BU Initiative Highlights Oral Cancer Awareness in April

Oral cancer kills approximately 5,700 people in the US and affects more than 640,000 worldwide each year. Despite progress in diagnosis and treatment, the 5-year survival rate has held still at 50 to 60 percent for the past 20 years.

As we observe Oral Cancer Awareness Month in April, the Boston University Oral Cancer Research Initiative (OCRI) works to bring together clinicians along with researchers from diverse disciplines to understand, prevent, treat, and cure oral cancer. The Initiative, located here at the Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (GSDM), brings together scientists conducting fundamental research, clinical researchers advancing new forms of treatment, and public health professionals helping to understand and apply new discoveries.

“Our multidisciplinary approach will facilitate the translation of research findings into improved outcomes for patients,” says GSDM Associate Dean for Research Maria Kukuruzinska.

The OCRI includes participants from the BU School of Medicine, School of Public Health, and the College of Engineering, in addition to GSDM. The Initiative recently added researchers and clinicians from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute who are also working on head & neck cancer.

For more information, visit http://www.bu.edu/dental-research/research/ocri/.