December 2009 – Page 4 – Oral Cancer News

Life-shattering cancer sent PR ‘rock star’ to hell and back

Source: Theglobeandmail.com Author: Michael Posner For 15 years, Mat Wilcox reigned as Canada's queen of corporate crisis management. She sat at the centre of all kinds of tempests - labour disruptions, product tampering and recall cases, the avian flu controversy, and dozens of other high-profile issues. In the prime of life, she was chief executive officer of her own Vancouver-based public relations firm, the Wilcox Group, with a staff of 40 and annual revenues in the millions of dollars. Although she typically worked 80 hours a week, often commuting between offices in Vancouver and Toronto, she was, she says, the picture of good health. And she felt invincible, "fabulous, like a rock star." Then, in an instant, the entire structure toppled over, her confidence shattered. One morning in March of 2008, while putting on her late mother's diamond earrings, she felt a strange lump beside her left ear. She went to an outpatient clinic and was immediately prescribed antibiotics. When that regimen failed to clear it up, her doctor arranged a biopsy. The conclusion was swift and devastating: parotid gland cancer. That grim news was followed by worse: An ultrasound scan uncovered two large, unrelated tumours in her thyroid. In no time at all, Ms. Wilcox's doctors had fast-tracked surgery for her salivary gland cancer and recommended the maximally aggressive radiation treatment for the thyroid. All of a sudden, Ms. Wilcox was confronting the biggest crisis management issue of all - her own life. There was precious little time for [...]

Charlotte Parker2009-12-01T16:15:13-07:00December, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Implant-based cancer vaccine is first to eliminate tumors in mice

Source: news.biocompare.com Authors: David J. Mooney et al. A cancer vaccine carried into the body on a carefully engineered, fingernail-sized implant is the first to successfully eliminate tumors in mammals, scientists report this week in the journal Science Translational Medicine. The new approach, pioneered by bioengineers and immunologists at Harvard University, uses plastic disks impregnated with tumor-specific antigens and implanted under the skin to reprogram the mammalian immune system to attack tumors. The new paper describes the use of such implants to eradicate melanoma tumors in mice. "This work shows the power of applying engineering approaches to immunology," says David J. Mooney, the Robert P. Pinkas Family Professor of Bioengineering in Harvard's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering. "By marrying engineering and immunology through this collaboration with Glenn Dranoff at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, we've taken a major step toward the design of effective cancer vaccines." Most cancer cells easily skirt the immune system, which operates by recognizing and attacking invaders from outside the body. The approach developed by Mooney's group redirects the immune system to target tumors, and appears both more effective and less cumbersome than other cancer vaccines currently in clinical trials. Conventional cancer vaccinations remove immune cells from the body, reprogram them to attack malignant tissues, and return them to the body. However, more than 90 percent of reinjected cells have died before having any effect in experiments. The slender implants developed by Mooney's group are 8.5 millimeters in diameter [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-12-01T15:36:50-07:00December, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Mouthwash multiplies risk of cancer up to nine times

Source: www.theaustralian.com.au Author: Adam Creswell Mouthwashes containing alcohol should be used only for short periods because they may increase the risk of oral cancer by up to nine times. Dental researchers warned yesterday that among people using such mouthwashes, the risk of oral cancer was increased nine times if they smoked, and five times if they drank alcohol. For non-drinkers using alcohol-based mouthwashes, the risk of oral cancer is just under five times higher, the experts warn in the latest edition of the National Prescribing Service journal Australian Prescriber. Brands of mouthwash with more than 20 per cent alcohol could have other harmful effects, including the gum disease gingivitis, flat red spots called petechiae and detachment of the cells lining the mouth, they said. "Although many popular mouthwashes may help to control dental plaque and gingivitis, they should only be used for a short time and only as an adjunct to other oral hygiene measures such as brushing and flossing," they wrote. "Long-term use of ethanol-containing mouthwashes should be discouraged, given recent evidence of a possible link with oral cancer." The paper expands on concerns aired by university researchers early this year.

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-12-01T15:27:54-07:00December, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Evaluation of patients with head and neck cancer by means of 99mTc-Glucarate

Source: Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology Volume 37, Number 4, 2009 229-232 Authors: Juan P. Gambini et al. Preliminary findings have suggested that 99mTc-glucarate has tumor-seeking properties. The purpose of this study was to explore the potential of this tracer to evaluate malignant head and neck tumors by means of SPECT/CT software fusion imaging. Methods: Eleven male patients with advanced head and neck carcinoma were included in the study: 9 with locally advanced disease and 2 with clinical suspicion of local relapse. Scanning started 3–6 h after the injection of 1,110 MBq of 99mTc-glucarate. Planar and SPECT images of the head, neck, and thorax were acquired. Three-dimensional images were also coregistered with CT. Results: We found 99mTc-glucarate uptake in all suspected lesions. SPECT/CT fusion imaging was helpful in all cases for topographically localizing the tracer foci. Conclusion: 99mTc-glucarate can be considered a potential tracer for the evaluation of patients with head and neck tumors. Authors: Juan P. Gambini1, Margarita Nuñez2, Pablo Cabral3, Martín Lafferranderie4, Javier Noble5, Eduardo Corchs5, Ricardo D'Albora4, Eduardo Savio6, Lucía Delgado7 and Omar Alonso1,2 Authors' affiliations: 1 Nuclear Medicine Center, Clinical Hospital, University of Uruguay, Montevideo, Uruguay; 2 School of Medical Technology, Nuclear Medicine Technology Program, University of Uruguay, Montevideo, Uruguay; 3 Nuclear Investigations Center, School of Science, University of Uruguay, Montevideo, Uruguay; 4 Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Clinical Hospital, University of Uruguay, Montevideo, Uruguay; 5 Department of Radiology, Clinical Hospital, University of Uruguay, Montevideo, Uruguay; 6 Department of Radiochemistry, School of Chemistry, University of Uruguay, Montevideo, Uruguay; [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-12-01T15:15:38-07:00December, 2009|Oral Cancer News|