Dear Oral Cancer & Diagnostics Insider,
Marijuana use has significantly increased among people born after 1950, raising the hypothesis of marijuana use as a risk factor for oropharyngeal and oral tongue cancer. Now, researchers have found an interesting paradox: Pot smokers have an elevated risk of oropharyngeal cancer but a reduced risk of oral tongue cancer. But the study in Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention notes that oral human papillomavirus infection could explain the increased risk of oropharyngeal cancer among pot smokers. Find out what's behind the difference in this latest Insider Exclusive.
In other Oral Cancer & Diagnostics Community news, LED Medical Diagnostics, which also makes the VELscope oral cancer screening device, is developing a progression risk assessment test for oral cancer. Read about the genetic test, which uses a phenomenon known as "loss of heterozygosity," the same technology that screened and diagnosed actress Angelina Jolie's breast cancer risk.
And the oral-systemic link has become increasingly important as researchers connect periodontal disease with conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and pregnancy complications. Now, a new study in Head & Face Medicine has found a possible link between periodontal disease and oral cancer. Click here for details.
Meanwhile, since first being described in 1986, basaloid squamous cell carcinoma (BSCC), a rare type of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), has often been considered to be more aggressive and have a poorer prognosis than SCC. While some have advocated for more aggressive treatment of patients with BSCC -- including mandatory neck dissections and chemoradiation -- a new study in JAMA Otolaryngology -- Head & Neck Surgery does not support altering current standards of care for treating patients based purely on BSCC.
In a related story, researchers in Singapore have discovered a biomarker that may improve the diagnosis and treatment of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), according to a new study in Cancer Research. Click here to read about the editing of protein-making sequences that promotes the development of ESCC.
And British researchers have developed a device that can differentiate between normal and unhealthy cells by analyzing their electrical properties. Read about the new technology, called the 3DEP, which may provide early detection of oral cancer and other medical conditions.
Also, the mortality rate of the most common form of head and neck cancer is higher among black Americans than whites. Click here to read about research that identifies genetic mutations and chemical alterations that affect gene activity and may help explain the disparity.
Finally, while young people with tongue cancer may think chemotherapy is a better option than surgery with extensive reconstruction, researchers say patients who have surgery before receiving radiation therapy fare better than those who begin with chemotherapy. Click here to read about the study in JAMA Otolaryngology -- Head & Neck Surgery, which found that advanced reconstruction techniques offer patients better function and survival.
