“Because of VeloSano funding, my team and I are able to study whether or not having an exercise program that utilizes a tongue-training device will help patients who have tongue cancer surgery recover better in terms of their speech and swallowing outcomes.”
Patients with oral tongue cancer typically must have surgery to remove the tumor. Although reconstructive techniques are routine, many patients still face substantial challenges with speech and swallowing. As one can imagine, this significantly impacts a patient’s quality of life after they beat cancer.
Rehabilitation therapy is often a key part of recovery across many types of surgeries, from joint replacements to more complex procedures. In the case of oral tongue cancer, early studies have shown that targeted tongue-strengthening exercises may help improve function. However, there is currently no established standard of care for rehabilitation in these patients.
That’s where Jamie Ku, MD, FACS, a head and neck cancer surgeon, comes in. She intends to create a standard of care based on the knowledge she is getting from her VeloSano-funded project and improve long-term survivorship for her patients. Working in close collaboration with the speech-language pathology team, a dedicated resident and other clinical partners, she’s laying the groundwork for a more effective approach to recovery.
“As you can imagine, having a portion of your tongue removed is a big deal, especially in terms of speech and swallowing,” says Dr. Ku. “As a surgical group, we do our best by doing reconstruction at the time of the cancer surgery. However, we believe having a thoughtfully designed tongue exercise strengthening program supported by our speech-language pathologists afterward will improve patients’ speech and swallowing function.”
Patients in Dr. Ku’s study will be given a set of predetermined exercises to be performed at home utilizing a commercially available tongue-strengthening device that links to a patient’s phone. This will give patients real-life biofeedback to ensure they are properly doing their exercises. As part of this research, patients will check in with speech-language pathologists to review their progress during their 12-week exercise program.
“This is more of a pragmatic focus on their functional and quality of life outcomes,” says Dr. Ku. “But just like any science and research, you have to show that it matters. We think it should matter to our patients, but you have to actually demonstrate it in order for it to become the new standard of care.”
VeloSano fuels innovative cancer research that might otherwise go unfunded. Dr. Ku’s research is a prime example of how clinician-scientists gather critical preliminary data needed to pursue larger-scale studies and secure national funding.
“We are very lucky that VeloSano is specifically for cancer research and not for just any research,” says Dr. Ku. “We all know it’s very hard to get research funding, so that’s why we participate in Bike to Cure. We want to raise money to help fund more meaningful cancer research like ours!”
100% For The Cure
