March 2011 – Page 2 – Oral Cancer News

FDA panel finds ban on menthol cigarettes would ‘benefit the public health’

Source: www.washingtonpost.com Author: Lyndsey Layton An advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration that has been studying whether the government ought to ban menthol cigarettes said Friday that the “removal of menthol cigarettes from the marketplace would benefit the public health.” The panel, made up of scientists, doctors and public health experts, stopped short of recommending a ban on menthol cigarettes, which make up about 30 percent of the $80 billion U.S. cigarette market. The committee, which spent a year analyzing menthol cigarettes before releasing its draft recommendations, said that compared to standard cigarettes, the mint-flavored products do not pose greater individual risk to smokers in terms of lung cancer, stroke and other tobacco-related diseases. But menthol cigarettes are especially enticing to teenagers and to blacks and are more likely to turn them into lifetime smokers, the panel found. Smokers of menthol cigarettes also find it harder to quit, the panel said. Lawrence R. Deyton, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, said the agency will review the panel’s recommendations. The FDA is not required to follow the advice of its advisory panels but often does. “Now it’s up to us to do our job,” Deyton told the panel. The menthol question will be the first real test of how aggressively the FDA intends to regulate tobacco. Congress passed landmark legislation in 2009 that put tobacco under the authority of the FDA for the first time. The law prohibits the agency from outlawing tobacco or nicotine but gives [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-03-19T09:29:53-07:00March, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Dissolvable tobacco products may increase mouth disease in smokers, children

Source: onlinejournal.com Author: staff When they were originally released, it looked as though dissolvable tobacco might become a healthier alternative to traditional cigarettes. After all, there is no smoke to breath in and no juice to spit out. But a recent study suggests that these tobacco lozenges have the potential to cause increased mouth diseases as well as possible harm to children. The study is based on findings from John V. Goodpaster of the Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis and colleagues. After analyzing the complex ingredients in the products, researchers found that they contained nicotine, along with finely-ground tobacco and a variety of flavoring ingredients, sweeteners and binders. When these substances are dissolved near the lips and gums, the effects can be just as harmful for the mouth as more traditional tobacco products. When the first dissolvable tobacco products in pellet, stick and strip forms went on sale to test markets in Indianapolis, Ind., Columbus, Ohio, and Portland, Ore., they were billed as a safer way to get your tobacco fix. But the study, published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, asserts that nicotine is still a harmful substance and prolonged exposure on the lips and gums is still harmful, no matter the delivery mechanism. The study also expressed concerns over other ingredients in the products, including coumarin, which has been banned as a flavoring agent in food because of its link to a risk of liver damage. 'The results presented here are the first to reveal the [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-03-19T09:25:03-07:00March, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Jury finds no negligence by orthodontist in Annadale woman’s tongue-cancer death

Source: Silive.com Tragic teen: Stephanie Hare's cancer was too far advanced, and aspiring teacher died in November 2004. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Annadale resident Stephanie Hare was only 19 years old when a cancerous lesion was detected on her tongue in April 2004. By that time, it was too late. Despite undergoing surgery to remove most of her tongue and submitting to painful radiation and chemotherapy treatments, the vivacious young woman who aspired to be a teacher died seven months later at the age of 20. Ms. Hare’s family contends her orthodontist, Dr. Michael J. Donato of Richmond, was responsible for her death by failing to detect the lesion during a December 2003 visit. However, a jury in state Supreme Court, St. George, disagreed. The panel on Wednesday found Dr. Donato was not negligent and had followed standard dental practices and care when he examined Ms. Hare on Dec. 19, 2003. "Stephanie’s death was not anybody’s fault," Dr. Donato’s lawyer, Douglas J. Fitzmorris, told jurors in his summation. "Stephanie died of cancer. Dr. Donato’s not to blame. The whole specter of this lesion being missed by Dr. Donato is not what happened. There was no deviation from accepted practice." Jason C. Molesso, the lawyer for Ms. Hare’s family, had asked jurors to consider a $2.3 million award for her pain and suffering if they found Dr. Donato liable. "This case is about choices," Molesso told jurors in his closing argument as Ms. Hare’s family wept and hugged each other in the [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-03-18T09:45:15-07:00March, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Head and neck cancer guidelines ‘streamlined’

Source: www.medscape.com Author: Fran Lowry Modest changes in the 2011 National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Head and Neck Cancers Guidelines will refine and improve the treatment of these complex, challenging, and relatively rare cancers, according to the panel chief reporting here at the NCCN 16th Annual Conference. One of the main changes is a new "suggestion" that the workup for cancer of the oropharynx include testing of the tumor for human papillomavirus (HPV). "Immunohistochemical testing for HPV p16 is recommended," said David G. Pfister, MD, from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, and chair of the NCCN Head and Neck Cancers Guidelines Committee. "Although not used to guide treatment, HPV testing is valuable prognostically. The results should not change management decisions," he emphasized. HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer appears to be a new and distinct disease entity, and is associated with better survival than non-HPV head and neck cancers, Dr. Pfister noted. HPV Has a Clear Impact on Prognosis "Our understanding of the human papillomavirus as a risk factor for head and neck cancer has evolved. Now we see that it has a clear impact on prognosis," Dr. Pfister said in an interview with Medscape Medical News. Because of their improved prognosis, these patients might require different treatment, he said. "There is a great interest in better understanding HPV-related cancers and how we treat the disease down the road. Right now we have insufficient data to change how we treat these patients, but clinical trials are being designed to assess the optimal treatment [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-03-18T12:17:56-07:00March, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

US cancer survivors grows to nearly 12 million

Source: www.cancer.gov Author: staff The number of cancer survivors in the United States increased to 11.7 million in 2007, according to a report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health. There were 3 million cancer survivors in 1971 and 9.8 million in 2001. The study, “Cancer Survivors in the United States, 2007,” is published today in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. A cancer survivor is defined as anyone who has been diagnosed with cancer, from the time of diagnosis through the balance of his or her life. "It's good news that so many are surviving cancer and leading long, productive, and healthy lives," said CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. "Preventing cancer and detecting it early remain critically important as some cancers can be prevented or detected early enough to be effectively treated. Not smoking, getting regular physical activity, eating healthy foods, and limiting alcohol use can reduce the risk of many cancers." To determine the number of survivors, the authors analyzed the number of new cases and follow-up data from NCI’s Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program between 1971 and 2007. Population data from the 2006 and 2007 United States Census were also included. The researchers estimated the number of persons ever diagnosed with cancer who were alive on Jan. 1, 2007 (except non-melanoma skin cancers, which are fairly common and rarely fatal). Study findings indicate: Of the 11.7 million people [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-03-17T04:27:56-07:00March, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Assessment of human papillomavirus in lung tumor tissue

Source: Journal of the National Cancer Institute Abstract Background Lung cancer kills more than 1 million people worldwide each year. Whereas several human papillomavirus (HPV)–associated cancers have been identified, the role of HPV in lung carcinogenesis remains controversial. Methods We selected 450 lung cancer patients from an Italian population–based case–control study, the Environment and Genetics in Lung Cancer Etiology. These patients were selected from those with an adequate number of unstained tissue sections and included all those who had never smoked and a random sample of the remaining patients. We used real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to test specimens from these patients for HPV DNA, specifically for E6 gene sequences from HPV16 and E7 gene sequences from HPV18. We also tested a subset of 92 specimens from all never-smokers and a random selection of smokers for additional HPV types by a PCR-based test for at least 54 mucosal HPV genotypes. DNA was extracted from ethanol- or formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumor tissue under strict PCR clean conditions. The prevalence of HPV in tumor tissue was investigated. Results Specimens from 399 of 450 patients had adequate DNA for analysis. Most patients were current (220 patients or 48.9%) smokers, and 92 patients (20.4%) were women. When HPV16 and HPV18 type–specific primers were used, two specimens were positive for HPV16 at low copy number but were negative on additional type-specific HPV16 testing. Neither these specimens nor the others examined for a broad range of HPV types were positive for any HPV type. Conclusions When DNA [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-03-17T04:21:34-07:00March, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Woman awarded $15 million for misdiagnosed lesion

Source: DrBicuspid.com September 11, 2011 -- A Michigan jury awarded a 61-year-old woman $15 million after her oral surgeon failed to diagnose an oral lesion that eventually progressed into stage IV cancer, according to a story in the Detroit News. Because of a state law capping malpractice awards, however, the woman will receive only about $600,000, the story noted. Herta Hopton first complained of pain in her lower right jaw in 2005. Her dentist, R. Peter Maly, D.D.S., referred her to a periodontist, John Sivertson, D.D.S., who detected a white lesion in the bottom of her mouth but diagnosed it as "aspirin burn." She was referred to Warren Vallerand, D.D.S., an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, in May 2006 and saw him four times about the lesion, but he never called for a biopsy. Hopton was finally diagnosed with stage IV skin cancer in November 2006. She has since had more than 20 surgeries to remove part of her jaw and reconstruct it with other bone tissue, according to the Detroit News. Hopton sued all three doctors and the case went to trial, but ended with a hung jury. She settled out of court with Dr. Maly for an undisclosed amount. In a second trial, Dr. Sivertson was exonerated, while the jury found against Dr. Vallerand.

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-03-14T12:05:02-07:00March, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Oral cancer screenings a must, say malpractice attorneys

Source: Dr.Bicuspid.com By: Donna Domino March 10, 2011 -- The patient was insistent: All she wanted was to get her teeth whitened for an upcoming high school reunion. She came in for the $99 Internet special the dentist had run and mentioned a sore on her tongue, but she said it was recent, attributing it to a tongue-biting habit. The dentist did the procedure but advised the patient that she needed a follow-up oral exam. The patient eventually went to an oral surgeon who diagnosed the young mother with terminal tongue cancer. She sued the dentist who did the teeth whitening for malpractice, for missing her oral cancer. That case, Tale of the Tainted Tongue, was dramatized at the recent Chicago Dental Society Midwinter Meeting in a session highlighting the growing number of malpractice suits over missed oral cancer screenings. Anne Oldenburg, an attorney with Alholm, Monahan, Klauke, Hay & Oldenburg, which specializes in dental malpractice cases, participated in the mock trial. Ten years ago she didn't have many such cases, she told DrBicuspid.com. But that scenario has changed dramatically in recent years, she said, noting that she is currently involved in three dental malpractice cases. The mock trial was similar to a previous lawsuit she handled, in which a young man in his 40s died. "It was oral cancer that was clearly missed," Oldenburg recalled. The family settled for $750,000 because the children didn't want to go through the litigation process, but many death cases can reach $1 million [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-03-14T11:58:49-07:00March, 2011|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

Increasing incidence of oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma in young white women, age 18 to 44 years

Source: jco.ascopubs.org Authors: Sagar C. Patel et al. Purpose: To evaluate the incidence of oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OCSCC) and oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC) in young white women, age 18 to 44 years. Patients and Methods: We analyzed incidence and survival data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program of the National Cancer Institute from 1975 to 2007 for OCSCC and OTSCC. Three cohorts were examined: all ages, age 18 to 44 years (ie, “young”), and age > 44 years. Individuals were stratified by sex and/or race. Percentage change (PC) and annual percentage change (APC) were calculated. Joinpoint regression analyses were performed to examine trend differences. Results: Overall, incidence of OCSCC was decreasing for all ages. However, incidence was increasing for young white women (PC, 34.8; APC, 2.2; P

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-03-12T12:59:26-07:00March, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

HPV prevalence in men

Source: The Lancet, Volume 377, Issue 9769, Pages 881 - 883, 12 March 2011 Authors: Anna Giuliano et al. In The Lancet, Anna Giuliano and colleagues1 present a prospective study (HPV in Men [HIM]) of the incidence and clearance of human papillomavirus (HPV) infections in men. They also report on male sexual behavior, which determines HPV incidence and clearance. The epidemiology of HPV infections in men is not well understood and thus the results are of substantial interest. The results bring to light important new information, and draw attention to differences between the natural histories of male and female HPV infections, and the need for further studies to better define HPV transmission, progression to disease, and epithelial sites in men. Because HPV infection in men greatly affects disease risk in women,2 transmission and protection are important topics. However, circumcision and condom use have not been clearly shown to fully protect against either HPV acquisition or clearance in male genital sites,3, 4 which questions their value in preventing infection in men and transmission to female partners. Understanding male HPV infection is important to minimize anxiety and the health-care costs associated with genital warts, penile cancer treatment, and morbidity in men, in addition to addressing the acknowledged public health concern created by HPV infection in women. The HIM data on HPV incidence and clearance should be exploited to elaborate prevention guidance, and to minimize transmission and to aid management and associated concerns for couples. Because most HPV infections in men are asymptomatic, [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-03-12T11:50:39-07:00March, 2011|Oral Cancer News|