Leadership
Chair: Siri Beier Jensen, DDS,PhD - Denmark
Co-chair: Debbie Saunders, BSc, DMD - Canada
Co-chair: Tuomo Waltimo, DDS,PhD - Switzerland
Study Group Minutes
2012 Minutes 
- New York, NY
News
MASCC Study Group Chairs Lead First of it's Kind Study in Oral Complications of Radiotherapy
Carolinas HealthCare System (CHS) has received an $8 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to conduct a multi-center study on Treatment Outcomes from Head and Neck Cancer Therapies. As the awardee organization, CHS will administer the grant, which will be shared across the several sites involved in the study.
The research team will study dental and oral medicine outcomes of patients who have received high-dose radiation to the head and neck region. These outcomes include a permanent decrease in saliva production (hyposalivation) and impaired healing of bone surrounding the teeth (osteoradionecrosis), among others, which cause a major impact on patients’ overall quality of life and risk for further dental complications.
Dr. Michael Brennan and Dr. Raj Lalla are the Co-Principal Investigators of this NIH study. Dr. Brennan is the current President of the International Society of Oral Oncology and recently served as the Chair of the Oral Care Study Group of MASCC. Dr Lalla is the current Chair of the MASCC Mucositis Study Group and also is a MASCC Board Member. In addition to Carolinas Medical Center, patients will be enrolled at University of Connecticut, Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania and New York University. The University of Minnesota will be the Data Coordinating Center for the current study. Read More>> 
International Conference: Oral Complications of Emerging Cancer Therapies April 14-15, 2009 Bethesda, Maryland USA Report authored by Jean Klastersky ( PDF, 100 KB) MD Professor, University of Brussels Chief of Medicine Service, Institut Jules Borde Brussels, Belgium.
Goals
The Oral Care Study Group’s major goal is to enhance our knowledge of the wide range of oral complications from cancer therapies, with translation into improved clinical management for patients. Our objectives are to understand the clinical impact of the wide variety of oral complications such as xerostomia, dysgeusia, dysphagia, oral pain, fungal infection, viral infection, osteoradionecrosis, osteonecrosis from bisphosphonates, dental disease and trismus and to develop and coordinate new evidence based management guidelines. Additionally, the Oral Care Study Group serves as a resource for collaborative research efforts for members of this group as well as other members of MASCC and ISOO. Another focus of the Oral Care Study Group includes education for members of MASCC and ISOO. A major effort of the Oral Care Study group includes multiple systematic reviews of the incidence/prevalence, management guidelines, QOL and economic impact of oral complications from cancer therapy. Additionally, efforts are underway to establish a multicenter study of members of the Oral Care Study group to prospectively collect data on various outcomes related to oral complications of cancer therapy.
Surveys