recurrence – Page 3 – Oral Cancer News

Hopkins team shows methylation-specific ddPCR may help predict head and neck cancer recurrence

Source: www.genomeweb.com Author: Madeleine Johnson Oncologists probe the margins of surgical sites to detect epigenetic indicators that can anticipate cancer recurrence. But deep surgical margin analysis with biopsy can alter the site making it challenging to return to the exact spot if there is a problem. It also takes only a few rogue cancer cells to cause a recurrence and these may be missed by histological techniques. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have now developed a method using Bio-Rad's Droplet Digital PCR platform that is amenable to molecular methods and only requires a tiny sample from the surgical margin. Specifically, in a study published this week in Cancer Prevention Research, scientists examined an epigenetic signature of PAX5 gene methlyation previously determined to be specific to cancer, and found that it could be used to predict local cancer recurrence after tumor removal for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, or HNSCC. In a prospective study of 82 patients, if the tumors had methylated PAX5 then the presence of residual methylated cells in the surgical margins was a predictor of poor locoregional recurrence-free survival. And among patients on subgroup of patients who did not receive radiation treatment after surgery, the ddPCR method increased detection of the PAX5 maker from 29 percent to 71 percent. Compared to conventional methylation analysis, the ddPCR method also reduced the number of false negatives. Importantly, the authors noted in the study that the method can be performed within three hours by one person. Thus, [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2015-08-27T14:39:59-07:00August, 2015|Oral Cancer News|

HPV DNA detected in mouthwash predicts oral cancer recurrence

Source: www.onclive.com Author: Kelly Johnson The presence of HPV16 DNA is common at diagnosis of HPV-related oropharyngeal carcinoma (HPV-OPC) but rare after treatment. HPV-OPC has a favorable prognosis; however, 10% to 25% of patients experience disease progression, usually within 2 years of treatment. Patients who have HPV 16 DNA in their saliva following treatment of their oropharyngeal cancer are more likely to have their cancer recur, and a prospective cohort study published in JAMA Oncology has shown that a simple mouth rinse can be used to detect it. Gypsyamber D’Souza Gypsyamber D’Souza, PhD, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and fellow researchers monitored 124 patients with newly diagnosed oropharyngeal cancer from 2009 through 2013. They collected oral rinse and gargle samples using 10 mL of mouthwash at the time of diagnosis as well as after treatment 9, 12, 18, and 24 months later. HPV16 DNA was detected in 67 out of 124 of the participants testing positive. Of the 67 patients who had HPV16 DNA in their saliva at the time of diagnosis, five patients (7%) were found to still have traces of HPV16 in their oral rinses following treatment. All five patients developed a local recurrence of oropharyngeal cancer, three of whom died from the disease. “It’s a very small number so we have to be somewhat cautious,” said D’Souza, an associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the Bloomberg School and a member of the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, in a statement. However, [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2015-08-27T14:25:55-07:00August, 2015|Oral Cancer News|

Researchers ID potential prognostic marker for recurrence of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Source: medicalxpress.com Author: press release A new study provides the first evidence that the mediator complex subunit 15 (MED15) may play a crucial role in the pathophysiology of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). MED15 overexpression was found to be associated with higher mortality rates in HNSCC patients with cancer recurrence, particularly in oral cavity/oropharyngeal tumors, according to the study published in The American Journal of Pathology. MED15 overexpression was also associated with heavy alcohol consumption, which is an HNSCC risk factor. HNSCC is the sixth most common cancer worldwide and has a high rate of recurrence and early metastatic disease, resulting in approximately 350,000 deaths each year. "Our findings suggest that MED15 may serve as a prognostic marker for HNSCC recurrence and as a therapeutic target in HNSCC patients suffering from recurrences," said lead investigator Sven Perner, MD, PhD, of the Department of Prostate Cancer Research, Institute of Pathology, and the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at the University Hospital of Bonn (Germany). Mediator is a multiprotein complex that regulates many signaling pathways. In humans, it consists of 30 subunits including MED15, which has been implicated in breast and prostate cancer, with particular attention being given to its link to transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signaling. "The evidence that multiple aberrant pathways account for the progression of HNSCC calls for a much deeper understanding of the effect of molecules involved in these signaling pathways upon HNSCC progression," noted Dr. Perner. To investigate the role of MED15 in HNSCC, the researchers analyzed tissues from 113 patients [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2015-03-23T06:29:12-07:00March, 2015|Oral Cancer News|

Researchers propose new staging model for HPV+ oropharyngeal cancer

Source: www.drbicuspid.com Author: Donna Domino Researchers are proposing a new tumor-staging model for predicting the outcomes and guiding treatments for patients with human papillomavirus (HPV)-related oropharyngeal cancer (OPC), according to a new study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Since HPV-related cancer differs significantly from smoking-related cancer, less intensive treatment strategies may be more appropriate, the study authors concluded. Treatment regimens for oropharyngeal cancer have intensified over time and carry a toxicity burden, the Canadian researchers noted. In the last few years, research has found that oropharyngeal cancer caused by HPV behaves differently than OPC caused by smoking and alcohol, yet both cancers use the same tumor classification model. Therefore, regardless of whether the OPC was caused by HPV or smoking, the treatment and perceived prognosis based on tumor staging has remained the same, even though patient outcomes vary considerably, the study authors noted (Journal of Clinical Oncology, February 10, 2015, Vol. 31:5, pp. 543-550). A new tumor-staging model will help separate patients with promising prognoses from those with negative ones to design the most appropriate treatment strategies for each group, according to the researchers from Toronto's Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. The researchers analyzed 899 oropharyngeal cancer patients, including 505 (56%) patients with HPV who had been treated with radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy from 2001 to 2009. The HPV-positive patients (382) had higher recurrence-free survival rates after about four years compared with HPV-negative patients (123). Disease recurrence was 16.7% (64) among HPV-positive patients; 38.2% among HPV-negative patients (47). The tumor staging [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2015-02-25T08:55:13-07:00February, 2015|Oral Cancer News|

Experience counts with radiation for head and neck cancer

Source: www.oncologynurseadvisor.com Author: Kathy Boltz, PhD When it comes to specialized cancer surgery, the more experienced the surgeon, the better the outcome is generally true. The same might hold true for radiation therapy used to treat head and neck cancer, according to a new study. Published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology(1) with an accompanying editorial(2), the study compared survival and other outcomes in 470 patients treated with radiation therapy at 101 treatment centers through a clinical trial held from 2002 to 2005. The trial was sponsored by the National Cancer Institute and organized by the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG). It was conducted by researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital in Columbus. The findings indicated that patients treated at the less-experienced centers were more likely to have cancer recurrence compared with highly experienced centers (62% vs 42%, respectively, at 5 years) and had poorer overall survival compared with those at the highly experienced centers (51% vs 69% 5-year survival, respectively). “Our findings suggest that institutional experience strongly influences outcomes in patients treated with radiation therapy for head and neck cancer,” said first author Evan Wuthrick, MD. “They indicate that patients do better when treated at centers where more of these procedures are performed versus centers that do fewer.” Radiation therapy for head and neck cancer requires complex treatment planning that can vary considerably between institutions and physicians. In addition, significant short-term and long-term side effects can occur that require management [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2015-01-07T19:33:19-07:00January, 2015|Oral Cancer News|

Targeted radiation, drug therapy combo less toxic for recurrent head, neck cancers

Source: medicalxpress.com Author: University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences Patients with a recurrence of head and neck cancer who have previously received radiation treatment can be treated more quickly, safely and with fewer side effects with high doses of targeted radiation known as Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) in combination with a drug that also carefully targets cancerous tumors. These findings from a UPMC CancerCenter study were presented today at the American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) annual meeting in San Francisco. SBRT uses concentrated radiation beams in high doses to destroy tumors in difficult or hard-to-reach areas. The treatment is noninvasive, which minimizes damage to surrounding healthy tissue and organs. Clinicians at UPMC CancerCenter, partner with the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI), used SBRT in combination with the drug cetuximab for patients who had a recurrence of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck after going through radiation. "The prognosis for patients who have a recurrence of head and neck cancer that cannot be surgically removed is already poor. Traditional treatments can be associated with significant side effects so severe that patients give up on the therapy altogether," said Dwight E. Heron, M.D., vice chairman of radiation oncology at UPCI and director of Radiation Oncology Services at UPMC CancerCenter. "By taking these patients through an abbreviated course of targeted drug and SBRT, we minimize the side effects of treatment." Doctors treated 48 patients with the combination therapy between July 2007 and March 2013. All of [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2014-09-17T18:54:50-07:00September, 2014|Oral Cancer News|

Blood test could predict oral cancer recurrence

Source: www.livescience.com Author: Rachael Rettner, Senior Writer A new blood and saliva test that looks for traces of the human papillomavirus (HPV) can predict whether some people with oral cancers will have their cancer come back, early research suggests. It helps to know as soon as possible that cancer has returned, because tumors that are caught early are easier to treat. In the study, the researchers analyzed blood and saliva samples from 93 people with head and neck cancers; about 80 percent of these patients had cancers that tested positive for HPV. All of their cancers had previously been treated with surgery, radiation or chemotherapy. The researchers looked for fragments of DNA from HPV-16, a strain of the virus that is strongly linked with head and neck cancer. The virus may be found in cancer cells that linger in the body after treatment, the researchers said. Among people with HPV-positive tumors, the new test identified 70 percent of those whose cancer returned within three years, the researchers said. "Until now, there has been no reliable biological way to identify which patients are at higher risk for recurrence, so these tests should greatly help [to] do so," study researcher Dr. Joseph Califano, professor of otolaryngology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, said in a statement. Patients with head and neck cancer typically visit the doctor every one to three months during the first year after their diagnoses to check for cancer recurrence. But new tumors in the tonsils, throat and base [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2014-08-02T11:03:13-07:00August, 2014|Oral Cancer News|

Jim Kelly’s toughest game: Fighting oral cancer

Source: www.foxnews.com Author: Dr. Manny Alvarez Jim Kelly, the Hall of Fame quarterback who played for the Buffalo Bills until 1996, is one of the greatest football players that I have ever seen. During his football career, I followed him closely and was always in awe of his athletic abilities, his leadership qualities and his love of family. Unfortunately, Jim Kelly is currently battling a second recurrence of oral cancer and has been scheduled to undergo surgery in an attempt to control the disease. His wife, Jill, told the Associated Press that her 54-year-old husband’s cancer is aggressive and beginning to spread. I’ve been following Jim Kelly’s health struggles and have been thinking about him, praying that he gets better. It is easy to think of some humans as immortal – especially when you’re looking at an individual as physically fit as Jim Kelly. But we tend to forget that sometimes nature has a unique plan for all of us. However, Jim Kelly’s struggles can serve as a reminder for us all to be vigilant about our health. Jim Kelly is suffering from oral cancer, which doesn’t get the attention that it deserves, despite the fact that 42,000 new cases will be diagnosed in 2014, according to the National Cancer Institute. Oral cancers are any cancers occurring in the oral cavity, which starts in your throat and extends all the way to your lips. The sad part about this disease is that oral cancers are typically not identified early, which [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2014-03-30T10:22:43-07:00March, 2014|Oral Cancer News|

Recurrent mouth and throat cancers less deadly when caused by HPV

Source: www.oncologynurseadvisor.com Author: Kathy Boltz, PhD People with late-stage cancer at the back of the mouth or throat that recurs after chemotherapy and radiation treatment are twice as likely to be alive 2 years later if their cancer is caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), suggests new research. This study was presented at the 2014 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium, held in Scottsdale, Arizona. Previous studies have found that people with so-called HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancers are more likely to survive than those whose cancers are related to smoking or whose origins are unknown. The new study shows that the longer survival pattern holds even if the cancer returns. Oropharyngeal cancers, which once were linked primarily to heavy smoking, are now more likely to be caused by HPV, a virus that is transmitted by oral and other kinds of sex. The rise in HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancers has been attributed to changes in sexual behaviors, most notably an increase in oral sex partners. For the study, the researchers used data provided by the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group on 181 patients with late-stage oropharyngeal cancer whose HPV status was known and whose cancer had spread after primary treatment. There were 105 HPV-positive participants and 76 HPV-negative ones. Although the median time to recurrence was roughly the same (8.2 months vs 7.3 months, respectively), some 54.6% of those with HPV-positive cancer were alive 2 years after recurrence, whereas only 27.6% of those with HPV-negative cancers were still alive at that point in time. [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2014-03-19T07:11:24-07:00March, 2014|Oral Cancer News|

Researchers identify a gene that predicts recurrence in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/ Author: press release Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck—which typically arises from thin, flat cells that line moist surfaces inside the mouth, nose and throat—is the sixth most common type of cancer worldwide, and it has a relatively low five-year survival rate and a high recurrence rate. Recently, the disease has become even more prevalent among adults 40 years of age or younger. These statistics underscore the need for a greater understanding of the molecular underpinnings of this form of cancer. Toward this goal, Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers have identified a gene that predicts disease recurrence in individuals with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. The new findings, which will be presented at the AACR Annual Meeting 2012 on Monday, April 2, show that patients with one common variant of a gene which encodes the cytochrome P450 (CYP1B1) protein are likely to have a longer time-to-recurrence than those with the more typical form of the gene. "This is the first study to look at the association between CYP1B1 variants and time-to-recurrence in head and neck cancer, and the findings could lead to personalized treatment strategies for patients with this type of cancer," says Fox Chase study author Ekaterina Shatalova, Ph.D., research associate in the lab of Margie L. Clapper, Ph.D., also senior investigator on the study. Shatalova, Clapper and their colleagues focused on CYP1B1 because this enzyme is known to produce carcinogens by metabolizing tobacco smoke and alcohol—substances that increase the risk of [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-04-03T09:09:51-07:00April, 2012|Oral Cancer News|