New indicator to identify patients with increased risk from throat cancer

Researchers at the University of Michigan Health System have found a new indicator that may predict which patients with a common type of throat cancer are most likely have the cancer spread to other parts of their bodies. Patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma who had " matted" lymph nodes -- nodes that are connected together -- had a 69 percent survival rate over three years, compared to 94 percent for patients without matted nodes, according to a study published online Monday in Head & Neck. The oropharynx is an area that includes the back of the tongue, soft palate, throat and tonsils. "The spread of cancer throughout the body accounts for about 45 percent of the deaths from oropharyngeal carcinoma," says the study's senior author, Douglas Chepeha, an associate professor at the U-M Medical School. "Our findings may help doctors identify patients who are at higher risk for having their cancer metastasize and who would benefit from additional systemic therapy. "