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| |  Neck Radiation For Oral Cancer May Increase Patients' Risk of Stroke CHICAGO, IL -- April 14, 1998 -- Patients with oral cancer who received radiation therapy in the neck are five to six times more likely to have damaged carotid arteries that leave them more vulnerable to a stroke, according to a study published in this month’s issue of The Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. Each year, oral and maxillofacial surgeons, dentists and physicians diagnose some 43,000 patients with oral cancer. The X-rays of 61 male patients who had received radiation of the neck in the last three years showed that 17 (or nearly 30 percent) had calcified plaques obstructing at least one of their carotid arteries, with six showing artery blockage on both sides of the neck. In comparison, only three of the 61 patients in the control group had X-rays that revealed artery blockage. Radiation oncologists often radiate the neck to kill oral cancer cells that have spread to the lymph nodes. Patients receiving this therapy usually have other risk factors, e.g., tobacco/alcohol abuse or hypertension, that make them more susceptible to other health problems. All of the study group patients already had developed osteoradionecrosis (ORN) of the mandible (bone degeneration in the lower jaw), which the study's authors contend should be considered a marker for potential artery complications. "Our research shows that radiation can damage the carotid arteries lining each side of the neck and may induce atherosclerosis," said Dr. Arthur Friedlander, lead author of the study and chief of oral and maxillofacial surgery at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Sepulveda, CA. "After enduring the trauma of fighting cancer, these irradiated patients are now at risk for stroke much earlier in life than those in the control group." Atherosclerosis, a build-up of cholesterol and calcium in the inner layer of the arteries, kills more people in the U.S. than any other disease. Its first visible symptom often is a stroke, which affects 550,000 Americans each year and causes more than 150,000 deaths. To identify whether they are at increased risk of stroke, oral cancer patients should ask their oral and maxillofacial surgeon or dentist to check their X-rays for calcium deposits in the neck. Many of these patients already see oral and maxillofacial surgeons for help in coping with dry mouth syndrome, an uncomfortable side effect of radiation. "We hope this study will heighten awareness of this potential problem among oral cancer patients, their families and all those involved with the care or treatment of this disease," Friedlander said. "Early detection could save someone's life."
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