The Dr. OZ show on June 8th 2011 focused on The Rise Of Oral Cancer, who is at Risk from it, and how it is spreading. Check out part 1 of the video below for more information.

For many patients that have been diagnosed with oral cancer, neck cancer, or many other types of cancers, one of the cancer treatments that has been found to be helpful is hyperthermia cancer treatment combined with low dose radiation or chemotherapy.

When people hear “hyperthermia” they often will assume “hypothermia” which is when the body is exposed to very cold temperatures.  However, hyperthermia is the opposite of the aforementioned and is actually an effective means of cancer treatment when combined with low dose radiation.

Hyperthermia cancer treatment (also called thermal radiation) is a treatment where the temperature of the cancerous tissue is exposed to sometimes as high as 113 degrees Fahrenheit temperature in order to kill cancer cells.

According to The National Cancer Institute, hyperthermia cancer treatment,

“is almost always used with other forms of cancer therapy, such as radiation therapy and chemotherapy.  Hyperthermia may make some cancer cells more sensitive to radiation or harm other cancer cells that radiation cannot damage. When hyperthermia and radiation therapy are combined, they are often given within an hour of each other. Hyperthermia can also enhance the effects of certain anticancer drugs.

Numerous clinical trials have studied hyperthermia in combination with radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy. These studies have focused on the treatment of many types of cancer, including sarcoma, melanoma, and cancers of the head and neck, brain, lung, esophagus, breast, bladder, rectum, liver, appendix, cervix, and peritoneal lining (mesothelioma). Many of these studies, but not all, have shown a significant reduction in tumor size when hyperthermia is combined with other treatments. However, not all of these studies have shown increased survival in patients receiving the combined treatments.”

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Photo Credit:  Hyperthermia

When we hear the term “inoperable cancer”, a sense of hopelessness can often times accompany it.  Thus, when we hear of a new surgery that is making waves in the medical community and positively affects cancers that have been termed, inoperable, hope comes.  There is a new laser surgery that holds the following claim: “Patients with inoperable head and neck cancer have had tumours “drop off” after treatment with a new form of laser therapy, doctors say.”

Further claims of the new surgery as reported by the Health Correspondent for Times Online state:

Colin Hopper, a head and neck surgeon at the hospital, is leading the study. He said that patients with advanced or recurring cancers who had stopped responding to chemotherapy had experienced benefits.

One patient with an inoperable tumour on his tongue saw it disappear completely, while another, with advanced sarcoma on his jaw, lived for six months, far longer than doctors previously predicted.

Although news of oral cancer never falls on a willing ear, there is still hope.  Technology is advancing and the world is standing strong as we support those that are working feverishly to find a cure.

Click here for the complete article titled: Inoperable cancers killed by new laser surgery

Recently Science Daily posted an article entitled: SIBLING Proteins May Predict Oral Cancer. This article is interesting as it offers greater hope in the advancement of oral cancer treatment.  A SIBLING stands for Small Integrin-Binding Ligand N-linked Glycoproteins.

“Several years ago we discovered that three SIBLINGs — osteopontin, bone sialoprotein and dentin sialophosphoprotein — were expressed at significantly high levels in oral cancers,” said Dr. Kalu Ogbureke, an oral and maxillofacial pathologist in the MCG School of Dentistry. “Following that discovery, we began to research the potential role of SIBLINGs in oral lesions before they become invasive cancers.”

Up to this point it’s been so difficult to determine which cells were precancerous that early oral cancer treatment has been difficult.  With the research on SIBLING proteins, there is hope for better results for treatment.

Dr. Ogbureke’s next step is to design a multi-center study that incorporates oral cancer risk factors, such as smoking and alcohol consumption, to further investigate their relationship with SIBLING protein expression.

All too often we hear of things we must take out of our diets in order to decrease the risk of cancer. But what if I told you that by adding something to your diet, you could decrease the risk of oral cancer?

Green tea has been known to help with:

• Heart Disease
• Arthritis
• Liver Disease
• Weight Management
• Tooth Decay
• Cancer

A recent study from MD Anderson reveals that:

Green tea extract may prevent oral cancer in patients with oral leukoplakia, a pre-malignant condition that develops on the tongue or inside of the cheek in response to chronic irritation or tobacco carcinogen exposure.

In this study researchers took a test group of people that are at high risk for oral cancer and and gave three different doses to each along with placebo tests.  Following the entire testing process they found that 50% had clinical results. Of the 41 that participated, only 15 ended up developing oral cancer.

The study yielded encouraging results:
•    58.8% of patients receiving the two highest doses had a clinical response (50% or more reduction in the size of all measured areas of oral leukoplakia)
•    36.4% of patients receiving the lowest dose had a clinical response
•    18.2% of patients receiving a placebo had a clinical response

All of these results prove one thing… more research is warranted.

Click her to view the full-page article on Green Tea.

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Photo Courtesy of: The Inquisitr