Follow us on
Welcome Guest! You are here: Home » Health
Surgery, not chemo, better for tongue cancer
Friday December 27, 2013 2:55 PM, IANS

Surgery, and not chemotherapy sessions, works better for those suffering from tongue or oral cavity cancer.

In a pathbreaking study, a team of scientists at the University of Michigan's Comprehensive Cancer Center concluded that patients with tongue cancer who started their treatment with chemotherapy fared significantly worse than patients who received surgery first.

"To a young person with tongue cancer, chemotherapy may sound like a better option than surgery with extensive reconstruction. But patients with oral cavity cancer can't tolerate induction chemotherapy as well as they can handle surgery with follow-up radiation," said study author Douglas Chepeha, professor of otolaryngology.

"Our techniques of reconstruction are advanced and offer patients better survival and functional outcomes," Chepeha added. The study was published in the Nature magazine.

According to researchers, the immune system is critical in oral cavity cancer, and chemotherapy suppresses the immune system. If a person is already debilitated, they don't do well with chemotherapy.

"Despite the proven success of this strategy in laryngeal cancer, induction chemotherapy should not be an option for oral cavity cancer, and in fact it results in worse treatment-related complications compared to surgery," they added.

The study enrolled 19 patients with advanced oral cavity cancer. Patients received an initial dose of chemotherapy, called induction chemotherapy.

Those whose cancer shrunk by half went on to receive additional chemotherapy combined with radiation treatment. Those whose cancer did not respond well had surgery followed by radiation.

The researchers then looked at a comparable group of patients who had surgery and sophisticated reconstruction followed by radiation therapy and found significantly better survival rates and functional outcomes.



Share this page
 Comments
Note: By posting your comments here you agree to the terms and conditions of www.ummid.com
comments powered by Disqus
Advertisement
| Quick links
About ummid.com
Contact us
Feedback
Subscribe to: RSS » Facebook » Twitter » Newsletter
Ummid.com: Disclaimer | Terms of Use | Advertise with us | Link Exchange
Ummid.com is part of the Awaz Multimedia & Publications providing World News, News Analysis and Feature Articles on Education, Health. Politics, Technology, Sports, Entertainment, Industry etc. The articles or the views displayed on this website are for public information and in no way describe the editorial views. The users are entitled to use this site subject to the terms and conditions mentioned.
© 2012 Awaz Multimedia & Publications. All rights reserved.