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Squamous cell cancer of the oral cavity
Regional lymph node metastases occur relatively more frequently in oral cavity squamous cell carcinomas than in other types of head and neck cancer. Their presence indicates an aggressive and therapy-resistant form of the disease. Responsiveness to chemotherapy is poor. Current therapeutic strategies include radical surgery, postoperative radiation (percutaneous teletherapy and/or afterloading brachytherapy), or adjuvant (or neoadjuvant) chemotherapy, depending on the localisation, stage, and histopathological grading of the tumour. The poor quality of life associated with the illness and its treatment justify the application of an effective supportive therapy in order to maintain and improve the relief of symptoms and the results obtained by standard therapy. Local recurrences and distant metastases are particularly frequent with this form of cancer.
An open label clinical study was performed at the Semmelweis University's Clinic of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in Budapest in which 43 patients with locally advanced oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (UICC stages II-III, and locally advanced- stage IV, i.e.T4N0M0) aged between 18 and 80 with a definitive diagnosis of less than 3 months took part. 21 of these patients received the standard anticancer therapy (SAT - consisting of radical surgery and postoperative radiation or adjuvant chemotherapy), while the remaining 22 patients received SAT and a one-year complementary treatment with Avemar. The incidence of local recurrences and disease progression differed significantly between the two groups: 4.5% and 9.09 % in the SAT+A group against 57.1% and 61.9 % in the control group (p<0.001). A non-comparative quality of life (QOL) study involving 50 patients with head and neck cancer was also performed in the Oto-rhino-laryngology Clinic at Semmelweis University, in which 22 experienced substantial improvement in cachectic symptoms and a long-term delay of progression was observed in five out of six salivary gland tumour patients. The above results suggest that the supportive use of Avemar in this localisation may improve QOL and enhance the anti-tumour effectiveness of standard oncotherapy.
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