{"id":1580,"date":"2019-11-15T10:51:27","date_gmt":"2019-11-15T15:51:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/?p=1580"},"modified":"2019-11-21T11:47:15","modified_gmt":"2019-11-21T16:47:15","slug":"research-shows-smoking-makes-head-and-neck-cancer-more-aggressive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/research-shows-smoking-makes-head-and-neck-cancer-more-aggressive\/","title":{"rendered":"Research Shows Smoking Makes Head and Neck Cancer More Aggressive"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Tobacco is a costly addiction for many in Augusta. There are <a title=\"Georgia Department of Public Health |Tobacco Facts\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"10,700 smoking-related deaths in Georgia every year (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/dph.georgia.gov\/tobacco\" target=\"_blank\">10,700 smoking-related deaths in Georgia every year<\/a>, and annual health costs top $2 billion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The health dangers associated with cigarettes have been widely-known for decades; new research indicates that smokers have a higher risk of developing head and neck cancers, and for those who do, their disease is more aggressive compared with non-smoking patients.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"thelink-between-head-neck-cancer-and-tobacco\">The\nLink Between Head &amp; Neck Cancer and Tobacco<\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/cigarette-.jpg\" alt=\"cigarette in an ash tray \" class=\"wp-image-1581\" width=\"525\" height=\"349\" srcset=\"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/cigarette-.jpg 640w, https:\/\/augustaent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/cigarette--256x170.jpg 256w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 525px) 100vw, 525px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"how-common-is-head-and-neck-cancer\">How common is head and neck cancer?<\/h4>\n\n\n<p>Head and neck cancers are the <strong>sixth most common type<\/strong> of tumors in the world. Most are classified as <a href=\"https:\/\/ghr.nlm.nih.gov\/condition\/head-and-neck-squamous-cell-carcinoma\">head and neck squamous cell carcinomas <\/a>(HNSCC). <\/p>\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"where-do-they-develop-in-the-body\">Where do they develop in the body?<\/h4>\n\n\n<p>These tumors develop in the <strong>outer layer of the skin and mucous membranes of the mouth, nose and throat<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tobacco use and heavy alcohol consumption are the strongest risk factors for these types of cancer. Furthermore, smokers have less success battling these tumors than their non-smoking peers.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"did-studies-show-how-smoking-affects-cancer-growth\">Did studies show how smoking affects cancer growth?<\/h3>\n\n\n<p>Scientists from Thomas Jefferson University set out to assess how cigarette smoke affected the progression of head and neck tumors. Their <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/mcr.aacrjournals.org\/content\/early\/2019\/06\/25\/1541-7786.MCR-18-1191\" target=\"_blank\">study, led by Ubaldo Martinez-Outschoorn<\/a>, MD, Associate Professor in the Department of Medical Oncology at the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center\u2014Jefferson Health and published in the online journal <em>Molecular Cancer Research<\/em>, showed that patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC)  experienced <strong>altered cell metabolism, resulting in tumors that were faster-growing and more aggressive<\/strong> overall.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"certain-cell-groups-led-to-greater-cancer-growth-rates\">Certain cell groups led to greater cancer growth rates<\/h4>\n\n\n<p>Dr. Martinez-Outschoorn and his research team had previously examined the interactions between fibroblasts (connective tissue cells) and cancer cells and learned that metabolic <strong>compounds produced by fibroblasts encouraged the growth of tumors<\/strong>. HNSCC and other tumors seem to thrive in environments where distinct groups of cells support one another.<\/p>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"scientists-then-studied-fibrolasts-cell-groups\">Scientists then studied fibrolasts cell groups<\/h3>\n\n\n<p>The new study involved <strong>exposing fibroblasts to cigarette smoke in order to see what effect<\/strong> this had. Researchers were able to observe an <strong>increase in glycolysis<\/strong>, a metabolic pathway that breaks glucose down into pyruvic acid. This <strong>helped cancerous cells to grow and develop<\/strong> increased mobility and resistance to death, key factors in malignancy. One particular protein, monocarboxylate transporter 4 (MCTC4), was especially important in controlling these changes.<\/p>\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"this-provides-a-starting-point-to-reverse-these-effects\">This provides a starting point to reverse these effects<\/h4>\n\n\n<p>This research demonstrates the importance in figuring out a way to manipulate MCTC4 in order to reverse it. If scientists can determine how smoke-exposed fibroblasts interact with other cells of the immune system, <strong>they should be able to figure out how to help the immune system recognize and defend against malignant cells<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This would <strong>likely result in a more effective immunotherapy treatment for cancer patients.<\/strong> A planned clinical trial will help determine whether a multi-faceted approach using a common diabetes drug, metformin, and an immunotherapy drug called durvalumab can be used together to stop cancer cells from growing while strengthening immune system cells.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"reduce-your-chances-of-head-and-neck-cancers\">Reduce your chances of head and neck cancers<\/h3>\n\n\n<p>The best way to reduce your odds of <a href=\"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/surgery\/parotid-cancer\/\">head cancer<\/a> and neck cancer is to quit smoking. Your <a href=\"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/about\/our-staff\/\">Augusta ear, nose and throat doctor<\/a> can give you tips to help wean you from cigarettes. For more information, contact an ENT specialist today.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tobacco is a costly addiction for many in Augusta. There are 10,700 smoking-related deaths in Georgia every year, and annual health costs top $2 billion. The health dangers associated with cigarettes have been widely-known for decades; new research indicates that smokers have a higher risk of developing head and neck cancers, and for those who&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"706-868-5676 | Tobacco is a costly addiction. New research indicates that smokers have a higher risk of developing head and neck cancers.","_seopress_robots_index":"","schema":"","fname":"","lname":"","position":"","credentials":"","placeID":"","no_match":false,"name":"","company":"","review":"","address":"","city":"","state":"","zip":"","lat":"","lng":"","phone1":"","phone2":"","fax":"","mon1":"","mon2":"","tue1":"","tue2":"","wed1":"","wed2":"","thu1":"","thu2":"","fri1":"","fri2":"","sat1":"","sat2":"","sun1":"","sun2":"","hours-note":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1580"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1580\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1603,"href":"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1580\/revisions\/1603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}