Journalists: For links to video and audio files, see the bottom of this post.
A recent Mayo Clinic study found that transoral robotic surgery for the treatment of oral cancers, conducted through the patient’s mouth, provided excellent results in removing squamous cell carcinoma at the back of the throat, especially in patients with human papillomavirus (HPV). The good news is that the newer form of cancer tends to be less aggressive, and the latest approach to treating the tumors can avoid the debilitating consequences of open-neck surgery or extensive radiation. The study appears in the March issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
“We were surprised that the cancer cure results were even better than the traditional treatments that we have been doing, but that is probably almost as much of a matter that these cancers are HPV-mediated for the most part, and they respond much better to treatment,” says author Eric Moore, M.D., a head and neck surgeon at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. “Importantly, the treatment preserved patients’ ability to swallow and their speech performance was excellent.”
Journalists: The following video and audio clips from Dr. Moore are available for download and use in your stories.
Below is a link to an edited youtube video with Dr. Moore that you can embed with your stories.
