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Busaidy secures grant to study predictors
of devastating cancer treatment side effect
When a treatment for cancer causes a painful, potentially disfiguring side effect in some patients, the challenge to science is clear: Find a way to predict which patients are likely to develop that side effect so they can get a more appropriate treatment.
That's the task undertaken by Kamal Busaidy, D.D.S., assistant professor in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the UT Dental Branch. Toward that end, Busaidy recently secured a $98,715 grant to fund a pilot study over two years titled, “Novel tools for predicting the development of osteonecrosis of the jaws.”
UT Health Science Center President James T. Willerson, M.D., made the research grant funds available to the Center for Clinical Research and Evidence-Based Medicine, which awarded the grant to Busaidy.
"Osteonecrosis" means "death of bone tissue," and Busaidy is specifically interested in the condition when it occurs in the jaws of patients getting bisphosphonates. The same class of drugs includes the widely prescribed osteoporosis drugs Fosamax and Boniva, but when given intravenously to treat cancer, bisphosphonates are much more potent, and osteonecrosis sometimes occurs. |
Kamal Busaidy , D.D.S.
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"The dead bone is exposed in the mouth and is often painful," Busaidy said. "The only available treatment is to try to eliminate infection with antibiotics and encourage the mucosa to grow over the wound. Cure is often unachievable once the condition takes hold."
The condition was virtually unknown before bisphosphonates came into use for treating cancer, and why osteonecrosis develops in some patients and not others is a mystery.
Busaidy got the idea for the study after seeing the complication in patients he treats as an oral and maxillofacial surgeon in UT faculty practice at The Methodist Hospital and at Memorial Hermann Hospital - Texas Medical Center. “This is an emerging disease,” he said.
His study proposes a look at two groups of cancer patients who are getting bisphosphonates: those who have already developed osteonecrosis, and those who are taking the drug but who have not developed the side effect. Both groups would undergo specific ultrasound tests, as well as blood and urine analyses. Busaidy will be looking for differences that can serve as predictors of the complication.
If approved by the Institutional Review Board, the study would involve approximately 51 patients.
Busaidy credited the Master of Science in Clinical Research program at the UT Medical School at Houston for providing him with the necessary skills to develop and fund his research.
"I encourage anyone who is interested in clinical or translational research to look into the master's program," he said. "It's probably the best program of its sort in the country, and it's tailored for the busy schedules of clinical faculty."
For information about the program, contact Judy Mayfield at Judy.S.Mayfield@uth.tmc.edu.
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KHOU reporter Janice Williamson interviews Integrative Biology and Pharmacology Professor Jarvis Chan, D.D.S., Ph.D., recently about the benefits and risks of having fluoride in public water supplies. To read the story, visit the KHOU Web site.
The Medically Complex Patient Dental Clinic based in the UT Dental Branch was recently featured in the Houston Chronicle. To see the article, click on the headline below.
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Cynthia Dixon, R.D.H.
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'RDH' magazine, Sunstar honor UT Dental Hygiene grad
Cynthia Dixon of Houston, a 1990 graduate of the UT School of Dental Hygiene, was one of eight dental hygienists from across the United States who have been honored with the 2007 GUM™ Healthy Gums Healthy Life™/RDH Award of Distinction.
The awards are co-sponsored by RDH magazine, a professional publication for registered dental hygienists, and Sunstar, manufacturer of the GUM™ brand of dental products.
Dixon and the seven other recipients were honored for their achievements in the dental hygiene profession, their dedication to public service in their communities, and the role they play in helping patients lead healthier lives.
A graduate of Texas Woman's University as well as the UT Dental Branch, Dixon has worked in both private practice and public health, creating programs and coordinating services such as a district-wide program of distributing toothbrushes and educational tools to teach students proper oral care at home. |
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Donate your clean yogurt lids
to breast cancer research
Attention Yoplait Yogurt aficionados: Don't toss that yogurt lid! Donate it to a good cause by dropping your clean yogurt tops into the pink box outside the UT Dentists office on the first floor of the UT Dental Branch. Chrystal Pierce, R.D.H., B.S., is collecting the yogurt lids now through Dec. 7 to benefit breast cancer research.
For every lid donated, Yoplait will donate 10 cents to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Pierce, who usually just collects her own yogurt lids during the Yoplait campaigns, decided to do something on a larger scale this year. She hopes to collect 1,000 lids or more to send in by the Dec. 31 deadline. From time to time she'll take them out, count them and mark off how close donations are to the goal. Questions? Call Ext. 4200.
Chrystal Pierce, R.D.H., B.S., stands beside the drop-off box for Yoplait lids by the UT Dentists office on the first floor.
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Dental hygiene students at the UT Dental Branch teaching after-stroke mouth care to nurse aides at local hospitals include (from left) Nguyet Toliao, Huong Nguyen, Patricia Mitchell and Lisa Frazer. Students not pictured who participated were Jana Mannen and Tony Medick.
DH students teach 'Oral Hygiene for the Stroke Patient'
Students in the UT School of Dental Hygiene have been conducting in-service training sessions for the nurse aides at The Methodist Hospital in the Stroke and Intensive Care units. The presentation, entitled "Oral Hygiene Care for the Stroke Patient," includes information on products and techniques for use in caring for the oral cavities of patients who cannot care for themselves after a stroke or other condition. Plans are in the works to take the presentation to other hospitals within the Texas Medical Center and to assisted-living facilities in Houston and surrounding areas.
The dental hygiene students involved were Nguyet Toliao, Huong Nguyen, Patricia Mitchell, Lisa Frazer, Jana Mannen and Tony Medick. Faculty involved were Holly Rice, June Sadowsky, Donna Morris and Jim Katancik. | |
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Osteoblast research is next
in Orthopedic Seminar Series
Wenjian Zhang, D.D.S., Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Diagnostic Sciences at the UT Dental Branch, will speak on the topic, "Does bone-targeted Bcl-2 overexpression help to maintain bone mass?" at noon, Wednesday, Sept. 19, in Room 369-A as part of the Orthodontic Research Seminar Series sponsored by the Department of Orthodontics. The program is free and open to anyone. For information, contact Jackie Duke, Ph.D., at Ext. 4186 or Pauline.J.Duke@uth.tmc.edu. |
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Rosenthal-Eames Fund for Patient Care accepting donations
Contributions to the Mina Rosenthal-Eames Fund for Patient Care so far total $600.01, according to the UT Dental Branch Development Office. A letter to all students, faculty and staff went out recently explaining how to donate in memory of second-year dental student Mina Rosenthal-Eames, 31, who died Aug. 20 in a domestic violence shooting.
A fund has been established in her memory to help pay for dental care at UTDB for women and children who have been affected by domestic violence. Checks should be made out to "UT Health Science Center," with a memo notation reading "Mina Rosenthal-Eames Fund." Credit card donations also are accepted. For information, contact John Greer (Ext. 4380) or Mary Sayles (Ext. 4386) or visit the Development Office in room B-28. The Rosenthal family will be appropriately notified of your gift.
Sayles said one donation received so far included a "lucky penny" taped to the gift, which accounts for the uneven balance in the fund. |
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