongue, said Scott Lippman, MD, who chairs the thoracic department at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Studies of oropharyngeal tumor tissue stored 20 years ago show that only around 20% are HPV positive, Lippman said. Today it is estimated that 60% of patients are infected with the virus. “The percentage of oropharyngeal cancers that are HPV positive is much higher now than it was 20 years ago,” he said. “This is a real trend, and that is why there is concern of an epidemic given that fact that oropharyngeal cancer is increasing at an alarming rate.” Changing Face of Throat Cancer Smoking and alcohol abuse were once considered the only major risk factors for these cancers, but this is no longer the case. American Cancer Society Chief Medical Officer Otis Brawley, MD, said as many as half of the oropharyngeal cancers diagnosed today appear to [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-07-30T19:16:32-07:00July, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

ASCO: HPV Infection Linked to Better Outcome in Oropharyngeal Cancer

Source: MedpageToday.com Author: Michael Smith TORONTO, May 14 -- Patients with oropharyngeal cancer had a 50% lower five-year mortality risk when they also had human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, according to data from a randomized clinical trial. HPV-positive patients had a two-year overall survival of 88% compared with 66% for HPV-negative patients (P<0.001), said Maura Gillison, M.D., of Ohio State University in Columbus. The difference between groups increased with follow-up. HPV infection also was associated with a reduced risk of locoregional recurrence and second cancers, Dr. Gillison reported at a press briefing in advance of the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting. Cancer of the oropharynx arises from two principal causes: chronic use of tobacco and alcohol or HPV infection. Previous studies had suggested that HPV status of a patient's tumor might have prognostic implications. "HPV-positive patients have important associations with other favorable prognostic factors," said Dr. Gillison. "They tend to be younger; they have smaller tumors; they present with better performance status. Therefore, improvement in survival for this patient population may be explained by these factors and not by HPV." To explore the role of HPV status in survival of oropharyngeal cancer, Dr. Gillison and colleagues reviewed data from a randomized clinical trial conducted by the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group. Its principal objective was to compare standard chemotherapy with an investigational regimen. The trial involved 721 patients. Of those, 60% had cancer of the oropharynx and 64% were HPV positive. The two-year results demonstrated a clear survival advantage associated [...]

Charlotte Parker2009-05-15T16:11:18-07:00May, 2009|Oral Cancer News|