8/22/2006 Chicago, IL John Otrompke Poster 160 - AHNS Human papilloma virus (HPV), the condition which has been suggested as a causative agent in cervical cancer, has also been linked to head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), according to a paper presented here at the 2006 annual meeting of the American Head and Neck Society (AHNS). "The prevalence of HPV is rising worldwide," noted study presenter Jose-Francisco Gallegos-Hernandez, MD, surgeon, head and neck department, Oncology Hospital, Mexico City, Mexico. The poster presented on August 19th reported the results of a study of 118 head and neck cancer patients which found unusually high prevalence of two types of HPV, in particular, HPV type 16 and type 18. HPV type 18 is associated with the development of leucoplasia as a preneoplastic lesion, while type 16 has been associated with a better prognosis in head and neck cancer patients. The researchers identified some strain HPV in 42% of the cases. Of those, HPV type 16 was present 70% of the time. "Some authors say that patients with HPV have a better prognosis, maybe because alcohol and tobacco use are not present in as many patients with HPV," said Gallegos-Hernandez. While the study looked for a link between alcohol and tobacco use (two other oft-cited factors in head and neck cancer) and sexual practices and HPV, none was found, he said. Fifty percent of patients with laryngeal cancer had HPV, he said. HPV type 16 was present in 20% of those with mouth [...]

8/9/2006 Adelaide, Australia editorial staff AdelaideNow (www.news.com.au) ThE impact of cigarette smoking on personal health and on the community cost is staggering. The Cancer Council of Australia lists tobacco smoking as the largest single preventable cause of death and disease in Australia. Governments and private health groups have a responsibility to do whatever they can to reduce the incidence of smoking and alert people to the possible health implications of cigarette use. Yesterday, the State Government quite properly announced it was banning smoking in cars to protect passengers, particularly children, and tightening point-of-sale advertising. It is therefore astonishing that dozens of people have complained about the graphic anti-smoking advertisements promoted by Quit which depict a woman with mouth cancer. The advertisements are shocking but because they are confronting they work. In the first week the advertisements were shown on television the calls to Quitline – the special service designed to help people give up smoking – jumped from 220 to 422. People who complain that children might see the ads miss the point. This is the very target audience which should be exposed to the undeniable dangers of smoking. As a society we cannot afford to be precious about a social habit which is claiming – according to Cancer Council figures – 19,000 lives a year. This is 11 times the number of people killed in road accidents. Smoking leads to a wide range of diseases including many types of cancer, heart disease and strokes, chest and lung illnesses and [...]

8/8/2006 Boston, MA staff United Press International (www.upi.com) U.S. researchers say folates and select antioxidants are involved in complex relationships with oral cancer and smoking. Researchers at Tufts University have not found a causal link, but their results provide early insights into the complex relationships of oral cancer, smoking and two groups of nutrients. Folate levels are different in smokers and non-smokers, according to Dr. Joel Mason, who analyzed the diets and studied blood and cheek cells of 56 men and women between 30 and 80 years of age. Approximately half of the subjects were chronic smokers who smoked at least 10 cigarettes daily for at least the past year. "Regardless of dietary intake, smokers had lower levels of folate in both blood and cheek cells, compared with non-smokers," says Mason. "However, based on our findings, it does not appear that folate depletion induced by smoking is a major avenue for the formation of the genetic aberrations that increase risk of oral cancer." It's possible that diminishing folate in cells may cause the cellular milieu to change, inducing the formation of cancerous cells, according to Mason. The findings are published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

8/8/2006 England staff Telegraph.co.uk Mouth cancer may have changed the way property tycoon Elliott Bernerd looks but it won't diminish him, he tells Elizabeth Grice Up-front is a term that could have been invented for Elliott Bernerd, the property tycoon who refused to hide away after his face was mutilated by mouth cancer. Two colossal operations left him with much of his chin missing and his speech impaired but he returned to a life of active wheeling and dealing as if it were something his doctors had prescribed. Wearing the white surgical mask that has become his trademark, he addressed a public gathering at the Royal Society in London last month. "I hope you can hear me," he rasped. "It's not my choice I'm this way." Courage is the word that comes to mind, but it doesn't begin to do justice to the combative streak that has played a big part in his resumption of public life and entrepreneurial chutzpah - probably even to his survival. "It depends on willpower," he says, "on the sheer determination not to be pushed to one side in society - and why should I be?" His greeting to me is as much a challenge as an introduction: "I'm Elliott Bernerd. I've a sore mouth from my operation. If you don't understand me, there's nothing I can do." It takes concentration at first because his tongue and lip movements are so restricted but Bernerd is a man used to making himself understood. He has just [...]

8/8/2006 Iowa City, IA staff CancerConsultants.com Researchers from Argentina have reported that the intravenous administration of L-alanyl-L-glutamine was effective in reducing the incidence and severity of oral mucositis following chemotherapy for head and neck cancer.[1] The details of this randomized trial appeared in the August 1, 2006, issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics . Oral mucositis is a significant complication of cancer chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Several approaches have been used to decrease the incidence and severity of mucositis, including local cryotherapy, the administration of Ethyol (amifostine), and the administration of growth factors including Kepivance® (ketatinocyte growth factor), which is approved by the U.S. FDA for prevention of oral mucositis in patients receiving autologous stem cell transplants. L- glutamine is of interest in preventing oral mucositis as it is an essential amino acid involved in cellular repair. L-glutamine has also been used as a supplement in parenteral nutrition preparations with some evidence that it prevents infections in debilitated patients. L-glutamine as a preventative agent for oral mucositis has been studied as an oral agent. Previous studies of L-glutamine to prevent oral mucositis have involved an oral preparation called AES-14. AES 14 is combined with a vehicle (Saforis™), which enhances its availability to cells of the mucous membrane. This oral combination has been shown to favorably affect the course of chemotherapy-induced mucositis.[2] AES 14 is marketed by Aesgen and has fast tract designation by the FDA for treatment of oral mucositis. The results of a randomized, double-blind, [...]

8/8/2006 S Friis et al. British Journal of Cancer (2006) 95, 363-365 Epidemiologic data regarding the chemopreventive potential of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) against oral cancer are sparse. We found a relative risk for oral cancer of 1.2 (95% CI, 1.0-1.6) among 169 589 Danish NSAID users (2 prescriptions), with no apparent trends in subgroups. Our study provided no clear evidence that NSAIDs may protect against oral cancer. There is substantial experimental and epidemiological evidence that aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) protect against colorectal adenomas and cancer (Baron, 2003; Ulrich et al, 2006). Epidemiologic studies have also consistently pointed to inverse associations between NSAID use and cancers of the stomach and oesophagus, whereas the results are mixed for other cancer sites (Gonzalez-Perez et al, 2003). Studies of animal models and human cancer cell lines have indicated that the potential chemopreventive effect of NSAIDs might extend to oral cancer (Goodin and Shiff, 2004; Wang, 2005), and this year a large phase III prevention trial of COX-2 inhibitors in patients with premalignant oral lesions (leukoplakia) is scheduled to be launched (Nelson, 2006). Interestingly, only a few epidemiological studies have provided data on the relationship between NSAID use and oral cancer, and the data are conflicting (Thun et al, 1993; Bosetti et al, 2003; Sørensen et al, 2003). This paucity of epidemiologic data prompted us to examine the incidence of oral cancer in a large cohort of NSAID users in Denmark. Materials & Methods: The study was carried out within the [...]

8/3/2006 Waltham, MA Susan Okie, M.D. New England Journal of Medicine, Volume 355:437-440 A surprising court decision this past May has advanced an effort to allow terminally ill people to purchase experimental drugs after initial safety testing but before they have been shown to work. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit was considering a lawsuit by the Abigail Alliance, a patient-advocacy group, against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Two members of the panel ruled that patients with life-threatening and otherwise untreatable diseases have a constitutional right to seek experimental treatments for which efficacy is not yet established and that the government cannot interfere unless it proves it has a "compelling interest." The suit was sent back to a lower court, which had dismissed it. The dissenting judge, Thomas Griffith, wrote that "there is no evidence in this Nation's history and traditions of a right to access experimental drugs." "The prerogative asserted by the FDA — to prevent a terminally ill patient from using potentially life-saving medication to which those in Phase II clinical trials have access . . . impinges upon an individual liberty deeply rooted in our Nation's history and tradition of self-preservation." — D.C. Circuit Judge Judith Rogers "I have serious doubt about how a court can know, as a matter of constitutional law, that the lesser of two evils will be achieved by providing all terminally ill patients access to all Phase I experimental drugs, given the risks these [...]

8/3/2006 Newport Beach, CA press release U.S. Newswire (releases.usnewswire.com) If you are one of the more than 300,000 people worldwide affected by oral cancer each year, http://www.oralcancer.org could be your new best friend. At http://www.oralcancer.org patients, caregivers, and health care professionals alike are finding answers, support, and new allies in their struggle against this deadly disease. The web has changed our world in many ways, but one of the most positive examples is the ability for oral cancer patients to connect with others who are fighting the same battle, or with survivors who have been down this difficult road ahead of them. Through real time exchanges of experience and knowledge on The Oral Cancer Foundation's web site, they are supported with empowering information and the emotional understanding of individuals who have shared their experience. Currently receiving about 15 million hits per month, the OCF website, in addition to the interactive support forum it contains, has brought together hundreds of pages of useful information and facts reviewed by a science advisory board consisting of doctors from the worlds of treatment, education, research, and public health. Access to the site and its contents are provided at no cost. OCF founder, and a late stage oral cancer survivor himself, Brian Hill knows personally the need for information and support. "After a diagnosis of cancer, your world becomes one of terminology that you do not understand, decision making that must be based on sound information and emotional support as the impact of the word [...]

8/3/2006 Johannesburg, South Africa Lesley Stones allAfrica.com Massive computing power generated by a network of computers around the world is being used to try to develop a cure for cancer. The World Community Grid is a virtual supercomputer set up by IBM for humanitarian studies. IBM SA's communications executive, Mathula Magubane-Mphande, said its latest project lets researchers analyse large numbers of cancer tissue samples simultaneously, so multiple experiments could be conducted in shorter periods. "The World Community Grid makes it possible to analyse in one hour the number of specimens that would take approximately 160 years to complete using a traditional computer," said David Foran, the pathology professor heading the three-month project. Researchers are analysing breast cancer first, then head and neck cancers. The speed and sophistication of the computing grid could make it possible to detect and track subtle changes not apparent with human inspection or traditional analysis alone. The grid harnesses the unused power of computers around the world, and so far 200000 people have linked up 360000 computers by downloading free software from the website www.worldcommunitygrid.org. Lance Armstrong Foundation CEO Mitch Stoller said: "This technology is especially exciting not only because it offers tremendous potential for breakthroughs in cancer research, but also because the project provides individuals an easy way to get involved in the fight."

8/3/2006 New Zealand press release Scoop News (www.scoop.co.nz) Survey results are something to chew on. New Zealanders lag behind the world when it comes to looking after our mouths, a new international survey reveals. But the upside is, we’re better than the Aussies in a few categories! The Colgate Oral Health Month Survey completed in 29 European and Australasian countries reveals only 58 per cent of us clean our teeth at least twice a day. Across the ditch they are even more lax – only 54 per cent of our Aussie cousins brush twice a day or more. At nearly 40 per cent, we also have the lowest rate of visiting the dentist on a regular annual basis. The average percentage of people across all countries doing so once a year or more was 62 per cent. The main reason? The perceived expense. Among people who had not visited a Dentist in last 12 months, we had the highest rate of participants citing this reason, at 55 per cent. The average number in the survey citing expense as a reason was 24 per cent. Dr Theresa Madden, Colgate Senior Lecturer in Periodontology at Otago University says despite these results, New Zealanders get good value for money from the dental profession. She fears that New Zealanders are taking unnecessary risks. If mouth cancer, gum disease and dental decay are not detected early, the consequences may be devastating, and much more expensive to treat. “Dentists have never been as well equipped or [...]