Oral cancer is more likely to metastasize in patients who report high pain levels, according to research recently released in Scientific Reports, a journal published by Nature.
A team of researchers from New York City-based New York University College of Dentistry recorded the pain experienced by 72 oral cancer patients before surgery, finding that those who reported the most pain were more likely to have their oral cancer spread to their lymph nodes.
The researchers hope the findings can help oral surgeons retool their decision-making process for whether to perform a neck dissection to remove oral cancer patients' lymph nodes. Their discoveries suggest that patients who experience less pain are at a lower risk for metastasized oral cancer and therefore unlikely to benefit from a neck dissection. The study suggests up to 70 percent of these surgeries are unnecessary.
"Clinicians and researchers are keen to define a biomarker that accurately predicts metastasis," Aditi Bhattacharya, PhD, the study's lead author, said in an Oct. 7 news release. "Given that patients with metastatic oral cancer experience more pain, we thought that a patient's level of pain might help predict metastasis. A surgeon could then use this knowledge to only remove lymph nodes in patients with cancers that are most likely to metastasize."
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