radiation – Page 14 – Oral Cancer News

Spike in oral cancers puzzles experts

Source: www.turnto23.com Author: Victoria Colliver/San Francisco Chronicle Christine Schulz has never visited England, but she speaks with the clipped inflection of a vaguely British accent. It's not an affectation but, rather, the mystifying after-effect of an 18-hour surgery she endured in 2009 to remove about half her tongue due to a cancerous growth that had spread to her lymph nodes. Surgeons used skin from her wrist and upper leg to re-create the missing portions of her tongue. Through long term speech therapy, Schulz, 47, of Hollister, Calif., re-learned how to eat and talk with her reconstructed tongue. If she sounds as if she's from a different country, Schulz isn't complaining. "At the moment I woke up from surgery, I realized exactly what a huge deal it was," she said, describing how she had an incision in her throat to allow her to breathe and was prohibited to speak in her earliest days of healing. Oral cancers, which include those of the mouth and tongue, are most common in men over 60 with a long history of smoking or chewing tobacco, often combined with heavy drinking. But in recent years, a spike in the incidence of oral cancers is being attributed to human papilloma virus or HPV. But Schulz's cancer was neither HPV-- nor tobacco-related. That puts her in a camp of fewer than 7 percent of all oral cancers that have no identifiable cause, according to the Oral Cancer Foundation, an advocacy group based in Newport Beach, Calif. "Surprisingly, a [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2013-03-23T10:17:08-07:00March, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

Regular dental checkups key to early detection of oral cancer

Source: www.dentistryiq.com Author: Mark Newman, News Staff Julie DiNardo knew something wasn't right. The long-time Mountain registered dental hygienist was chatting with Pino, her husband of 23 years, at the breakfast table back in April 2011 when she became concerned about a lack of symmetry on Pino's face. "He looked a little off on one side of his throat," said Julie, who has been screening people for oral cancer for more than a quarter-century. As she has been trained to do, Julie began to feel her husband's neck, her fingers pushing down gently, but firmly in a number of places. Little did she know, her many years of encouraging the public to get annual oral check-ups was about to hit home. Under Pino's right ear, along the jaw line, Julie discovered something she described as feeling like a fish. Her heart skipped a beat. "When you've felt thousands of necks and you've felt thousands of normals, when an abnormal comes up, you know it," Julie said. While dozens of worrisome thoughts raced through her mind at the time, the mother of four told her husband to get the lump checked out at their family doctor right away. The family doctor couldn't find anything and sent Pino home with antibiotics in case there was some inflammation. Julie said she insisted her husband see a specialist and Pino was examined by an ear, nose and throat doctor who was also unable to find anything. The specialist did send Pino for an ultrasound [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2013-03-12T06:55:37-07:00March, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

Kentucky cancer center emphasizes patients’ quality of life

Source: www.drbicuspid.com Author: Donna Domino, Features Editor The James Graham Brown Cancer Center at the University of Louisville is among a growing number of facilities working to improve care for head and neck cancer (HNC) patients through collaborative care programs that bring together a spectrum of oncology specialists. The center provides multidisciplinary treatment for HNC patients using novel techniques that decrease the debilitating side effects of radiation and chemotherapy. The clinic also conducts research and clinical trials with targeted therapies that aim to restore patients' oral functions. Kentucky has a higher rate of HNC than the U.S. average, which provides a large patient pool for the many clinical trials that the center conducts, according to Zafrulla Khan, DDS, MS, professor and director of maxillofacial/oncologic dentistry in the center's HNC clinic. "That's what happens when you mix tobacco and bourbon," Dr. Khan noted. Intraoral radiation shields Some of the center's novel treatment techniques involve using intraoral radiation shields during brachytherapy radiotherapy procedures to prevent the tongue and nearby oral areas from getting irradiated while minimizing mucositis and xerostomia, Dr. Khan explained. Intraoral radiation shields prevent the tongue and nearby oral areas from getting irradiated while minimizing mucositis and xerostomia "We put catheters right into tumors so they can deliver the radiotherapy in the mouth with high-density therapy machines rather than doing an external beam," he said. The clinic also uses a surgical obturator, a prosthetic device that enables patients to speak and swallow following surgery for maxillary sinus cancer. [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2013-02-20T07:32:57-07:00February, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

Author tells cancer story in new book

Source: www.charlotteobserver.com Author: Josh Lanier The cover of Barbara Bragg’s book, “Destination Cancer Free,” says it all. It shows a photo of a man and woman walking hand-in-hand along a beach and serves as a powerful metaphor for her husband’s battle to overcome a diagnosis of stage IV oral cancer. Beating cancer is a journey and a team effort. Bragg wrote about that journey in her book, which she hopes will help other cancer patients and their families. “When we got the diagnosis, I immediately tried to learn everything I could,” Barbara Bragg, a Davidson resident, said. “Because we were going to get through this. There was no doubt.” Arthur Bragg, 65, received his diagnosis last year, after he woke up one morning with a lump on his neck. Within a few weeks, the small protrusion had grown to the size of a grape. A check-up with doctors at Lake Norman Ear, Nose and Throat confirmed their fears. “Your heart sinks after you hear the word cancer,” Arthur Bragg said. “You just don’t know how to react.” Bragg is not one to be intimidated by fear. A U.S. Army staff sergeant in the Vietnam War, he was awarded a Bronze Star for valor and a Purple Heart during his service. But a fight against cancer is unrelenting. He received dozens of rounds of chemotherapy and radiation that left him weak, constantly sick, and he had difficulty swallowing for several days. And, along with his misery, he knew his wife was [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-12-23T08:11:02-07:00December, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

The effect of treating institution on outcomes in head and neck cancer

Source: medicalxpress.com Patients with head and neck cancer receiving radiation treatment at an academic center have a higher survival rate than those receiving treatment at a community center, according to a study in the December 2012 issue of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery. "Despite similar rates of treatment completion and rate of treatment breaks between groups, patients treated in academic centers had more advanced cancer but better survival," the authors state in their conclusion. The study evaluated differences in patient characteristics, treatment, and cancer outcomes in the head and neck cancer population at the University of Minnesota from 2002 through 2008. Data were gathered on demographics, general medical data, tumor variables, insurance type, marital status and health behaviors. The study analyzed 355 patients with mucosal head and neck cancer treated with radiation therapy from 2002 to 2008. One hundred forty-five (41%) received radiation treatment at community hospitals, and 210 (59%) were treated at academic hospitals. Within the academic hospitals group, 197 underwent radiation at the University of Minnesota, and 13 received radiation at an alternative academic center. Both treatment groups shared similar characteristics in regard to sex, comorbidity, marital status, work status, insurance, and alcohol use. However, the community group had more current smokers and slightly older patients on average. Patients in the academic group were more likely to live in an urban location and had a higher median income. Patients undergoing radiation treatment at university centers had significantly more advanced cancer. After adjusting for these differences in patient characteristics, patients [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-12-12T19:48:24-07:00December, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

The effect of treating institution on outcomes in head and neck cancer

Source: American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Alexandria, VA — Patients with head and neck cancer receiving radiation treatment at an academic center have a higher survival rate than those receiving treatment at a community center, according to a study in the December 2012 issue of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery. "Despite similar rates of treatment completion and rate of treatment breaks between groups, patients treated in academic centers had more advanced cancer but better survival," the authors state in their conclusion. The study evaluated differences in patient characteristics, treatment, and cancer outcomes in the head and neck cancer population at the University of Minnesota from 2002 through 2008. Data were gathered on demographics, general medical data, tumor variables, insurance type, marital status and health behaviors. The study analyzed 355 patients with mucosal head and neck cancer treated with radiation therapy from 2002 to 2008. One hundred forty-five (41%) received radiation treatment at community hospitals, and 210 (59%) were treated at academic hospitals. Within the academic hospitals group, 197 underwent radiation at the University of Minnesota, and 13 received radiation at an alternative academic center. Both treatment groups shared similar characteristics in regard to sex, comorbidity, marital status, work status, insurance, and alcohol use. However, the community group had more current smokers and slightly older patients on average. Patients in the academic group were more likely to live in an urban location and had a higher median income. Patients undergoing radiation treatment at university centers had significantly more advanced [...]

Charlotte Parker2012-12-07T12:47:56-07:00December, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Seed planted in cancer research

Source: www.ivanhoe.com A cancer diagnoses usually means radiation therapy that will not only affect the tumor, but healthy cells as well. New approaches to cancer treatment have been tested and, according to data, one approach is working. The new procedure for treating solid tumors with radiation was highly effective and minimally toxic to healthy tissue in a mouse model of cancer. Brachytherapy is a technique for treating solid tumors, including prostate cancer, which involves the surgical implantation of radioactive seeds within a patient’s tumor. The seeds expose the tumor cells to high level of radiation while minimizing the negative side effects. However, brachytherapy has its limitations, said Wenge Liu, M.D., Ph.D., and associate research professor of biomedical engineering at Duke University in Durham, NC. “The most prominent factor is the need for survival implantation and removal of the seeds.” So the doctor and his team set out to eliminate the need for surgery. They did this by generating an injectable substance called a polymer that was attached to a source of radioactivity and spontaneously assembled into a radioactive seed after being injected into the tumor. “We believe that this approach provides a useful alternative to existing brachytherapy, which requires a complicated surgical procedure to implant the radioactive seeds,” Liu said. “Moreover, these injectable seeds degrade after the radiation is exhausted so they do not need to be surgically removed.” The tumors were eradicated by a single injection in 67 percent of the mice that received the treatment after being transplanted [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-11-20T19:16:41-07:00November, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Oral cancer patient fights Medicare for coverage

Source: Dr.Biscuspid.com By Donna Domino, Features Editor November 6, 2012 -- Hank Grass has so far successfully fought his submandibular cancer. But the retired policeman is now facing bankruptcy in his losing battle to get Medicare to cover the oral surgeries, dental treatments, and dentures he needs following radiation treatment. The 77-year-old had his salivary gland removed after doctors found cancer at the base of his tongue three years ago. But the radiation and chemotherapy damaged his teeth and gums so much that he had to have all but three of his bottom teeth extracted. Recently, Grass needed periodontal surgery to treat an infection he developed in his mandible from radiation treatments. After Hank Grass developed submandibular cancer, radiation therapy caused osteoradionecrosis, requiring the extraction of all but three of his bottom teeth. All images courtesy of Hank Grass. So far, Grass has spent $8,000 for the dental treatment and dentures, but Medicare won't reimburse him, saying his dental work was not medically necessary and is cosmetic. And since Medicare has refused payment, Grass' insurance company also has refused to cover the dental procedures. "I've been through a living hell," he told DrBicuspid.com. "We're pinching pennies; we're in bankruptcy." Five doctors -- including his dentist, oncologist, oral surgeon, and the doctor who administered chemotherapy -- submitted letters confirming that Grass' dental procedures were directly related to his cancer treatments. But it was to no avail, he said. "You don't have to be a rocket scientist to look at all the [...]

Charlotte Parker2012-11-07T12:40:04-07:00November, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

First gene therapy study in human salivary gland shows promise

Source: National Institutes of Health (NIH) Date: Monday, November 5, 2012 Gene therapy can be performed safely in the human salivary gland, according to scientists at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), part of the National Institutes of Health. This finding comes from the first-ever safety, or Phase I, clinical study of gene therapy in a human salivary gland. Its results, published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, also show that the transferred gene, Aquaporin-1, has great potential to help head and neck cancer survivors who battle with chronic dry mouth. Aquaporin-1 encodes a protein that naturally forms pore-like water channels in the membranes of cells to help move fluid, such as occurs when salivary gland cells secrete saliva into the mouth. These initial results clear the way for additional gene therapy studies in the salivary glands. Although sometimes overlooked, salivary glands present an ideal target for gene therapy. They are easily accessible and, once a gene is introduced, it has no obvious escape route into the bloodstream, where it can have unintended consequences. “You cannot imagine how fulfilling it is to jot down an idea on a napkin in 1991 and then see it enter a clinical trial and help people.,” said Bruce Baum, D.M.D., Ph.D., lead author on the study and recently retired NIDCR scientist who spent the last 21 years moving gene therapy in the salivary glands from the research bench to the clinic. “Can a scientist ask for anything [...]

Charlotte Parker2012-11-06T14:45:46-07:00November, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

GIVING ORAL CANCER A LOUDER VOICE

BY PATTI DIGANGI, RDH, BS Even with our best efforts, oral cancer continues to have a nearly 50% mortality rate at five years. This equals 40,000 deaths annually in the United States with 370,000 worldwide. It is predicted that there will be a world-wide oral cancer epidemic by mid-21st century. Predictions are based on what has been and current situations. The wonderful part of predictions is they can be wrong. Two people, Alison Stahl and Eric Statler, are leading the way to circumvent that future death rate. They challenge all of us across the country not to be reactive — but rather to be proactive in our approach. Volunteers welcome participants to the oral cancer walk. Eric Statler is a stage IV oral cancer survivor. As happens far too often, he was initially misdiagnosed and thought to be experiencing pain related to wisdom teeth. An infection that followed his extractions was treated with antibiotics and he was dismissed. With no resolution and increasing pain, he went back to the dentist who immediately referred him to a specialist. Someone You Should Know: (from left to right:) Mike Stahl, Kim Benkert, Denise Snarski, Bonnie Chisholm-Green, Trish DeDios, Patti DiGangi, Donna Grzegorek, Alison Stahl, Amy Frazin, Lois Roewade, Ewa Posorski, Tracy Fritz, Zuzana Buc, Cynthia Pfeiffer, and Eric Stadler. At the age of 33, Eric was diagnosed with stage IV HPV related oral cancer. Chemotherapy and radiation treatments followed along with multiple disfiguring surgeries and some facial paralysis. Treatments were initially [...]

Charlotte Parker2012-11-02T14:48:17-07:00October, 2012|OCF In The News|