A study led by Dr. Nisha D’Silva, published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research, focuses on the role of perineural invasion – defined as when cancer invades the nerves – in oral cancer. The study found that while perineural invasion is important, the distance between nerves and cancer may be as important in terms of patient outcomes.
In an interview published on the University of Michigan News website, D’Silva explains that the new findings could help pinpoint treatment-resistant tumors when they are diagnosed, so oncologists know to treat aggressively from the beginning, with the hope of giving patients a better chance at survival.
“It was previously thought that cancer had to wrap around or be within the nerve to be dangerous. Our study shows that there is a distance gradient that influences the interaction and could improve treatment selection and patient survival,” she said.
D’Silva is the the Donald A. Kerr Endowed Collegiate Professor of Oral Pathology and Associate Chair of the Division of Oral Medicine, Pathology and Radiology at the dental school. She is also Professor of Pathology at the U-M Medical School and a member of the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center.
