NEW YORK CITY, New York--SiriusXM satellite radio's Doctor Radio live lunchtime interview Jan. 20, 3010 with Trimira Vice President Jerry S. Trzeciak and Dr. Robert Trager stressed the importance for dentists to screen patients for oral cancer in the stages of the disease.
Trzeciak and Dr. Trager, known as New York City's "airport dentist," also answered questions from listeners.
Houston-based Trimira has developed a multispectral oral cancer detection device--the Identafi 3000 ultra--marketed by dealers and distributors in the U.S. and Canada.
Trimira's multispectral imaging (triple-wavelength spectroscopy) was developed in collaboration with the University of Texas and British Columbia Cancer Research Centre in Vancouver, Canada.
"The death rate for oral cancer is higher than that of other cancers we frequently hear about such as cervical, thyroid, Hodgkin's lymphoma, testicular, laryngeal, or skin (malignant) melanoma," Dr. Trager said.
Despite declines in alcohol and tobacco use, he noted that oral cancer is growing at double-digit rates. Dr. Trager, who has dental offices at JFK and LaGuardia International airports, has been organizing public oral cancer screenings using Identafi 3000 ultra at--among other locations--Saratoga Race Course and Belmont Park.
Trzeciak said the epidemic increase in oral cancer, in part, may be attributed to the spread of HPV-16 via forms of sexual contact including oral sex.
"For that reason," Dr. Trzeciak added, "oral cancer increasingly is showing up in the young adult population."
The fastest-growing demographic group is women in their 40s--the same age range as many hygienists.
Dr. Trager said dental hygienists, who are on the front lines of the detection battle, are a key group pushing to use best practices and best available technology against oral cancer.
HPV-related oral cancer lesions occur mainly in the back of the throat, base of the tongue, and tonsillar pillars. In minutes, the Identafi 3000 ultra can detect oral cancer and pre-cancer that would be otherwise invisible to the naked eye.
Like most cancers, cancers of the lip and oral cavity are best treated when found early.
Early detection of oral cancer could improve the survival rate to 80 to 90%.
There has been little improvement in that survival rate in the past 40 years. This is because fewer than 50% of those visiting a dentist get screened for oral cancer.
Adjunctive technology, such as Identafi 3000 ultra, should be used in conjunction with the American Dental Association's recommended conventional visual and tactile examination of the head, neck, and oral cavity.
The gold standard of ascertaining whether a patient has oral cancer continues to be the biopsy. It is not practical to do regular biopsies on all dental patients when actually only 10% of them have something that is of concern.
Identafi 3000 ultra helps deliver a higher degree of clinical accuracy and confidence to users, translating into better patient care. Unlike other methods, Identafi 3000 ultra pinpoints biochemical and morphological changes in cells of the mouth, throat, tongue, and tonsils.
The device's violet wavelength capability was cited in the May 2009 issue of Cancer Prevention Research, the journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, as the best excitation wavelength to discriminate between neoplastic and non-neoplastic tissue areas.
The half-hour, cancer call-in program was hosted by cancer specialist Dr. Silvia Formenti of New York University Medical Center. The broadcast aired three times on Doctor Radio, which is carried on Sirius channel 114 and XM channel 119. SiriusXM has some 14 million paid subscribers to these systems.
Visit Trimira at Trimira.
To read more about the Identafi 3000, go to Identafi 3000.
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