3/30/2008 Ketchum, ID staff CancerConsultants.com Introduction The fact that mucositis remains an important toxicity of cancer therapy was reflected in the thirty abstracts dealing with this topic that were included in this year’s MASCC/ISOO symposium. While mucositis has most often been associated with damage to the oral cavity, it is clear that its clinical and scientific import to the rest of the gastrointestinal tract is significant. Abstracts presented fell into a range of topics that spanned preclinical mechanistic studies to interventional clinical trials. Among the major subject categories addressed were techniques and instruments to assess mucositis and observational reports of its behavior, incidence and risk, animal and human studies of the biological basis for mucositis, the burden of illness of mucositis, and clinical trials of specific interventions. Mucositis Assessment, Incidence, Risk Factors, and Burden A number of studies reported on the assessment of mucositis, its incidence, risk factors, and impact on quality of life, health, and economic outcomes. Dudley, et al. reported the application of an innovative statistical approach to quantify parameters of change for patient populations, model individual variability about population parameters, and predict which patients would be most severely affected. Their approach, known as Latent Growth Curve Analysis (LGCA), was applied to estimate parameters of change in erythema in 133 HSCT patients treated with high-dose chemotherapy conditioning regimens. Clinical ratings of erythema from the 20 item Oral Mucositis Index were made 8 times over a 3-week period. The model identified statistically significant individual variability relative to the average [...]

3/30/2008 Rochester, NY staff WHEC-TV (www.whec.com) The FDA is deciding whether to give young boys a vaccine that prevents cervical cancer in older women. Right now, Gardasil, which was developed at the U of R Medical Center, is given to girls ages 9 through 26. Gardisil is the only vaccine available to protect against HPV, the virus that can cause cervical cancer. It was developed by the researches and the U of R Medical Center, and was marketed to teens beginning last year. But now the drug maker says giving it boys may help men from spreading the HPV virus. A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine finds that infection with HPV through oral sex is now the leading cause of throat cancer which strikes 11,000 men and women each year. HPV is also a major cause of anal cancer and genital warts both affect men and women. Doctors say the increase in throat cancer is troubling because it's usually associated with alcohol and heavy smoking. But we asked Dr. Michael Haben, a head and neck cancer expert with the Wilmot Cancer Center, and he said he’s not convinced there is enough evidence yet to support the vaccine for boys. “I don't think the research will bear out that we have a proven benefit from wither the transmission or a reduction in throat cancers related to any possible connection to the virus. I wouldn't be the first to run out and have the HPV vaccine for boys,” [...]

3/30/2008 Washington, DC Serena Gordon WashingtonPost.com Imagine therapies that could cut cancer deaths in half. Well, these "breakthrough" treatments are here, according to a recent American Cancer Society report that said as many as 50 percent of cancer deaths could be prevented with lifestyle changes, such as quitting smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, and getting screened for certain malignancies. "Nearly half of all cancer is related to two things -- tobacco and obesity," said Dr. Jay Brooks, chief of hematology/oncology at Ochsner Health System in Baton Rouge, La. "That's something I don't think people truly grasp." Dr. Neil Hayes, a medical oncologist specializing in lung and head and neck cancers at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, concurred. "Most of my patients are smokers, so it's rare I see someone truly surprised by the diagnosis. But I don't think they fully think through the risk associated with smoking," he said. Evaluating your risk of cancer, and taking steps to modify those risk factors within your control, could save your life. Smoking is far and away the leading cause of preventable cancer deaths. In the United States, nearly one-third of all cancer deaths -- more than 170,000 Americans -- each year are related to tobacco use, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS). Yet, almost one in four American adults still uses tobacco. And, about 22 percent of teens are still lighting up. "Not smoking is the single most important thing you can do to lower your risk of [...]

3/29/2008 Iowa, MN Amy Fleming KIMTV.com A patient with a hard to reach tumor inside their throat can be a challenging problem for a surgeon. But a new laser technology makes removing these tumors easier for everyone. This woman had a sore throat and acid indigestion before her tongue tumor was discovered. Traditionally, doctors would remove these hard-to-reach tumors with surgery through the patient's neck or jaw. Now doctors can remove the tumors through the mouth, with a flexible fiber, that delivers CO2 or carbon dioxide laser energy. The new laser is called the Omni-Guide Beampath. For more information go to www.omni-guide.com.

3/26/2008 web-based article staff ScienceDaily.com Persons with a certain type of homozygosity (having two identical copies of the same gene, one inherited from each parent), may have a greater predisposition to cancer, according to a new study. In previous research, the authors observed a low frequency of germline (those cells of an individual that have genetic material that could be passed to offspring) heterozygosity (possessing two different forms of a particular gene, one inherited from each parent) in cancer patients compared with controls, raising the question whether homozygosity could play a role in cancer predisposition. "Homozygosity is common in humans and extended homozygote tracts have been described in several studies. Cancer susceptibility genes are also numerous in the genome. These facts together increase the likelihood that homozygosity might occur in the loci [the specific site of a particular gene on its chromosome] of cancer susceptibility genes. One can then hypothesize that germline homozygosity at these loci may somehow contribute to cancer predisposition," the researchers write. Charis Eng, M.D., Ph.D., of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, and colleagues conducted a study to determine the frequency of germline homozygosity in a large series of patients with three different types of solid tumors compared with population-based controls. The study included germline and corresponding tumor DNA, which was isolated from 385 patients with carcinomas (147 breast, 116 prostate, and 122 head and neck carcinomas), and was subjected to genetic analysis. The researchers found: "Our data derived from 3 different solid tumors, validated in a fourth, [...]

3/25/2008 Washington, DC press release EurekAlert.com Easy-access body fluid may provide less invasive diagnosis thanks to proteomics One day soon patients may spit in a cup, instead of bracing for a needle prick, when being tested for cancer, heart disease or diabetes. A major step in that direction is the cataloguing of the “complete” salivary proteome, a set of proteins in human ductal saliva, identified by a consortium of three research teams, according to an article published today in the Journal of Proteome Research. Replacing blood draws with saliva tests promises to make disease diagnosis, as well as the tracking of treatment efficacy, less invasive and costly. Saliva proteomics and diagnostics is part of a nationwide effort to create the first map of every human protein and every protein interaction, as they contribute to health and disease and as they act as markers for disease states. Following instructions encoded by genes, protein “machines” make up the body’s organs and regulate its cellular processes. Defining exact protein pathways on a comprehensive scale enables the development of early diagnostic testing and precise drug design. In the current study, researchers sought to determine the “complete” set of proteins secreted by the major salivary glands (parotid, submandibular (SM) and sublingual (SL)). Recent, parallel efforts that mapped the blood (plasma) and tear proteomes allows for useful comparisons of how proteins and potential disease markers are common or unique to different body fluids. “Past studies established that salivary proteins heal the mouth, amplify the voice, develop [...]

3/24/2008 East Liverpool, OH Jeremy Lydic TheReviewOnline (www.reviewonline.com) As part of an on going drug and alcohol awareness program, students were educated on the less-than-finer points of tobacco. Kristen Ours, who works as a nurse at both Daw Middle School and East Liverpool City Hospital, gave a presentation on smoking and smokeless tobacco to Daw students Thursday. To demonstrate the harmful effects of smoking, a “smoking doll” was used to help students visualize what happens to a human’s lungs while smoking. The doll would “puff” on a lit cigarette, causing the smoke and tar to stain the plastic receptor tube under the doll’s head. Ours and Wellsville D.A.R.E. officer Marsha Eisenhart, also passed around photos of healthy lungs, lungs afflicted from cigarette smoke, and lungs suffering from emphysema. In addition to the harmful effects, Ours discussed reasons why children start smoking, citing peer pressure and a desire to look “grown up.” She also encouraged the students to talk to their parents about smoking, especially if the parents themselves smoke. “You can’t order your parents to stop smoking, but you can encourage them to quit,” Ours said. “If they choose to quit, be their biggest supporter.” Along with the doll, Ours showed students a sealed jar of tar from cigarettes. The thick, black substance was the amount of tar a person could intake from one year of smoking 20 cigarettes a day, Ours said. Smokeless tobacco was also discussed, because Eisenhart said snuff and dip tobacco is becoming more and more [...]

3/22/2008 Chennai, India staff MedIndia.com Persons with periodontitis who also are infected with human papillomavirus (HPV) are at increased risk of developing tongue cancer, new research conducted at the University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine has shown. Periodontitis is a chronic inflammatory disease that destroys connective tissue and bone supporting the teeth. It has been associated with various systemic diseases, including diabetes and heart disease. Researchers from UB and Roswell Park Cancer Institute published the first study showing an association between long-standing periodontitis and risk of tongue cancer in the May 2007 issue of Archives of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery. Studies conducted elsewhere have found that HPV is an independent risk factor for a subset of head and neck cancers. The UB researchers now have shown that the two infections appear to work in tandem to boost the chances of developing tongue cancer. Mine Tezal, D.D.S., Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Oral Diagnostic Sciences, UB dental school, and research scientist at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, presented results of this research today (April 4, 2008) at the 2008 American Association of Dental research meeting in Dallas, Texas. Evidence of periodontitis-HPV synergy has important practical implications," said Tezal, "because there is a safe treatment for periodontitis, but no treatment for HPV infection. If these results are confirmed by other studies, this has a tremendous relevance in predicting and intervening in the initiation and prognosis of HPV-related diseases, including head and neck cancers." The study involved 30 patients [...]

3/20/2008 Alexandria, LA Farrah Reyna NewsChannel5 (kalb.com) Cancer of the esophagus is one of the fastest growing cancers in the United States. That’s why researchers in Seattle are hoping new technology in the form of a tethered endoscope will make screening for throat cancer cheaper and faster, and more likely to be covered by all insurance companies. Biomedical engineer Eric Seibel is about to swallow a small camera the size of pill. Each swallow of water is pushing a one-pixel camera lower into his esophagus. A tether controls where it goes as it takes 30 color pictures per second on its way to his stomach. He said, “We have a little scanner and we scan very low-powered laser light to get the high resolution imaging.” Researchers believe this new endoscope will be cheaper to use and more effective at screening the digestive tract for pre-cancerous conditions like Barrett’s esophagus –or- throat cancer. Doctor Seibel said, “To look for something right above your stomach at the bottom of your esophagus, that’s where you get heart burn and that’s where a lot of the esophageal cancers start. And what you would like to have is a little tether and a camera to look right at that point, make that diagnosis, confirm that diagnosis and then just pull it out.” Normal endoscopes require patients to be sedated. This new technology is faster and cheaper because patients are awake. Karen Murray, a gastroenterologist said, “If someone is having a lot of heartburn pain and [...]

3/19/2008 Hickory, NC staff www.huliq.com Researchers from the Dental Institute and the Nutritional Science Research Division, led by Professors Saman Warnakulasuriya and Victor R Preedy have published new research findings which herald a significant advance in understanding how alcohol may cause oral (mouth) cancer. Oral cancer affects around 4,600 people in the UK per year and the disease is more common in Scotland. It is a highly lethal disease and five year survival is around 50 per cent. At least three people die of or with oral cancer every day in the UK. Saman Warnakulasuriya, Professor of Oral Medicine & Experimental Pathology at King’s, and lead researcher in the project says: ‘We are very excited by this discovery. Alcohol is a major risk factor for oral cancer. We have so far not been able to explain exact mechanisms how alcohol causes cancer of the mouth'. Through study of a group of alcohol misusers the researchers have found that a break down product of alcohol – acetaldehyde can be detected in oral mucosal cells, and thereby provide a marker for alcohol metabolism. The research team at King’s worked in collaboration with Professor Onni Niemela and Professor Seppo Parkkila at the University of Tampere, Finland. Dr Onni Niemela, a Professor of Laboratory Medicine at the University of Tampere, comments: ‘This product (acetaldehyde) identifies cells that are damaged by the alcohol, and through the study of these cells we can see how the damage may trigger diseases such as cancer in alcohol misusers’. [...]