HuangshanDental.com is pleased to present the latest installment of Leaders in Dentistry, a series of interviews with researchers, practitioners, and opinion leaders who are influencing the practice of dentistry. We spoke with David T.W. Wong, DMD, DMSc, the associate dean of research and a professor of oral biology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Dentistry; immediate past president of the American Association for Dental Research; and

More new cases of oral cancer are reported in India than any other country in the world, the Deccan Chronicle reported. Chewing tobacco and gutka, a mixture of betel nuts and tobacco, are responsible for 90% of the some 80,000 new cases reported each year, the article stated. Activists in the country claim that tobacco companies have been targeting young children with free samples, celebrity endorsements, and product availability around

The American College of Radiology (ACR) has released an updated version of its appropriateness criteria for the use of radiation therapy following surgical resection of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. The guidelines were published in the July issue of Oral Oncology. Adjuvant radiotherapy has been shown in clinical trials to improve postoperative locoregional control, compared with preoperative radiotherapy for head and neck cancers. Postoperative radiotherapy is generally indicated in

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Oncology Research Program recently awarded research grants to investigators following a review of proposals submitted in response to an NCCN axitinib request for proposals. These grants were made possible through general research support of $2.1 million from Pfizer. Researchers will evaluate and define the clinical activity of Pfizer’s axitinib in various tumor types, including head and neck, adenoid cystic, and carcinoid cancers, as well

Transoral organ-preserving pharyngeal endoscopic resection is effective in the treatment of superficial pharyngeal cancer, according to a study in Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (June 27, 2011). Researchers from Kyoto University designed a retrospective, two-center cohort study that included 104 patients with superficial pharyngeal cancer. They performed the procedure on patients under general anesthesia, and then measured its safety, long-term survival, and clinical outcome. Here are some of the key results: A total

Late diagnoses and referrals could have resulted in the deaths of several oral cancer patients at a dental hospital in Belfast, U.K., according to a story in the Belfast Telegraph. A report found the Belfast Health Trust guilty of “serious deficiencies” after 15 oral cancer patients at the Royal Dental Hospital received late diagnoses and referrals. Health Minister Edwin Poots said that four of the 15 could have died as