Head,Neck Cancer
More treatment options available
Head and neck cancer is no longer a disease that only affects 60-yearold smokers. There is an epidemic of human papilloma virus-associated tonsil and tongue cancers in 40-year-old nonsmoking men.
HPV, as you may recall, is the same virus that causes cervical cancer in women. If not identified early, this disease can be devastating. The most common symptoms to look for are a neck mass and persistent sore throat. Fortunately, survival in this group of patients is significantly better than it is for the smokers with HPV-negative tumors.
“Head and neck cancers” include a range of tumors that occur in different areas of the head and neck region, including the nasal passages, sinuses, mouth, throat, larynx (voice box), swallowing passages, salivary glands and thyroid gland.
Not surprisingly, smoking significantly raises the risk for cancers of the head and neck. We find, though, that people aren’t as aware about the association between chewing tobacco and head and neck cancer. Chewing tobacco is especially dangerous because it infiltrates the lining of the cheeks, allowing nicotine and other carcinogens to enter the bloodstream. Alcohol combined with any sort of tobacco use is an especially deadly combination. It’s believed that the alcohol acts as a solvent for the toxic chemicals to enter the head and neck cells.
If you can’t prevent it, the next best thing is early detection. In addition to keeping up with your dentist, we recommend yearly screenings by a doctor for everyone. The screenings involve a simple, painless physical examination of the head and neck area. It takes less than 10 minutes.
If you do receive a diagnosis of cancer, the treatment options are better now than ever. The Department of Otolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery at LSU Health Shreveport is pioneering the use of Cellvizio, a novel, noninvasive optical imaging tool that obtains real-time images of cells in the operating room during surgery and helps determine if they are precancerous or cancerous.
In addition to head and neck cancer surgeons, treatment can also involve the assistance of many specialists. Our team of speech therapists works closely with the head-and-neck surgeons on swallowing and speech problems in these patients to optimize long-term outcome after surgery.
Patients with head and neck cancers also benefit from interaction with other survivors.
The Feist-Weiller Cancer Center head-andneck support group enables patients with voice and swallowing problems to meet monthly and is a wonderful resource for both survivors and new patients diagnosed with this disease.
Another exciting development is the offering of personalized cancer therapy to predict which patients are likely to respond to chemotherapy. Oncology faculty at Feist-Weiller profile the tumors at the molecular level and then use the information to determine what chemotherapy agents are most likely to benefit the specific patient.
As an academic medical center, research is a key part of our mission. Using local and National Cancer Institute grants, our lab continues to investigate how the food compound curcumin, which is found in the Indian spice turmeric, can prevent the progression of head and neck cancers. We are studying the effectiveness of a novel formulation of curcumin. This is the first head and neck cancer trial with curcumin in the United States.
We are always on the search for newly developed treatments or drugs that may reduce tumor size or eliminate side effects better than what is currently on the market.
As an example, we are currently part of a multi-institutional clinical trial for patients with a Stage 4 disease. The clinical trial at our Cancer Center is based on research that originated in our labs and is funded by the National Institutes of Health. In addition, robotic surgery offered at the FWCC brings two cutting edge national cooperative group trials to our patients with base of tongue and tonsil tumors.
Head and neck cancers are on the rise locally and across the country. By knowing if you’re at risk and what the symptoms are, we can move toward early detection, cutting down on recurrence rates and deaths. Our multi-disciplinary team will also be hard at work at bringing the latest treatments and research to head and neck cancer patients in Northwest Louisiana. For more information, call 675-6262.
Dr. Cherie-Ann Nathan is professor and chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery at LSU Health Shreveport.
Treatments
The LSU School of Medicine Department of Otolaryngology faculty offer the services available to head and neck cancer patients:
Robotic Surgery: Minimally-invasive surgery allowing doctors to access hard-to-reach areas
Endoscopic Surgery: Provides state-of-the-art endoscopic management of nasal and anterior skull-base tumors
Sialoendoscopy: A minimally-invasive procedure that allows for the diagnosis and treatment of salivary gland diseases
Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery: For patients facing disfigurement after treatment
