radiation – Page 16 – Oral Cancer News

Facing the facts: HPV-associated head and neck cancers get a second look

Source: www.curetoday.com Author: Charlotte Huff Kevin Pruyne knew he didn’t fit the stereotype of a hard drinker or heavy smoker who one day develops an oral cancer. The 52-year-old mechanic had been working a three-week stint in a remote section of northern Alaska, repairing trucks on an oil field, when he noticed a hard lump beneath his jaw while shaving. For nearly three months, as Pruyne was prescribed antibiotics for a possible infection and then later shuttled between physician specialists, he kept hearing the same thing: the lump could not be cancer. Pruyne only occasionally consumed alcohol and had never smoked. His wife, Kathy, began researching her husband’s symptoms, which included repetitive throat clearing, a nagging sensation that something was lodged in his throat and ringing in his ears. And the lump, which looked like the top half of an egg, felt solid to the touch. This wasn’t some inflamed lymph node from a lingering head cold, Kathy Pruyne says. “He had every symptom [of cancer], but nobody would listen to me.” Pruyne received a diagnosis of stage 4 oral cancer, which started with a tumor at the base of his tongue. He had already begun chemotherapy when he learned that researchers had discovered an association between the human papillomavirus (HPV) and increasing rates of oropharyngeal cancers. He asked that his tissue be tested; the results came back positive. Pruyne says he wanted to know whether his cancer was caused by HPV because “the prognosis is considerably better with HPV-positive cancer.” [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-07-03T17:34:09-07:00July, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Perspectives on Coping Among Patients With Head and Neck Cancer Receiving Radiation

Source: MedScape News Today Abstract and Introduction Abstract Purpose/Objectives: To describe coping among patients with laryngeal and oropharyngeal cancer during definitive radiation with or without chemotherapy. Research Approach: Qualitative content analysis conducted within a larger study. Setting: Two radiation oncology outpatient clinics in Baltimore, MD. Participants: 21 patients with oropharyngeal or laryngeal cancer. Methodologic Approach: Interviews with open-ended questions were conducted during treatment. Questions covered topics such as coping during treatment, treatment-related issues, and resources. Main Research Variables: Coping, treatment, and coping resources. Findings: Patients' self-assessments suggested they were coping or that coping was rough or upsetting. Issues that required coping varied over four time points. Physical side effects were problematic during and one month after treatment completion. Patients used coping to manage the uncertainties of physical and psychological aspects of their experience. Family and friend support was a common coping strategy used by patients, with the intensity of side effects corresponding with the support provided across time points. Conclusions: Findings confirm previous research, but also provide new information about ways in which patients with head and neck cancer cope with their illness experience. Emergent themes provide insight into patients' feelings, issues, and assistance received with coping. Interpretation: Patients with head and neck cancer need education on the amount and severity of side effects and should be appraised of potential difficulties with scheduling, driving, and other logistic issues. Patients also should be informed of helpful types of support and coping strategies. Additional research is needed to expand the findings related [...]

Charlotte Parker2012-06-27T10:08:59-07:00June, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Allentown woman who lost jaw to cancer shares anti-smoking message

Source: LehighVallyLive.com People often stare at Christine Brader. Sometimes strangers ask the Allentown woman what happened to her. She tells them, "I used to smoke." Tobacco users flinch when they hear her response, Brader says. Smoking led to oral cancer, which eventually cost the 49-year-old all of her teeth and part of her lower jaw.Brader has had three bouts with the disease since her first diagnosis five years ago, but is now cancer free. "I have to go through life disfigured, all because I made a bad decision and smoked," she says. Brader doesn't want others to follow in her footsteps, so she is working with Tobacco Free Northeast Pennsylvania to spread the word about the dangers of smoking. The organization serves a 10-county area, including Lehigh and Northampton, spokeswoman Alice Dalla Palu said. Brader recently shared her story in a radio advertisement broadcast during the week of World No Tobacco Day, which was May 31. In the ad -- part of the Centers for Disease Control "Tips from Former Smokers" campaign -- she describes preparing liquid meals and consuming them through a feeding tube. Last year, Brader appeared in a TV commercial for Truth, a national smoking prevention campaign that targets youth. BREAK THE HABIT: Call 1-800-784-8669 or visit tobaccofreene.com to get help quitting smoking. She started smoking at 16 to fit in with her peers and continued for 28 years. Brader quit cold turkey at 44 after learning in June 2007 that the growth inside her cheek was cancer. [...]

Charlotte Parker2012-06-18T10:03:27-07:00June, 2012|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

Cannabis chewing gum targets oral side effects

Source: Author: staff The company Medical Marijuana has acquired a 50% stake in CanChew, a cannabinoid (CBD)-based chewing gum developed as a pharmaceutical delivery mechanism to relieve pain, xerostomia, and other side effects of disease and disease treatment. The acquisition gives Medical Marijuana worldwide exclusive rights to develop, manufacture, market, and distribute both tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and non-THC hemp-derived cannabinoid-infused chewing gum to medical marijuana consumers, according to the company. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration currently considers non-THC based hemp products to be "food-based" and therefore legal without a medical marijuana license. Cannabinoids have had positive effects in clinical trials on neuralgic pain, multiple sclerosis, and spinal cord injuries, nausea and vomiting from chemotherapy and radiation treatment, as well as palliative treatment of various cancers and HIV/AIDS, the company stated. According to Sanammad, the company that developed CanChew, the gum can: Alleviate acute and chronic pain Diminish nausea and vomiting, as well as cachexia, which is a syndrome common in cancer patients on chemotherapy that causes appetite loss and loss of weight and muscle-mass Enhance appetite Improve muscle relaxation, coordination, and mobility Diminish xerostomia Promote fresh breath and maintain oral hygiene "Functional chewing gum is well-established as an effective way to deliver pharmaceutical active ingredients," said Michael Llamas, president of Medical Marijuana. "A great example is Nicorette. Within 10 minutes of chewing Nicorette gum, the consumer's symptoms of nicotine withdrawal begin to ease. Our formulations also have an exceedingly safer side-effect profile compared to the currently available analgesics such as [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-06-08T08:02:29-07:00June, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Dental oncology: Meeting a growing need

Source: Dr.Biscuspid.com The good news is more cancer patients are surviving than ever before. The bad news is it creates new challenges for the medical community to provide adequate and appropriate aftercare and treat the many short- and long-term side effects of cancer treatment. For example, chemotherapy and radiation often cause oral problems such as mucositis, xerostomia, oral and systemic infections, and accelerated caries development. But many dentists refuse to treat cancer patients with these conditions due to the increased risk of osteonecrosis from radiation treatment or bisphosphonate use. Enter Ryan Lee, DDS, MPH, MHA, who is finishing a postgraduate clinical fellowship in dental oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. He hopes to help solve the shortage of dentists with the training to treat the growing number of cancer patients who need specialized oral care. Ryan Lee, DDS, is one of a handful of dentists specializing in dental oncology. Dr. Lee is one of two fellows in Sloan-Kettering's dental oncology fellowship program, which has been offering the specialty training for at least a decade. "All along I've liked working on medically complex cases with dental needs, so cancer fit into that niche very well," he told DrBicuspid.com. "I've come to realize how much of a growing need it is and how little is available to meet that need," he explained. Currently, only two cancer hospitals offer fellowship training programs for dental oncology: the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. [...]

Charlotte Parker2012-06-07T10:09:20-07:00June, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Oral sex may cause more oral cancer than smoking in men, researchers say

Source: www.bloomberg.com Author: Robert Langreth A virus spread by oral sex may cause more cases of throat cancer in men than smoking, a finding that spurred calls for a new large-scale test of a drug used against the infection. Researchers examined 271 throat-tumor samples collected over 20 years ending in 2004 and found that the percentage of oral cancer linked to the human papillomavirus, or HPV, surged to 72 percent from about 16 percent, according to a report released yesterday in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. By 2020, the virus-linked throat tumors -- which mostly affected men -- will become more common than HPV-caused cervical cancer, the report found. HPV is known for infecting genitals. The finding that it can spread to the throat and cause cancer may increase pressure on Merck & Co., the second-largest U.S. drugmaker, to conduct large-scale trials to see if its vaccine Gardasil, which wards off cervical cancer in women, also prevents HPV throat infections. “The burden of cancer caused by HPV is going to shift from women to men in this decade,” Maura Gillison, an oncologist at Ohio State University and study senior author, said in a telephone interview. “What we believe is happening is that the number of sexual partners and exposure to HPV has risen over that same time period.” Gillison said she worked with researchers at Whitehouse Station, New Jersey-based Merck several years ago to design a study in men. After Merck acquired Schering-Plough Corp. in 2009, though, the trial “was canceled,” [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-05-20T20:54:05-07:00May, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Actor Michael Douglas Partners With Oral Cancer Foundation For Early Detection PSA Campaign

LOS ANGELES, May 14, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Actor and producer Michael Douglas has donated his time to help create a television public service announcement (PSA) on behalf of the Oral Cancer Foundation (OCF), a non-profit organization dedicated to helping those affected by the disease. The PSA will support the Foundation's efforts to educate the public about the need for annual screenings to catch oral cancers in their early, most survivable stages. The public service announcement will begin airing in June, and will continue to air nationwide through summer and autumn. Approximately 40,000 people in the US will be newly diagnosed with oral cancer in 2012. This includes those cancers that occur in the mouth itself, in the very back of the mouth known as the oropharynx, and on the exterior lip of the mouth. There are two distinct pathways by which most people come to oral cancer. One is through the use of tobacco and alcohol, and the other is through exposure to the HPV-16 virus (human papilloma virus version 16), a newly identified etiology, and the same virus which is responsible for the vast majority of cervical cancers in women. While oral cancer has historically been linked to tobacco and alcohol use, this is not simply a smoker's disease any longer. New data shows that the fastest-growing segment of newly diagnosed cases is now young, non-smokers. Most startling, is the fact that while many other cancers have been in decline in recent years, the occurrence of oral / oropharyngeal [...]

Charlotte Parker2012-05-14T19:59:49-07:00May, 2012|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

Alberta committee suggests free HPV vaccine for boys

Source: CBC News Cost to the province estimated between $5 million and $8 million The province is considering offering boys free immunizations against the human papillomavirus. The HPV vaccination is currently offered on a voluntary basis to all girls in Alberta entering Grade 5. The vaccine is said to prevent 70 per cent of cervical cancers, according to Alberta Health and Wellness. Two strains of HPV are also thought to be a cause of anal, penile and oral cancers. Susan Morgan's husband was diagnosed with Stage 4 oral cancer, which they later found out was caused by the HPV virus. She has been lobbying to have the vaccine for boys covered by the province and was astounded the HPV vaccination was only free for girls. Morgan says the effects of the radiation and chemotherapy treatment for the cancer were horrific. "You have open sores in your mouth,” she said. “You start to lose your ability to swallow; you end up on a feeding tube." Free vaccine for boys recommended A report by an advisory committee in Alberta recommends extending HPV coverage to boys. Chief medical officer Dr. Andre Corriveau says that would cost between $5 million and $8 million. Now he'll review the report and advise the province by the end of the month. "I have a responsibility right now to make sure our system has the capacity to deliver," he said. But, for the Morgans, waiting is not an option and they have decided to pay hundreds of dollars [...]

Charlotte Parker2012-05-07T13:25:56-07:00May, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Exercise helps cancer patients

Source: www.dailyrx.com Author: staff A small trial shows that rehabilitation therapy for head and neck cancer patients clearly improves their ability to swallow faster, something that's often damaged with the cancer treatment. Intense treatment for cancers of the head and neck often involves both chemotherapy and radiation. With many important muscles involved in the region, preventing the areas targeted by radiation from weakening can be avoided with swallowing exercises. The study compared a control group given no swallowing exercises to another group given the series of targeted rehabilitation therapy. It took nine months for the two groups to have equivalent ability, highlighting the importance of preserving muscle function prior to cancer treatment. Importantly, rehabilitation after cancer treatment can prevent some of the worst side effects, and allows patients to get back to their normal day to day life. The initial damage from cancer treatment was extensive, as both groups had equal ability immediately after cancer therapy. Yet the muscle function rebounded quickly in the rehabilitation group, as results at 3 and 6 months after treatment were improved as a result of the swallowing exercises. The group given exercises also rated themselves as more comfortable eating in public, an important qualifier in showing how well the exercises worked. "With improvements in swallowing function from post-treatment exercises, interest in the use of prophylactic swallowing exercises to prevent or minimize post-CRT swallowing dysfunction has grown" the authors write as background in the study. "Indeed, some cancer treatment centers recommend prophylactic swallowing exercises for [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-04-30T12:28:50-07:00April, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Study: Oral cancers take financial toll

Source: Dr.Biscuspid.com April 26, 2012 -- The cost of treating individuals with oral, orapharyngeal, and salivary gland cancers is significant, particularly for patients who undergo all three forms of treatment, according to a new study by Delta Dental of Michigan's Research and Data Institute. And for many that is only the beginning of the financial impact of the disease. The project, which involved Thomson Reuters, Delta Dental of Wisconsin, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry, began in March 2010. It is the first retrospective data analysis of a large number of head and neck cancer patients in the U.S. analyzing direct and indirect costs and comparing those costs to a matched comparison group, according to the authors (Head Neck Onc, April 26, 2012). Using data from the 2004-2008 Thomson Reuters MarketScan Databases: Commercial Claims and Encounters Database, Medicare Supplemental and Coordination of Benefits Database, Medicaid Multi-State Database, and the Health Productivity and Management Database, the researchers retrospectively analyzed claims data of 6,812 OC/OP/SG patients with employer-sponsored health insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits. They found that, on average, total annual healthcare spending during the year following diagnosis was $79,151, compared with $7,419 in a group comprising similar patients without these cancers. They also found that the average cost of care almost doubled when patients received all three types of treatment: surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. Healthcare costs were higher for oral cancer patients with commercial insurance ($71,732, n = 3,918), Medicare ($35,890, n = 2,303), and [...]

Charlotte Parker2012-04-27T10:16:48-07:00April, 2012|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|