May 2011 – Page 2 – Oral Cancer News

High risk of developing ONJ for cancer patients on bisphosphonates

Source: Dr.Bicuspid.com Research has shown that cancer patients on bisphosphonates are at risk of developing osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) and that those on the intravenous form of the drug are at a higher risk compared with those on the oral drugs. However, a new study that looked at cancer patients on zoledronic acid (ZOL) and chemotherapy combined with the antiangiogenic agent bevacizumab (BEV) who underwent a dental exam before starting treatment found that none of them developed ONJ (JADA, May 2011, Vol. 142:5, pp. 506-513). Researchers from the University of Siena in Italy investigated the incidence of and risk factors for ONJ in patients with metastases to the bone from solid tumors who received ZOL and BEV. Their study included 59 patients (34 with breast cancer and 25 with non-small cell lung cancer [NSCL]) who received 4 mg of ZOL intravenously every four weeks and 15 mg per kg of BEV every three weeks. The median time the participants received ZOL therapy was 18 months, while the median time participants received BEV therapy was 16 months. The researchers took several measures to reduce the study participants' risk of developing ONJ, including the following: Dental caries and periodontal disease were treated before starting study treatment. Mouth rinses with chlorhexidine and local antibiotic agents were administered before baseline oral hygiene. Recommendations were made for maintaining good oral hygiene. Teeth were extracted at least four weeks before starting ZOL and BEV therapy. Invasive dental procedures were avoided during treatment. If invasive dental [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-05-24T10:21:55-07:00May, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

FDA to regulate cigarette pack labeling

Source: Dr.Bicuspid May 19, 2011 -- Cigarette manufacturers have deceived consumers about the risks of their products for years, and remedial actions are needed so consumers can make informed decisions about the products they purchase, according to researchers from the Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI). The researchers evaluated the messages that cigarette pack labels convey to smokers and nonsmokers, and their findings will be published in three studies in an upcoming issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine (June 2011, Vol. 40:6, pp. 674-698). "Tobacco companies have used attractive packaging and persuasive images to market their products for decades," said lead author Maansi Bansal-Travers, PhD, a behavioral research scientist at RPCI, in a press release. "These studies support efforts by the [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] to regulate cigarette pack labeling." Tobacco manufacturers have effectively used cigarette pack design, colors, and descriptive terms to create the illusion that filtered and so-called light/mild cigarettes are safer than unfiltered and full-flavor cigarettes, when this is not the case. Beginning in June 2010, regulations contained in the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act have prohibited tobacco companies from using descriptive terms such as "light," "mild," or "low" in advertising and on cigarette packaging. "While the removal of these obviously misleading terms was a good first step, we discovered that cigarette manufacturers have circumvented the regulation by using different terms such as 'gold' and 'silver' and changing the colors on packs to continue to mislead consumers about their products," Bansal-Travers said. The [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-05-24T10:10:32-07:00May, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Touched by another human’s touch

Source: www.latimes.com Author: Itzhak Brook, M.D. I was deeply shaken to learn I had hypopharyngeal cancer. As a physician, I had access to my hospital's laboratory results, so I took a shortcut: Rather than wait for my surgeon to call me, I looked for my name in my hospital's pathology laboratory log book. After my name, the log book stated in no uncertain terms: "mildly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma." I could not believe my eyes. Was this possible? Could it be a mistake? In spite of the hopeful questions that permeated my mind, I knew it was not a mistake: Right here, in front of me, in black and white — my own death sentence. Still, to be convinced that the diagnosis was real, I had to view the biopsy specimens under the microscope myself — and there it was. In that very instant, my whole world changed. I had always had a sense of invulnerability. Now I was left with uncertainty about my prognosis and future. I was in a state of desperation and disbelief when I left the pathology laboratory and walked into my internist's office to break the news to him. He slowly got out of his chair without uttering a word and gave me a big, supportive hug. It felt so good to know that he deeply cared for me beyond our professional relationship. His embrace moved me — made me feel that I was surrounded by those who truly appreciated my pain and distress, and [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-05-24T06:39:31-07:00May, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Boys and HPV Vaccine: The Facts

Source: Forbes Magazine CNN reports on a study that argues that boys should get vaccinated for the human papilloma virus (HPV), which causes cervical cancer in women. But it misses the main reason that boys should be getting jabs of either Merck‘s Gardasil or GlaxoSmithKline’s rival Cervarix. Cue CNN: Men also carry the human papillomavirus, the virus that can lead to male cancers and genital warts. And they could spread HPV to their sexual partners, putting those people at risk for cervical cancer. So the HPV vaccine, that is often recommended for girls, should extend to boys as well, say researchers from Innsbruck Medical University in Austria. Their study was presented at the meeting of the American Urological Association on Tuesday. …. In the study, Dr. Michael Ladurner Rennau and his colleagues tested 133 men, between 7 months to 82 years old for the presence of HPV, one of the most common sexually transmitted infections. They used DNA extraction. They found 18.8% of the examined foreskins had the low-risk HPV genotypes and 9.77% had the high-risk HPV. via Males should get HPV vaccine too, study says – The Chart – CNN.com Blogs. Of course, the reason there’s not a big push to vaccinate men for HPV is because genital warts are treatable and penile and anal cancers are rare. And saying, “Let’s vaccinate your son so that the women he sleeps with won’t get HPV” is an uncomfortable and probably unconvincing approach for pediatricians to take with parents. Girls — [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-05-23T12:25:32-07:00May, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Clinicians support the necessity of neck dissection because of high risk of recurrence in oral cancer patients

Source: HighWire Stanford University PURPOSE: In head and neck cancer, the most important prognostic factor is the presence or absence of neck metastasis. Although still debated in the published data regarding the "wait and see" policy for Stage T1-T2 oral cancer, a large number of clinicians support the necessity of neck dissection, especially in cases of oral tongue carcinoma, because of the poor prognosis and high risk of recurrence. The aim of the present study was to summarize and quantify the incidence of occult metastasis in oral cancer treatment at the oral and maxillofacial surgery department, Rambam Medical Center, in the past 10 years. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 142 neck dissections performed at our department in the past 10 years (1998 to 2009) and a series of 68 patients (44 men and 22 women) treated for Stage T1N0 or T2N0 oral cancer were included in the present retrospective study. All patients underwent surgical resection of the oral cancer and selective neck dissection of the ipsilateral side. RESULTS: Occult lymph node metastases were detected in 11 patients (16% overall, 9 in the tongue, 1 in the buccal mucosa, and 1 in the gingiva of the mandible). The frequency of occult metastasis from tongue carcinoma was 34% (9 of 26 cases). The 5-year survival rate in the present study was 78.9%. In patients who underwent chemotherapy, radiotherapy, brachytherapy, or a combination of the 3 after surgical management, the overall survival rate decreased significantly to 22.5% (P = .006, log-rank test). [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-05-23T12:23:20-07:00May, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. launches new advertising campaign

Source: The Business Journal R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. has launched a new advertising campaign for its smoke-free Camel Snus that’s timed to coincide with a broader New York City smoking ban that goes into effect next week. The ads include language such as “NYC Smokers enjoy the freedom without the flame” and “NYC smokers rise above the ban,” and are scheduled to appear next week in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today and other major daily newspapers, according to the National Association of Convenience Stores. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in February signed into a law a wider ban that would prohibit smoking in city parks, beaches, public plazas and boardwalks, and the new ban goes into effect Monday. Greensboro is another community consider an expansion of its indoor smoking ban to include parks and outdoor recreation facilities. That push is being led by the Cone Health Foundation, and the Greensboro City Commission is in the process of getting feedback from residents. Raleigh adopted a smoking ban in city parks in February that goes into effect this summer, but exempts smokeless tobacco. Daan Delen, the president and CEO of Reynolds American (NYSE: RAI), the parent company of RJR, has said that the company is ramping up its promotion of its products like Snus, which is a moist powder tobacco, and dissolvable tobacco products. Read an earlier Business Journal interview with Delen here. Read more: RJR’s SNUS campaign synced with NYC ban | The Business Journal This news story was [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-05-23T12:19:55-07:00May, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Larynx preservation studies should consider treatment impact

Source: www.internalmedicinenews.com Author: Sara Freeman, Internal Medicine News Digital Network Almost one-quarter of patients who had been given induction chemotherapy before radiotherapy for head and neck cancer experienced long-term swallowing difficulties, with another 15% experiencing voice disabilities that correlated with the mobility of the vocal cords. Long-term data from the GORTEC (Groupe Oncologie Radiothérapie Tête et Cou) 2000-01 larynx preservation trial also show that approximately two-thirds of long-term head and neck cancer survivors experienced severe problems with sticky saliva and dry mouth, which were in turn linked to nutritional problems. These findings, reported May 9 at the European Society for Therapeutic Radiation Oncology (ESTRO) Anniversary Conference, further confirm that studies looking at the effects of chemoradiotherapy on the larynx in head and neck cancer need to consider prospective assessment of laryngeal function, rather than just looking at anatomical preservation, according to a French radiation oncologist. Dr. Gilles Calais of the Centre Hôpitalier Régional et Universitaire de Tours (France) presented data from a prospective analysis of 61 patients who had participated in the original 213-patient GORTEC 2000-01 trial. He also presented updated results from the trial using a recently developed composite end point. "Larynx preservation can be achieved for most of our [head and neck] patients by using three different strategies: induction chemotherapy, concomitant [chemoradiotherapy], or alternating chemoradiotherapy," Dr. Calais observed. Indeed, larynx preservation is a possibility in approximately 80% of patients, he said. However, anatomical preservation does not mean that laryngeal function is maintained, especially with respect to the ability [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-05-21T14:31:34-07:00May, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Oral Cancer Foundation breaks records in April’s Awareness and Screening Month

Source: MSNBC News Author: staff Oral cancer is an insidious disease that too often is not discovered until very late in its development, as it might not produce symptoms the average person may notice. By then treatments are less effective, and because of late discovery in far too many patients, it has a five year survival rate of only about 57%, much lower than cancers we commonly hear about. Oral cancer has existed outside the awareness of much of the public, yet it will take one life, every hour of every day in the U.S. This year the combination of unprecedented efforts by the relatively small, non-profit Oral Cancer Foundation, a coalition of strategic partners they formed, and a dose of celebrity power, created what might be called a perfect storm; and one that potentially will change public awareness of one of the few cancers that is actually increasing in incidence in the U.S. For thirteen years in a row, April has been oral cancer awareness month nationally. More than 85% of all head and neck cancers are oral and oropharyngeal disease. Historically, a loose coalition of stakeholders in the disease has mustered about 200 screening events in April in facilities ranging from large institutions to individual dental offices around the country. Those participants opened their doors for at least a half-day to opportunistically screen members of the public in their communities for free, to find early stage disease, and to raise public awareness. This year the Oral Cancer Foundation, [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-06-16T12:46:56-07:00May, 2011|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

Turmeric makes head, neck cancer treatment more effective

Source: www.dailyindia.com Author: staff Researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have found that a compound derived from curcumin helps cells overcome the treatment failure of head and neck cancer. Curcumin is the principal curcuminoid of the popular Indian spice turmeric. When researchers added a curcumin-based compound, called FLLL32, to head and neck cancer cell lines, they were able to cut the dose of the chemotherapy drug cisplatin by four while still killing tumor cells equally as well as the higher dose of cisplatin without FLLL32. "This work opens the possibility of using lower, less toxic doses of cisplatin to achieve an equivalent or enhanced tumor kill. Typically, when cells become resistant to cisplatin, we have to give increasingly higher doses. But this drug is so toxic that patients who survive treatment often experience long-term side effects from the treatment," said senior author Thomas Carey, professor of otolaryngology and pharmacology at the U-M Medical School. That tumors become resistant to cisplatin is a major reason why head and neck cancer patients frequently see their cancer return or spread. It also plays a big role in why five-year survival for head and neck cancer has not improved in the past three decades. In the current study, researchers compared varying doses of cisplatin alone with varying doses of cisplatin plus FLLL32 against two sets of head and neck cancer cells: one line that was sensitive to cisplatin and one line that was resistant. They found that FLLL32 decreased the activation [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-05-21T14:13:55-07:00May, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

A compound found in a common Indian spice boosts effectiveness of head and neck cancer treatment

Source: Science Blog A primary reason that head and neck cancer treatments fail is the tumor cells become resistant to chemotherapy drugs. Now, researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have found that a compound derived from the Indian spice curcumin can help cells overcome that resistance. When researchers added a curcumin-based compound, called FLLL32, to head and neck cancer cell lines, they were able to cut the dose of the chemotherapy drug cisplatin by four while still killing tumor cells equally as well as the higher dose of cisplatin without FLLL32. The study appears this week in the Archives of Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery. “This work opens the possibility of using lower, less toxic doses of cisplatin to achieve an equivalent or enhanced tumor kill. Typically, when cells become resistant to cisplatin, we have to give increasingly higher doses. But this drug is so toxic that patients who survive treatment often experience long-term side effects from the treatment,” says senior study author Thomas Carey, Ph.D., professor of otolaryngology and pharmacology at the U-M Medical School and co-director of the Head and Neck Oncology Program at the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center. That tumors become resistant to cisplatin is a major reason why head and neck cancer patients frequently see their cancer return or spread. It also plays a big role in why five-year survival for head and neck cancer has not improved in the past three decades. FLLL32 is designed to sensitize cancer cells at a [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-05-20T10:07:30-07:00May, 2011|Oral Cancer News|