radiation – Page 21 – Oral Cancer News

Mayo Clinic finds robotic surgery effective for removing hard-to-reach throat cancer

Source: www.eurekalert.org Author: press release Robotic surgery has become a mainstream tool for removing an ever-increasing variety of head and neck tumors. Now, a team of head and neck surgeons from Mayo Clinic has found robotic surgery can treat cancer in the narrow, hard-to-reach area beyond the tongue at the top of the voice box. Some patients were able to avoid further treatment with chemotherapy or radiation, and most could resume normal eating and speaking. "We've known it's useful for tongue base and tonsil cancers, but we wanted to assess its effectiveness in the larynx," says Kerry Olsen, M.D., Mayo Clinic otolaryngologist and senior author of the study that was presented April 29 at the Combined Otolaryngological Spring Meetings in Chicago. The investigation of transoral robotic surgery (TORS) followed nine patients for up to three years following removal of supraglottic squamous cell carcinoma, which affects the area of the larynx above the vocal cords. Most of the patients had advanced-stage disease. The results showed TORS effectively removed cancer, with "clean," disease-free margins, and was easier to perform than the approach of transoral laser microsurgery via a laryngoscope. The patients also underwent the surgical removal of their adjacent neck nodes at the same operation. "We were pleased with the cancer outcomes," Dr. Olsen says. "We also found patients had minimal trouble after surgery, in most cases resuming normal eating, swallowing and speaking." With TORS, the robotic arms that enter the mouth include a thin camera, an arm with a cautery or [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-04-30T16:14:07-07:00April, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Soy increases radiation’s ability to kill lung cancer cells, study shows

Source: www.eurekalert.org/ Author: press release Soy isoflavones block cancer cells' DNA repair mechanisms while protecting normal tissue A component in soybeans increases radiation's ability to kill lung cancer cells, according to a study published in the April issue of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology, the official monthly journal of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer. "To improve radiotherapy for lung cancer cells, we are studying the potential of natural non-toxic components of soybeans, called soy isoflavones, to augment the effect of radiation against the tumor cells and at the same time protect normal lung against radiation injury," said Dr. Gilda Hillman, an associate professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Wayne State University's School of Medicine and the Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit. "These natural soy isoflavones can sensitize cancer cells to the effects of radiotherapy, by inhibiting survival mechanisms which cancer cells activate to protect themselves," Hillman said. "At the same time, soy isoflavones can also act as antioxidants in normal tissues, which protect them against unintended damage from the radiotherapy. In a recent study, published in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology, we demonstrated that soy isoflavones increase killing of cancer cells by radiation via blocking DNA repair mechanisms, which are turned on by the cancer cells to survive the damage caused by radiation." Human A549 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells that were treated with soy isoflavones before radiation showed more DNA damage and less repair activity than cells that received only radiation. Researchers [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-04-29T07:30:22-07:00April, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

HPV is now the leading cause of oral cancer in the US: learn the facts.

Source: New York Daily News HPV, otherwise known as the human papillomavirus, is a leading cause of cervical cancer for women but the nasty virus is now causing a spike in oral cancer and ravaging an entirely different group: men. Cases of oral cancer resulting from exposure to the HPV-16 strain of the virus are hitting epidemic proportions in the U.S., doctors say. Though the mention of oral cancer evokes images of gravely-voiced chain-smokers, the disease now has a new face: mostly white, male, non-smokers in their late 30s and early 40s. The tumors forming on the back of their tongues and tonsils have nothing to do with nicotine – they are directly linked to engaging in oral sex with multiple female partners. "If you've had more than five or six sexual partners, you are at a higher risk," Dr. Eric M. Genden, professor and chair of head and neck surgery at Mount Sinai Medical center told the Daily News. "We're only now beginning to see the beginning of a bell curve." Women can get it from men as well although their chances are lower, according to doctors. The human papillomavirus (HPV), a nasty bug with strains that causes genital warts and cervical cancer in women, is now the top cause of oral cancer in men, beating out smoking and drinking, according to reports from the New England Journal of Medicine and the Journal of Oncology as well as other research and treating institutions. The number of smokers in the [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-04-21T13:52:00-07:00April, 2011|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

Patient who loses jaw to oral cancer from smoking tells her story

Source: Los Angeles Times By: Milton D. Carrero, The Morning Call Look at Christine Brader's deep, amber eyes and you will see her beauty. Look beyond her contorted lips, and the jaw she lost as a three-time oral cancer survivor. Radiation took away her teeth, but she smiles. "I still feel like I've lost a great deal, she says, "but I'm still alive. And as long as I am alive, I am going to do what I can to help other people." Brader, 48, is sharing her face, her story and her time to tell the world about the dangers of smoking. The South Whitehall woman, who smoked about half-a-pack a day for 28 years, is featured in the national Truth campaign. Sponsored by the American Legacy Foundation, the series of ads present the unsweetened reality of those living with a serious illness caused by smoking. Brader's life is testament of resilience against oral cancer — a disease that, in five years, kills more than half of the 37,000 Americans diagnosed with it yearly, according to the Oral Cancer Foundation. "I still may not make it," she says, "and I don't have another chance in me. If I get it again, I'm done." Brader's life seemed idyllic until she discovered she had cancer. She had a stable job, a beautiful house in the woods and two teenage children who inspired her. But in 2007, she went to her family doctor, believing that she had a sinus infection. Her situation [...]

Charlotte Parker2017-03-29T19:08:10-07:00April, 2011|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

Vandetanib Restores Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cells’ Sensitivity to Cisplatin and Radiation In Vivo and In Vitro

Abstract Purpose: We investigated whether vandetanib, an inhibitor of the tyrosine kinase activities of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), and rearranged during transfection (RET), could augment the antitumor activity of radiation with or without cisplatin in preclinical in vitro and in vivo models of human head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Experimental Design: OSC-19 and HN5 HNSCC cells that were cisplatin and radioresistant were treated with vandetanib, cisplatin, and radiation alone or in combination in vitro and in vivo using an orthotopic nude mouse model. Treatment effects were assessed using clonogenic survival assay, tumor volume, bioluminescence imaging, tumor growth delay, survival, microvessel density, tumor and endothelial cell apoptosis, and EGFR and Akt phosphorylation data. Results: Vandetanib plus cisplatin radiosensitized HNSCC cells in vitro and in vivo. The combination treatment with vandetanib, cisplatin, and radiation was superior to the rest of treatments (including the double combinations) in antitumoral effects, prolonging survival, decreasing cervical lymph node metastases in vivo. It also increased both tumor and tumor-associated endothelial cell apoptosis and decreased microvessel density in vivo. An analysis of tumor growth delay data revealed that vandetanib plus cisplatin enhanced radioresponse in vivo. All vandetanib-containing treatments inhibited EGFR and Akt phosphorylation in vitro and in vivo. Conclusion: The addition of vandetanib to combination therapy with cisplatin and radiation was able to effectively overcome cisplatin and radioresistance in in vitro and in vivo models of HNSCC. Further study of this regimen in clinical trials may be warranted. Clin [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-04-04T12:36:09-07:00April, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Smokeless tobacco may be on its way out of Major League Baseball parks

Source: www.latimes.com Author: Karen Kaplan, Los Angeles Times Major League Baseball begins the 2011 season in two days, and if public heath officials have their way it will be the last season during which players will be able to chew and spit smokeless tobacco on the field. The leaders of 15 public health departments in cities with professional baseball teams sent a letter Monday to MLB Commissioner Bud Selig and Michael Weiner, executive director of the union representing major league players, urging them to forbid the use of smokeless tobacco products. Tobacco has been banned in baseball’s minor leagues since 1993. “The use of smokeless tobacco endangers the health of Major League ballplayers and sets a terrible example for the millions of young people who watch baseball at the ballparks and on TV,” the health chiefs wrote. The letter continues: Tobacco use is the number one cause of preventable death in the United States, killing more than400,000 people each year. As cigarette smoking has declined, the tobacco industry has increased its marketing of smokeless products and is spending record sums to promote them. But smokeless tobacco use is itself very dangerous, causing serious diseases of the mouth, including oral cancer. In addition, there is reason to worry that smokeless tobacco use by young persons may serve as a gateway to cigarette smoking, this nation’s leading preventable cause of premature death and disease. As officials in Major League cities around the country, we know that baseball is important to civic life [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-03-30T10:26:31-07:00March, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Jury finds no negligence by orthodontist in Annadale woman’s tongue-cancer death

Source: Silive.com Tragic teen: Stephanie Hare's cancer was too far advanced, and aspiring teacher died in November 2004. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Annadale resident Stephanie Hare was only 19 years old when a cancerous lesion was detected on her tongue in April 2004. By that time, it was too late. Despite undergoing surgery to remove most of her tongue and submitting to painful radiation and chemotherapy treatments, the vivacious young woman who aspired to be a teacher died seven months later at the age of 20. Ms. Hare’s family contends her orthodontist, Dr. Michael J. Donato of Richmond, was responsible for her death by failing to detect the lesion during a December 2003 visit. However, a jury in state Supreme Court, St. George, disagreed. The panel on Wednesday found Dr. Donato was not negligent and had followed standard dental practices and care when he examined Ms. Hare on Dec. 19, 2003. "Stephanie’s death was not anybody’s fault," Dr. Donato’s lawyer, Douglas J. Fitzmorris, told jurors in his summation. "Stephanie died of cancer. Dr. Donato’s not to blame. The whole specter of this lesion being missed by Dr. Donato is not what happened. There was no deviation from accepted practice." Jason C. Molesso, the lawyer for Ms. Hare’s family, had asked jurors to consider a $2.3 million award for her pain and suffering if they found Dr. Donato liable. "This case is about choices," Molesso told jurors in his closing argument as Ms. Hare’s family wept and hugged each other in the [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-03-18T09:45:15-07:00March, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Oral cancer screenings a must, say malpractice attorneys

Source: Dr.Bicuspid.com By: Donna Domino March 10, 2011 -- The patient was insistent: All she wanted was to get her teeth whitened for an upcoming high school reunion. She came in for the $99 Internet special the dentist had run and mentioned a sore on her tongue, but she said it was recent, attributing it to a tongue-biting habit. The dentist did the procedure but advised the patient that she needed a follow-up oral exam. The patient eventually went to an oral surgeon who diagnosed the young mother with terminal tongue cancer. She sued the dentist who did the teeth whitening for malpractice, for missing her oral cancer. That case, Tale of the Tainted Tongue, was dramatized at the recent Chicago Dental Society Midwinter Meeting in a session highlighting the growing number of malpractice suits over missed oral cancer screenings. Anne Oldenburg, an attorney with Alholm, Monahan, Klauke, Hay & Oldenburg, which specializes in dental malpractice cases, participated in the mock trial. Ten years ago she didn't have many such cases, she told DrBicuspid.com. But that scenario has changed dramatically in recent years, she said, noting that she is currently involved in three dental malpractice cases. The mock trial was similar to a previous lawsuit she handled, in which a young man in his 40s died. "It was oral cancer that was clearly missed," Oldenburg recalled. The family settled for $750,000 because the children didn't want to go through the litigation process, but many death cases can reach $1 million [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-03-14T11:58:49-07:00March, 2011|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

Tonsillar squamous cell carcinoma- are we making a difference?

Source: SAGE Journals Online Objective. To analyze outcomes in patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SCCA) of the tonsil from the years 1998 to 2006. To assess factors that may affect disease-specific survival, such as patient characteristics and/or treatment modality. Study Design and Setting. National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program. Subjects and Methods. The SEER database was used to perform a population-based cohort analysis for patients diagnosed with SCCA of the tonsil from 1998 to 2006. Disease-specific survival was correlated with sex, age, ethnicity, year of diagnosis, and treatment modality in a univariate Cox proportional hazards analysis and a multiple Cox-regression model with and without interaction effect. Results. Applied inclusion criteria resulted in 8378 patients. Of this patient cohort, 80% were male and 85% were white. The mean patient age at diagnosis was 58.1 years. On univariate and multivariate analyses, ethnicities other than white carried a significantly higher rate of disease-specific death (hazard ratio = 1.71, P < .001). Each additional year of age at the time of diagnosis carried approximately a 4% increase in likelihood of disease-specific death. With each passing year of time at diagnosis, patients carried a decreased risk of disease-specific death (P < .001); this value was significant in all 3 statistical models. Patients who underwent external-beam radiation had a higher likelihood of disease-specific survival with each passing year at time of diagnosis. Conclusion. Population analysis based on the SEER database reveals increased disease-specific survival from tonsillar SCCA in more recent years. This [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-03-12T11:29:08-07:00March, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Prevention of radiation-induced salivary hypofunction following hKGF gene delivery to murine submandibular glands

Source: clincancerres.aacrjournals.org Authors: Changyu Zheng et al. Purpose: Salivary glands are significantly affected when head and neck cancer patients are treated by radiation. We evaluated the effect of human keratinocyte growth factor (hKGF) gene transfer to murine salivary glands on the prevention of radiation-induced salivary hypofunction. Experimental Design: A hybrid serotype 5 adenoviral vector encoding hKGF (AdLTR2EF1alpha-hKGF) was constructed. Female C3H mice, 8 weeks old, were irradiated by single (15 Gy) or fractionated (6 Gy for 5 days) doses to induce salivary hypofunction. AdLTR2EF1alpha-hKGF or Adcontrol was administered (108 - 1010 particles/gland) to both submandibular glands (SGs) by retrograde ductal instillation before irradiation. Salivary flow was measured following pilocarpine stimulation. Human KGF levels were measured by ELISA. SG cell proliferation was measured with bromodeoxyuridine labeling. Endothelial and progenitor or stem cells in SGs were measured by flow cytometry. The effect on SG hKGF production on SCC VII tumor growth was assessed. Results: In 3 separate single dose irradiation experiments salivary flow rates of mice administered the AdLTR2EF1alpha-hKGF vector were not significantly different from non-irradiated control mice (P greater than 0.05). Similarly, in 3 separate fractionated irradiation experiments the hKGF-expressing vector prevented salivary hypofunction dramatically. Transgenic hKGF protein was found at high levels in serum and SG extracts. AdLTR2EF1alpha-hKGF-treated mice showed increased cell proliferation, and numbers of endothelial cells, compared to mice treated with AdControl. hKGF gene transfer had no effect on SCC VII tumor growth plus/minus radiation. Conclusions: hKGF gene transfer prevents salivary hypofunction caused by either single or fractionated [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-03-03T22:53:20-07:00March, 2011|Oral Cancer News|