October 2009 – Page 3 – Oral Cancer News

New cancer gene discovered

Source: news.biocompare.com Author: staff The study is published today in the prestigious scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The cancer caused by this new cancer gene is called adenoid cystic carcinoma and is a slow-growing but deadly form of cancer. The research group can now show that the gene is found in 100% of these tumours, which means that a genetic test can easily be used to make a correct diagnosis. “Now that we know what the cancer is down to, we can also develop new and more effective treatments for this often highly malignant and insidious form of cancer,” says professor Göran Stenman, who heads the research group at the Lundberg Laboratory for Cancer Research at the Sahlgrenska Academy. “One possibility might be to develop a drug that quite simply turns off this gene.” The newly discovered cancer gene is what is known as a fusion gene, created when two healthy genes join together as a result of a chromosome change. “Previously it was thought that fusion genes pretty much only caused leukaemia, but our group can now show that this type of cancer gene is also common in glandular cancer,” says Stenman. One of the two genes that form the fusion gene is known as MYB. Among other things, this gene controls cell growth and makes sure that the body gets rid of cells that are no longer needed. It has long been known to be a highly potent cancer gene in animals, but [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-10-19T16:54:43-07:00October, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Strides made in tonsil cancer repair

Source: health.usnews.com Author: staff Surgery on tonsil cancer patients can spell trouble for the palate, but now researchers say they've developed a technique that helps preserve the ability to speak clearly and eat most foods. Traditionally, surgeons use big pieces of tissue to reconstruct the area after tonsil tumors are removed. But the patients who undergo this treatment can suffer "quality of life issues," study author Dr. Douglas Chepeha, an associate professor of otolaryngology, head and neck surgery and director of the microvascular program at the University of Michigan Health System, said in a school news release. The treatment "affects speech and eating -- typically, patients have difficulty eating when they have this kind of tumor and undergo surgery," he said. The new treatment, which uses tissue from another part of the body, helps ensure that the tongue can move more efficiently. The study authors, who report their findings in the current issue of the Archives of Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery, followed 25 patients with tonsil cancer for an average of five years. "In particular, patients who have less than half their palate removed do very well with this reconstruction. We're trying to make sure the remaining tongue and palate they have really work. Our goal is to get patients eating in public and back to work," Chepeha said. Tonsil cancer is a form of throat cancer, which will kill an estimated 2,230 Americans this year.

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-10-18T18:41:04-07:00October, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Vitamin D for cancer prevention: global perspective

Source: Ann Epidemiol. 2009 Jul 1;19(7):468-483 Author: CF Garland, ED Gorham, AR Mohr, FC Garland Purpose: Higher serum levels of the main circulating form of vitamin D, 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), are associated with substantially lower incidence rates of colon, breast, ovarian, renal, pancreatic, aggressive prostate and other cancers. Methods: Epidemiological findings combined with newly discovered mechanisms suggest a new model of cancer etiology that accounts for these actions of 25(OH)D and calcium. Its seven phases are disjunction, initiation, natural selection, overgrowth, metastasis, involution, and transition (abbreviated DINOMIT). Vitamin D metabolites prevent disjunction of cells and are beneficial in other phases. Results/Conclusions: It is projected that raising the minimum year- round serum 25(OH)D level to 40 to 60 ng/mL (100–150 nmol/L) would prevent approximately 58,000 new cases of breast cancer and 49,000 new cases of colorectal cancer each year, and three fourths of deaths from these diseases in the United States and Canada, based on observational studies combined with a randomized trial. Such intakes also are expected to reduce case-fatality rates of patients who have breast, colorectal, or prostate cancer by half. There are no unreasonable risks from intake of 2000 IU per day of vitamin D3, or from a population serum 25(OH)D level of 40 to 60 ng/mL. The time has arrived for nationally coordinated action to substantially increase intake of vitamin D and calcium.

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-10-18T18:41:45-07:00October, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

HPV vaccine studied for first time in men

Source: www.sciencedaily.com Author: staff A vaccine designed to protect against the most common causes of genital warts and cervical and penile cancer is now being evaluated in young men. The Medical College of Georgia is a site for the first international study of a vaccine that protects against four strains of human papillomavirus in men age 16 to 23. “It’s a great opportunity for men to protect themselves from developing genital warts and penile cancer,” says Dr. Daron G. Ferris, a principal investigator on the study who directs the MCG Gynecologic Cancer Prevention Center. “It’s also a great way for men to protect their sexual partners from developing warts as well as cervical cancer, lower genital tract cancers and precancerous changes of the cervix.” MCG also is studying the vaccine in boys and girls age 10 to 15 and is still enrolling women age 15 to 45 in several other studies. “We are interested in looking at the efficacy of this vaccine in populations that will become target populations, should the Food and Drug Administration approve the vaccine,” Dr. Ferris says. MCG was the largest site in North America for the study in women age 15 to 25 of a vaccine for HPV types 16 and 18, the two most common causes of cervical and penile cancer. That vaccine was reported 100 percent effective at preventing the persistent HPV infections that cause cervical cancer in the Nov. 13 issue of the British journal, The Lancet. This newest study in men [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-10-16T15:44:16-07:00October, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Wart virus makes for less deadly cancer

Source: www.montrealgazette.com Author: Maggie Fox A wart virus best known for causing cervical cancer may make for a less-deadly kind of head and neck cancer, researchers reported on Thursday. People whose head and neck tumours carried the human papillomavirus virus, or HPV, were 59 percent less likely to die than people whose tumours were not caused by the virus, the researchers said. "A patient who has this actually has a better prognosis than patients with HPV-negative tumours," Dr. Richard Schilsky, president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and a cancer specialist at the University of Chicago, said in an interview. He said it may be clear now that there are two kinds of head and neck cancers -- those caused by HPV and those linked to other causes, such as smoking and drinking. Not only can patients be treated differently, perhaps waiting longer for toxic chemotherapy if they have an HPV-positive tumour, but there may be ways to prevent these tumours, Schilsky said. Two vaccines -- Cervarix, made by GlaxoSmithKline, and Gardasil, made by Merck & Co Inc -- prevent HPV-16 infection. "There is every reason to think that vaccination with the HPV vaccine will prevent these," Schilsky said. Dr. Maura Gillison and colleagues at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore studied 317 head and neck cancer patients whose tumours could be tested for HPV. The phase III study confirms earlier work Gillison's lab did linking HPV and these tumours. They said 87 percent of patients with tumours that tested [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-10-16T15:43:55-07:00October, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Girls aware of HPV vaccine’s benefits

Source: www.sciencedaily.com Author: Dr. Stacy Tessler Lindau, Dr. G. Caleb Alexander Contrary to concerns that the human papillomavirus vaccine might promote promiscuity, a national survey of girls and young women found that the majority of respondents did not believe the HPV vaccine protected them against other sexually transmitted infections. The study, conducted by University of Illinois at Chicago and University of Chicago researchers, appears online and in the November issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health. The findings are reassuring in that girls and young women did not think that the vaccine provided benefits beyond protecting them from HPV, said Dr. Rachel Caskey, assistant professor of pediatrics and general internal medicine at UIC and lead author of the study. "We also found that they did not think that they could stop cervical cancer screening, or pap smears, which is critical." Researchers used a national sample, representative of the U.S. population, to conduct an online survey of more than 1,000 females ages 13 to 26. The data provide some of the first nationally representative estimates of both adolescents' and young women's adoption of the HPV vaccine, barriers to vaccination, and sources of information about HPV and the HPV vaccine, according to the researchers. Knowledge about the HPV virus itself ran the gamut, said Caskey. Some people knew absolutely nothing and a few people were moderately informed. Knowledge about the HPV vaccine, however, was better. "Messages about the vaccine are getting across, though they are not including messages about the virus itself," [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-10-16T15:34:41-07:00October, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

FDA approves GlaxoSmithKline’s Cervarix

Source: Philadelphia Business Journal Author: John George The Food and Drug Administration granted marketing approval Friday to Cervarix, the cervical cancer vaccine developed by GlaxoSmithKline. The London pharmaceutical company, which has major operations in the Philadelphia region, said the vaccine will be on the market before the end of the year. The FDA approved the drug for use in women and girls ages 10 to 25. GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) will have a challenge taking market share away from Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE:MRK), which launched its cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil in 2006. Gardasil had worldwide sales of $1.4 billion for Merck last year. Cervarix, which was previously approved in markets outside the United States including Europe, Japan and Australia, had sales of more than $200 million in 2007.

Charlotte Parker2009-10-16T10:56:58-07:00October, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Conducting oral examinations for cancer in general practice: what are the barriers?

Source: Family Practice Advance Access published online on October 15, 2009 Authors: J Wade et al. Background: The incidence of oral (mouth) cancer in the UK is continuing to rise. Individuals who are at greatest risk rarely visit a dentist but do consult general medical practitioners (GMPs). Therefore, GMPs could have an important role in the early detection of oral cancer. Research has shown that GMPs do not opportunistically screen high-risk individuals; however, the barriers to screening are poorly understood. Objectives: To understand the reasons why GMPs may not screen for oral cancer. Methods: A questionnaire was developed, using the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), to measure GMPs attitudes to and screening for oral cancer. The questionnaire was designed using all the key theoretical constructs of the TPB and incorporating the themes identified in a qualitative elicitation study. The questionnaire was posted to 499 GPs in Surrey Primary Care trust. Results: Two hundred and twenty-eight completed questionnaires were returned (46%). Two TPB constructs [subjective norm (e.g. peer pressure) and perceived external control factors (e.g. adequate equipment, time constraints)] were identified as significant predictors of ‘intention’ to perform oral screening. Intention and perceived internal control factors (e.g. self-efficacy) were predictive of actually performing oral screening with patients. Conclusions: The results of the study suggest that there is considerable potential for improving intention to perform oral cancer screening in general practice. Theory-based interventions could include further training to enhance confidence, expertise, knowledge and ease of examination, the provision of adequate equipment in [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-10-16T08:33:28-07:00October, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Nobel scientist urges wider vaccination against HPV infection

Source: www.european-hospital.com Author: staff A global vaccination programme against human papilloma virus (HPV), to include boys as well as girls, could lead to eradication of the virus and virtual disappearance of cervical cancer, predicted Nobel Prize winner, Professor Harald zur Hausen, after delivering the key-note lecture at the 16th International Meeting of the European Society of Gynaecological Oncology (ESGO) in Belgrade, Serbia, this week. Professor zur Hausen, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2008 for his discovery of HPV as the cause of cervical cancer, explained that although HPV prevention will impact mainly on women’s health, it also has important implications for men’s health: “If we wish to achieve eradication within a reasonable period of time, we will need to vaccinate both sexes, and research has shown that boys respond to vaccination in the same way as girls. The main risk of developing cancer after HPV infection is with women and, because of the cost of vaccines, it has been decided to start with girls. But other cancers associated with HPV infection, such as anal and oral cancer, are more common in men, and genital warts occur in both sexes. So there is good reason to vaccinate boys before the onset of sexual activity as well,” said Professor zur Hausen. He suggested that future reductions in production costs and development of cheaper vaccines will make wider vaccination a realistic option, and added that a major reduction in HPV 16 and 18 – the viruses which [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-10-15T13:31:36-07:00October, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

New laryngoscope could make difficult intubations easier

Source: www.eurekalert.org/ Author: press release A new tool developed by a Medical College of Georgia resident and faculty member may make it easier to place assisted breathing devices under difficult circumstances. About 2 percent of patients that undergo the process, called intubation, experience complications – regardless if it's performed in an emergency situation or prior to surgery. During normal intubation, a physician stands behind a patient's head and uses a metal scope to open the mouth and guide a flexible plastic tube into the trachea. The tube is used to maintain a patient's airway and provide a pathway for mechanical ventilation if necessary. "In some cases, you can't see the vocal cords, which you have to go through to place the endotracheal tube, because of some obstruction," says Dr. Richard Schwartz, chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine in the MCG School of Medicine. Some diseases, such as head and neck cancer, can make intubation harder. In other cases, anatomical variations, such as shorter necks and bucked teeth, can make tube placement more challenging, says Dr. Harsha Setty, a third-year anesthesiology resident. Difficult intubations can be traumatic for patients and lead to problems such as cracked teeth, he says. To make those intubations easier, Drs. Setty and Schwartz developed the Video Rigid Flexible Laryngoscope, which Dr. Setty will present to colleagues at the American Society of Anesthesiologists Oct. 17-21 in New Orleans. The Video RIFL is composed of endotracheal tubes surrounding a rigid cylindrical body featuring an illuminated [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-10-15T13:28:38-07:00October, 2009|Oral Cancer News|