Dear Oral Cancer & Diagnostics Insider,
Head and neck cancer is the sixth most common malignancy worldwide, and oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma is the most common cancer diagnosed in the oral cavity, comprising 25% to 40% of oral carcinomas.
In this latest Insider Exclusive, Turkish researchers analyzed the factors that influenced the survival and outcome of patients over a 30-year period to determine two key predictors of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue. Click here to read about their findings.
In other Oral Cancer & Diagnostics Community news, National Cancer Institute researchers found that antibodies against the human papillomavirus (HPV) may help identify individuals who are at greatly increased risk of HPV-related cancer of the oropharynx. Click here to read about their promising new study, which offers hope about a simple test that one day may be used to identify patients with oropharyngeal cancer.
In a related story, a highly publicized interview with Michael Douglas helped raise public awareness about oral cancer when he allegedly said his oropharyngeal cancer was caused by HPV, possibly through oral sex. Read about a study by researchers from Johns Hopkins University about whether spouses and long-term partners of patients with HPV-related oral cancers are at risk of oral HPV infections.
Meanwhile, the next paradigm for dental healthcare will be more personalized care. Click here to read how scientific advances such as genomics and oral biomarkers will play a key role in better addressing head and neck cancer, orofacial pain, and oral infectious diseases.
And Massachusetts researchers say they've come up with a better predictor of survival for patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Read how the genetic diversity of tumors appears to predict treatment outcomes of patients in this new study in Cancer.
In other clinical research news, the current screening method to diagnose benign nodules on the thyroid gland is typically a fine-needle aspirate biopsy. But often, as many as a quarter of the results are unclear. Now, Chilean researchers have developed a new gene signature test that offers more accuracy and consistency. Read more.
Meanwhile, high-risk types of HPV are increasingly associated with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC). However, HPV-positive OPSCC is highly curable, and patients with HPV have better survival compared with HPV-negative patients. Click here to read about new research regarding DNA modifications in HPV-positive and HPV-negative OPSCCs.
And Texas researchers used confocal microscopy with fluorescence lifetime imaging to noninvasively evaluate structural changes in tissue and molecular changes. Read about their analysis of the key factors in determining if tissue is precancerous or cancerous.
Meanwhile, studies show that patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma have a high prevalence of developing second primary esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Now, Taiwanese researchers have come up with a way to increase the early detection of second primary ESCC. Click here to read their recommendations.
Finally, biofilms on the surface of oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC) play a key role in the development of postoperative infections in patients with OSCC, according to a new study in Clinical Oral Investigations. But certain antibiotics used prophylactically can dramatically reduce the risk of infection in these patients. Click here to read which ones work.
