Bay Biosciences provides high-quality, FFPE tissue samples with matched sera (serum), EDTA plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC’s), bio-fluids from oral cancer patients for research.
The sera (serum) and plasma bio-fluid specimens are processed from oral cancer patients peripheral whole-blood using customized collection and processing protocols.
Oral Cancer Overview
Oral cancer is cancer that develops in the tissues of the mouth or throat. It belongs to a larger group of cancers called head and neck cancer. Most of the oral cancers develop in the squamous cells found in the mouth, tongue, and lips.
More than 53,000 new cases of oral cancer are diagnosed each year in the United States, occurring most often in people over 40 years old.
Oral cancers are most often discovered after they’ve spread to the lymph nodes of the neck. Early detection is key to surviving oral cancer. Learn about what raises your risk, its stages, and more.
Types of Oral Cancers
Oral cancers include cancers of the:
- Floor of the mouth
- Gums
- Hard and soft palate
- Inner lining of the cheek
- Lips
- Tongue
Your dentist is often the first healthcare provider to notice signs of oral cancer. Getting biannual dental checkups can keep your dentist up to date on the health of your mouth.
Risk Factors for Developing Oral Cancer
One of the biggest risk factors for oral cancer is tobacco use. This includes smoking cigarettes, cigars, and pipes, as well as chewing tobacco.
People who consume large amounts of alcohol and tobacco are at an even greater risk, especially when both products are used on a regular basis.
Other risk factors include:
- A family history of oral or other types of cancer
- Being male
- Chronic facial sun exposure
- A previous diagnosis of oral cancer
- Genetic syndromes
- Human papillomavirus (HPV)
- A weakened immune system
- Poor nutrition
Men are twice as likely to get oral cancer as women are.
Symptoms of Oral Cancer
Symptoms of oral cancer include:
- A sore on the lip or mouth that won’t heal
- Bleeding from the mouth
- Dramatic weight loss
- Jaw pain
- A mass or growth anywhere in your mouth
- Loose teeth
- Pain or difficulty swallowing
- Lump in your neck
- Trouble wearing dentures
- An earache that won’t go away
- Chin, lower lip, face or neck numbness
- Sore throat
- Tongue pain
- White, red and white, or red patches in or on your mouth or lips
Diagnosis of Oral Cancer
First, your doctor or dentist will perform a physical exam. This includes closely examining the roof and floor of your mouth, the back of your throat, tongue, and cheeks, and the lymph nodes in your neck.
If your doctor cannot determine why you’re having your symptoms, you may be referred to an ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialist.
If your doctor finds any tumors, growths, or suspicious lesions, they’ll perform a brush biopsy or a tissue biopsy. A brush biopsy is a painless test that collects cells from the tumor by brushing them onto a slide.
A tissue biopsy involves removing a piece of the tissue so it can be examined under a microscope for cancerous cells.
Diagnostic Tests
In addition, your doctor may perform one or more of the following tests:
- X-rays to see if cancer cells have spread to the jaw, chest, or lungs
- CT Scan to reveal any tumors in your mouth, throat, neck, lungs, or elsewhere in your body
- PET scan to determine if the cancer has traveled to lymph nodes or other organs
- MRI scan to show a more accurate image of the head and neck, and determine the extent or stage of the cancer
- An endoscopy to examine the nasal passages, sinuses, inner throat, windpipe, and trachea
Stages of Oral Cancer
There are four stages of oral cancer.
- Stage-1: The tumor is 2 centimeters (cm) or smaller, and the cancer hasn’t spread to the lymph nodes.
- Stage-2: The tumor is between 2-4 cm, and cancer cells haven’t spread to the lymph nodes.
- Stage-3: The tumor is either larger than 4 cm and hasn’t spread to the lymph nodes, or is any size and has spread to one lymph node, but not to other parts of the body.
- Stage-4: Tumors are any size and the cancer cells have spread to nearby tissues, the lymph nodes, or other parts of the body.
Oral Cancer Survival Rates
According to the National Cancer Institute, the five-year survival rates for oral cavity and pharynx cancers are as follows:
- 83 percent, for localized cancer (that hasn’t spread)
- 64 percent, for cancer that’s spread to nearby lymph nodes
- 38 percent, for cancer that’s spread to other parts of the body
Overall, 60 percent of all people with oral cancer will survive for five years or more. The earlier the stage at diagnosis, the higher the chance of survival after treatment.
The five-year overall survival rate in those with stage 1 and 2 oral cancers is typically 70 to 90 percent. This makes timely diagnosis and treatment all the more important.
Treatment of Oral Cancer
Treatment for oral cancer will vary depending on the type, location, and stage of the cancer at diagnosis.
Surgery
Treatment for early stages usually involves surgery to remove the tumor and cancerous lymph nodes. In addition, other tissue around the mouth and neck may be taken out.
Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy is another option. This involves a doctor aiming radiation beams at the tumor once or twice a day, five days a week, for two to eight weeks. Treatment for advanced stages will usually involve a combination of chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is a treatment with drugs that kill cancer cells. The medicine is given to you either orally or through an intravenous (IV) line. Most people get chemotherapy on an outpatient basis, although some require hospitalization.
Targeted Therapy
Targeted therapy is another form of treatment. It can be effective in both early and advanced stages of cancer. Targeted therapy drugs will bind to specific proteins on cancer cells and interfere with their growth.
Nutrition
Nutrition is also an important part of your oral cancer treatment. Many treatments make it difficult or painful to eat and swallow, and poor appetite and weight loss are common. Make sure you discuss your diet with your doctor.
Getting the advice of a nutritionist can help you plan a food menu that will be gentle on your mouth and throat, and will provide your body with the calories, vitamins, and minerals it needs to heal.
Oral Hygiene
Finally, keeping your mouth healthy during cancer treatments is a crucial part of treatment. Make sure to keep your mouth moist and your teeth and gums clean.
Reconstruction and Rehabilitation After Oral Cancer Treatment
Patients who are diagnosed with advanced oral cancer will likely need reconstructive surgery and some rehabilitation to assist with eating and speaking during recovery.
Reconstruction can involve dental implants or grafts to repair the missing bones and tissues in the mouth or face. Artificial palates are used to replace any missing tissue or teeth.
Rehabilitation is also necessary for cases of advanced cancer. Speech therapy can be provided from the time you get out of surgery until you reach the maximum level of improvement.
Outlook
The outlook for oral cancers depends on the specific type and stage of cancer at diagnosis. It also depends on your general health, your age, and your tolerance and response to treatment.
Early diagnosis is critical because treating stage 1 and stage 2 cancers may be less involved and have a higher chance of successful treatment.
Bay Biosciences is a global leader in providing researchers with high quality, clinical grade, fully characterized human tissue samples, bio-specimens, and human bio-fluid collections.
Samples available include cancer (tumor) tissue, cancer serum, cancer plasma, cancer, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). and human tissue samples from most other therapeutic areas and diseases.
Bay Biosciences maintains and manages its own biorepository, the human tissue bank (biobank) consisting of thousands of diseased samples (specimens) and from normal healthy donors available in all formats and types.
Our biobank procures and stores fully consented, deidentified and institutional review boards (IRB) approved human tissue samples and matched controls.
All our human tissue collections, human specimens and human bio-fluids are provided with detailed, samples associated patient’s clinical data.
This critical patient’s clinical data includes information relating to their past and current disease, treatment history, lifestyle choices, biomarkers, and genetic information.
Patient’s data is extremely valuable for researchers and is used to help identify new effective treatments (drug discovery & development) in oncology, and other therapeutic areas and diseases.
Bay Biosciences banks wide variety of human tissue samples and biological samples, including cryogenically preserved at – 80°C.
Including fresh frozen tissue samples, tumor tissue samples, formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE), tissue slides, with matching human bio-fluids, whole blood and blood-derived products such as serum, plasma and PBMC.
Bay Biosciences is a global leader in collecting and providing human tissue samples according to the specified requirements and customized, tailor-made collection protocols.
Please contact us anytime to discuss your special research projects and customized human tissue sample requirements.
Types of Biospecimens
Bay Biosciences provides human tissue samples (human specimens) from diseased and normal healthy donors which includes:
- Peripheral whole-blood
- Amniotic fluid
- Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BAL)
- Sputum
- Pleural effusion
- Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)
- Serum (sera)
- Plasma
- Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC)
- Saliva
- Buffy coat
- Urine
- Stool samples
- Aqueous humor
- Vitreous humor
- Kidney stones (renal calculi)
- Other bodily fluids from most diseases including cancer.
We can also procure most human bio-specimens, special collections and requests for human samples that are difficult to find. All our human tissue samples are procured through IRB-approved clinical protocols and procedures.
In addition to the standard processing protocols, Bay Biosciences can also provide human plasma, serum, and PBMC bio-fluid samples using custom processing protocols; you buy donor-specific collections in higher volumes and specified sample aliquots from us.
Bay Biosciences also provides human samples from normal healthy donors; volunteers, for controls and clinical research, contact us Now.
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