8/3/2006 Keith D. Hunter et al. Cancer Research 66, 7405-7413, August 1, 2006 Most head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients present with late-stage cancers, which are difficult to treat. Therefore, early diagnosis of high-risk premalignant lesions and incipient cancers is important. HNSCC is currently perceived as a single progression mechanism, resulting in immortal invasive cancers. However, we have found that 40% of primary oral SCCs are mortal in culture, and these have a better prognosis. About 60% of oral premalignancies (dysplasias) are also mortal. The mortal and immortal tumors are generated in vivo as judged by p53 mutations and loss of p16INK4A expression being found only in the original tumors from which the immortal cultures were derived. To investigate the relationships of dysplasias to SCCs, we did microarray analysis of primary cultures of 4 normal oral mucosa biopsies, 19 dysplasias, and 16 SCCs. Spectral clustering using the singular value decomposition and other bioinformatic techniques showed that development of mortal and immortal SCCs involves distinct transcriptional changes. Both SCC classes share most of the transcriptional changes found in their respective dysplasias but have additional changes. Moreover, high-risk dysplasias that subsequently progress to SCCs more closely resemble SCCs than nonprogressing dysplasias. This indicates for the first time that there are divergent mortal and immortal pathways for oral SCC development via intermediate dysplasias. We believe that this new information may lead to new ways of classifying HNSCC in relation to prognosis. (Cancer Res 2006; 66(15): 7405-13) Authors: Keith D. Hunter1,2, Johanna [...]

8/2/2007 web-based article Carol M. Bareuther www.the-triton.com You’ve heard the warning: If you want to prevent skin cancer, lather up with a lotion that has a high sun protection factor. But what you eat can play an equal role in the development or prevention of this potentially deadly disease that can be a real occupational hazard to those who work full-time aboard yachts. Why worry about skin cancer? According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, more than 1.5 million skin cancers are diagnosed each year in the United States alone. That’s more new cases of skin cancer each year than breast, prostate, lung and colon cancers combined. What’s more, one in five Americans (including one in three Caucasians) will develop some type of skin cancer in the course of a lifetime, and one person dies every hour from skin cancer. Basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, which usually show up on sun-exposed areas of the body, are easy to cure. However, if left untreated, these cancers can spread to other areas of the body. Melanoma, on the other hand, is more aggressive and has the potential to turn deadly. So what can you do diet-wise? First, eat your veggies. In a study reported in the International Journal of Cancer last year, Australian researchers randomly selected 1,056 people living in the sunny subtropics and followed them for 10 years. The result? Those who had the highest intake of green leafy vegetables (dark romaine lettuce, spinach, broccoli, kale, beet greens, Swiss chard, [...]

8/1/2006 Memphis, TN staff CancerConsultants.com Researchers from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (a part of the World Health Organization) located in Lyon, France have reported the findings of a meeting of seventeen scientists from eight countries concerning the evidence that smoking cessation has definable health benefits. The details of this summary were reported in the July 29, 2006, issue of The Lancet. Smoking is the cause of 85% or more of all lung cancers. Smoking also increases the incidence of other cancers such as cancer of the head and neck, esophagus, stomach, pancreas, liver, kidney, urinary bladder, cervix, ovaries and breasts. Factors determining a smoker’s risk for cancer include the number of years the person has been smoking, as well as the number of cigarettes smoked each day. Previous studies have shown that men who quit smoking can significantly reduce their risk of developing lung cancer. The benefit of quitting has been observed even if the men waited until middle age to do so. The following observations were made with regard to smoking cessation and cancer: - Although persons lower their risk of lung cancer by stopping, they always have a higher risk than never smokers. - Risk for laryngeal cancer decreases with time with reductions of over 60% at 10-15 years. - Risk for oral and pharyngeal cancers decreases over time but remains higher than non-smokers. - Risk for stomach cancer decreases with time after cessation, but little is known about long term benefits after smoking cessation. [...]

8/1/2006 Washingtn, D.C. staff United Press Interenational (www.upi.com) The new vaccine that can prevent about 75 percent of cervical cancer should be given to men, boys and even women already exposed to the virus that causes the disease, researchers said Monday. Although the human papillomavirus (HPV) has been approved for women aged 9 to 26, Bradley Monk, in a commentary to be published in the August issue of the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology, argued that more widespread use of the vaccine may improve the chances that most of cervical cancer can be banished. "We need to work together to implement this huge breakthrough by widespread vaccination of young people, both genders without regard to risk," Monk, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of California-Irvine, told United Press International. HPV, a sexually transmitted disease, is ubiquitous in the United States, with about 20 million men and women currently infected, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Moreover, the agency says that about 80 percent of U.S. women by age 50 will be exposed to one of the 100 strains of HPV, known to cause genital warts and cervical, vulva and vaginal cancer in women. The newly approved vaccine called Gardasil -- developed by Merck -- protects against transmission of virus Types 6 and 11, which are believed responsible for 90 percent of disfiguring and difficult-to-treat genital warts, and against Types 16 and 18, responsible for 70 percent to 75 percent of cervical cancer -- a disease [...]

8/1/2006 Glasgow, Scotland staff BBC News (news.bbc.co.uk) Mouth cancer can develop in two specific ways, researchers have found. Doctors had previously understood that all cases of mouth cancer developed in the same way. The work by a team at Glasgow's Beatson Institute for Cancer Research provides clues about how the different forms of cancer could be detected early. The findings, published in the journal Cancer Research, may also help identify patients with the more aggressive form of the disease. Around 1,600 people die each year in the UK from mouth cancer. The most common indicators of mouth cancer are persistent sores, ulcers, red or white patches and unexplained pain in the mouth or ear. People can also have lumps in their necks, a persistent sore throat or difficulty swallowing. 'Valuable findings' In this study, researchers took samples from the mouths of 19 people with pre-cancerous lesions, or spots, 16 patients with mouth cancer and the mouths of four healthy people. They then compared the samples, which each contained thousands of cells. They found two distinct genetic patterns in the samples from patients with cancers and lesions. In those with the most aggressive form of tumour, faults were found in the p53 gene, which should act to stop damaged cells dividing and so stop cancers growing, and no expression of the p16 gene which controls cell regulation. Cells in this form of mouth cancer were dubbed "immortal", because they keep on dividing, making them more likely to spread and to cause [...]