Key points from today’s guests:

Richard Linton, Ph.D., president, Kansas State University

• He noticed an almond-shaped lump while shaving. The lump grew quickly and he asked Dr. Douglas Girod for advice.
• Dr. Girod suggested he undergo further tests and he was diagnosed with stage two base-of-tongue cancer caused by HPV.
• He was treated with chemotherapy and radiation for about seven weeks and relocated to Kansas City during the week to manage treatment.
• Dr. Linton had lost his taste and voice during treatment and is 100 percent recovered.
• He thanks the support system he had from his family to his medical team.

Dr. Douglas Girod, M.D., chancellor, The University of Kansas; head-and-neck surgeon, The University of Kansas Health System

• When I stepped into this role seven years ago, I had to give up my full-time practice of being a head and neck cancer surgeon and working so closely with this team on a regular basis, but I still have the opportunity to help people find the care they need.
• The preventable nature of this is important. Our HPV vaccination rates in the country are not very high. And we know that HPV is number one cause cervical cancer in women.
• But it's really just been in the last 15-20 years or so that we've realized the HPV nature of oropharyngeal cancers, which are completely preventable with appropriate vaccination.

Dr. Prakash Neupane, M.B.B.S., medical oncologist, The University of Kansas Cancer Center

• The purpose of chemotherapy to treat this is twofold. One is to kill the cells, the microscopic metastasis if something is floating around.
• The second, and the most important factor in this case, is to help reduce some work. Chemotherapy sensitizes tumor cells for the radiation damage and when we do radiation together, we have a better local response to the tumor.
• Unfortunately, we don't have regular screening to detect precancerous lesions like we do with cervical cancer. We don't have those precancer screenings, but detecting early symptoms are key.
  
  

Dr. Gregory Gan, M.D., Ph.D., radiation oncologist, The University of Kansas Cancer Center

• Oftentimes we think of head and neck cancers being driven by smoking and by and by alcohol use, but this one was driven by a virus.
• We're seeing this rise in HPV mediated oropharynx cancer, but those who have this respond to our treatments better and they also do better.
• About 8,500-9,000 cases a year of oropharynx cancer are diagnosed in the U.S., but about 80 percent are HPV mediated.
• Symptoms can include sore throat and a change in voice in addition to feeling a mass.
• This is curable and more importantly, preventable with the HPV vaccine.

Dr. Dana Hawkinson, M.D., medical director of Infection Prevention and Control, The University of Kansas Health System

• The hospital COVID count for this week is at four patients, which is in line with three patients last week.
• This is the last week of COVID reporting as CMS has stopped requirements for hospital reporting on COVID.
• It is important to make sure you get the HPV vaccine.
• While there are reports of remnants of the bird flu virus in milk, most of the milk that you can buy in the stores is pasteurized. We do believe that it does kill the virus.
• Right now, it doesn't really seem to pose any threat to humans.

Tuesday, Apr. 30 at 8 a.m. is the next Morning Medical Update. Hear about the subtle warning signs that led to a stage four cancer diagnosis. We learn why cancer in the esophagus is so hard to spot early and who needs a regular screening.

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