Three shots that could stop cancer

Source: tucson.com Author: Meredith Wadman Not so long ago, when my sons still had smooth cheeks and children's voices, I had them vaccinated against human papillomavirus, the most common sexually transmitted disease. It was late 2011, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had just recommended that boys join girls in being vaccinated at age 11 or 12. I was certainly receptive: HPV, as it's commonly called, causes cervical cancer, cancer of the tonsils, cancer of the back of the tongue and, less often, cancers of the vulva, vagina, anus and penis. It seemed important to ensure that my kids were protected. Yet numbers released last month by the CDC show that my sons, now 14 and 15, are among a small minority of adolescent males who have been vaccinated. In 2013, just 14 percent of American boys ages 13 to 17 had received all three recommended doses of the HPV vaccine. (The CDC also recommends "catch-up" vaccination for males up to age 21.) Not that parents are rushing to have their girls vaccinated either, even though the CDC first recommended the vaccine for prepubescent girls in 2007 and virtually all insurers pay for it. In 2013, fewer than 38 percent of American girls between 13 and 17 had received the full three-dose course. It is heartbreaking to watch a safe, effective vaccine go unused. Consider this: The CDC estimates that increasing the vaccination rate of American girls to 80 percent would prevent 53,000 cervical cancers during the lifetimes [...]

Finding better ways to treat, prevent HPV

Source: www.fhcrc.or Author: Diane Mapes - Fred Hutch News Service Twenty-nine years ago, scientists didn’t know what caused many of the genital-tract cancers they studied, much less how to stop them. Today, not only has human papillomavirus been pinpointed as the viral perpetrator behind nearly all genital-tract and some head and neck cancers, there’s now an incredibly effective vaccine that can prevent high-risk HPV infections from ever developing into cancer. “You can almost say on the street, ‘I’m doing HPV research’ and ordinary people will know what that is,” said Aaro Turunen, an HPV researcher from the University of Turku in Finland. “It’s a sexy subject, especially for the media.” While scientific advancements, public awareness and yes, media coverage, have grown exponentially in the last three decades, there is still much to learn and do – particularly with regard to getting the vaccine to the people who most need it, both here in the U.S. and around the world. That’s where the International Papillomavirus Conference, currently in its twenty-ninth year, comes in. The HPV2014 conference, now underway at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle, has drawn the brightest minds in HPV research, including nearly 1,300 basic scientists, public health researchers, physicians, providers and others dedicated to eliminating the suffering caused by the human papillomavirus. The goal of the conference is to share cutting-edge scientific advances in the field of HPV infection and disease and come up with new ways to collaborate to advance science and public health. The conference [...]

The Cancer Cure Parents Aren’t Using

Source: washingtonpost.comAuthor: Meredith Wadman  Not so long ago, when my sons still had smooth cheeks and children’s voices, I had them vaccinated against human papillomavirus, the most common sexually transmitted disease. It was late 2011, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had just recommended that boys join girls in being vaccinated at age 11 or 12. I was certainly receptive: HPV, as it’s commonly called, causes cervical cancer, cancer of the tonsils, cancer of the back of the tongue and, less often, cancers of the vulva, vagina, anus and penis. It seemed important to ensure that my kids were protected. Yet numbers released last month by the CDC show that my sons, now 14 and 15, are among a small minority of adolescent males who have been vaccinated. In 2013, just 14 percent of American boys ages 13 to 17 had received all three recommended doses of the HPV vaccine. (The CDC also recommends “catch-up” vaccination for males up to age 21.) Not that parents are rushing to have their girls vaccinated either, even though the CDC first recommended the vaccine for prepubescent girls in 2007 and virtually all insurers pay for it. In 2013, fewer than 38 percent of American girls between 13 and 17 had received the full three-dose course. It is heartbreaking to watch a safe, effective vaccine go unused. Consider this: The CDC estimates that increasing the vaccination rate of American girls to 80 percent would prevent 53,000 cervical cancers during the lifetimes of girls who are now 12 and younger. When [...]

2014-08-25T11:08:26-07:00August, 2014|Oral Cancer News|

Curt Schilling Reveals his Diagnosis of Oral Cancer and Believes Chewing Tobacco was the Cause

Source: boston.comAuthor: Steve Silva Curt Schilling, the former Red Sox pitcher and ESPN analyst, announced today during the WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio Telethon that he was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma -- which is cancer in the mouth -- in February. "This all came about from a dog bite," Schilling said. "I got bitten by a dog and I had some damage to my finger and I went to see a doctor, and the day that I went to see the doctor, I was driving and I went to rub my neck and I felt a lump on the left side of my neck. And I knew immediately it wasn't normal. So there happened to be an ENT [Ear, Nose, and Throat] right next door to the hand doctor, and I thought what the heck, let me just stop in and see and so I waited in the office and went in there and they did the biopsy, and two days later, they diagnosed me with squamous cell carcinoma. "You know what the amazing thing was? And I was just dumbfounded by it. You've just been told you have cancer and you walk out into the public and the world's still going on and it was really a challenge to wrap my head around that. My second thought was, 'Yeah, really, you think I can handle this too?' So after a couple of tests, I got sent over to Brigham and Women's and Dana-Farber and that's where I met Dr. Haddad [...]

2014-08-20T11:31:16-07:00August, 2014|Oral Cancer News|

New Study Finds Editing HPV Genes Kills Cancer

Source: drbicuspid.comAuthor: DrBicuspid Staff  August 14, 2014 -- Researchers have hijacked a defense system normally used by bacteria to fend off viral infections and redirected it against human papillomavirus (HPV), the virus that causes cervical, head and neck, and other cancers, according to a new study in the Journal of Virology (August, 6, 2014). Using a genome editing tool, researchers from Duke University were able to selectively destroy two viral genes responsible for the growth and survival of cervical carcinoma cells, causing the cancer cells to self-destruct. The study findings validate an approach only recently attempted in mammalian cells, and they could help in the development of antiviral strategies against other DNA-based viruses such as hepatitis B and herpes simplex. "Because this approach is only going after viral genes, there should be no off-target effects on normal cells," said senior study author Bryan R. Cullen, PhD, a professor of molecular genetics and microbiology at the Duke University School of Medicine, in a statement. "You can think of this as targeting a missile that will destroy a certain target. You put in a code that tells the missile exactly what to hit, and it will only hit that, and it won't hit anything else because it doesn't have the code for another target." When examining the genomes of different types of bacteria, researchers noted long stretches where the same genetic sequence was repeated. But in between these repeated stretches were DNA sequences that varied from bacteria to bacteria. About a decade ago, researchers determined that [...]

2014-08-14T17:25:10-07:00August, 2014|Oral Cancer News|

Top cancer organizations push for FDA to regulate all tobacco products

Source: medicalexpress.comAuthor: Staff The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), in a joint letter responding to a proposal by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to extend its regulatory authority over tobacco products, today urged the agency to regulate electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), cigars, and all other tobacco products and to strengthen the proposed regulations for newly deemed products. "There is no safe form of tobacco use," said Margaret Foti, PhD, MD (hc), chief executive officer of the AACR. "Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable deaths in the United States, and among its dire health consequences are 18 different types of cancer. It is imperative that the FDA takes action to regulate all tobacco products. The future health of the American people, in particular our nation's children, depends on it." The AACR and ASCO applauded the FDA's proposal to regulate e-cigarettes. "We believe it is vitally important for the FDA to begin regulating these products, especially because we don't know much about the health effects of e-cigarette use. We are also quite concerned that e-cigarettes may increase the likelihood that nonsmokers or former smokers will use combustible tobacco products or that they will discourage smokers from quitting," said Peter P. Yu, MD, FASCO, president of ASCO. "There are insufficient data on the long-term health consequences of e-cigarettes, their value as tobacco cessation aids, or their effects on the use of conventional cigarettes. Any benefits of e-cigarettes are most likely to be realized [...]

2014-08-13T09:48:45-07:00August, 2014|Oral Cancer News|

The National Academies of Science supports Report on Carcinogens assessments – formaldehyde still causes cancer

Source: switchboard.nrdc.orgAuthor: Jennifer Sass   The National Academies of Science (NAS) issued its assessment of the cancer risks from formaldehyde, a common and highly toxic chemical found in our furniture, home building materials, and clothing. The National Academies conducted a thorough and rigorous scientific review, and concluded that it posed a threat to humans for three types of cancer: nasopharyngeal cancer; sinonasal cancer; and myeloid leukemia. And, in 2009 the World Health Organization also confirmed the science that formaldehyde causes cancer in people. What makes this NAS review novel is not the cancer findings, because those had already been identified by various international and national government scientific assessments. No, this review was politically motivated, the result of a campaign by the chemical industry and its allies in Congress to protect formaldehyde and styrene, another common chemical linked to cancer. Part of that effort has been a vicious attack on government scientific assessments, to distort and discredit any evidence linking toxic chemicals to diseases, disabilities, or death. In a “kill the messenger” campaign, the Report on Carcinogens – the prestigious biennial government report that alerts the public to chemicals that may cause cancer in people – was compelled to undergo review by the National Academies after it listed formaldehyde and styrene as “known” and “reasonably anticipated” to cause cancer, respectively. This NAS formaldehyde report, along with the recent NAS styrene report are the strongest possible statement from the scientific community that: the Report on Carcinogens got it right the first time; formaldehyde - and styrene – may cause cancer in humans; and our [...]

2014-08-12T15:46:52-07:00August, 2014|Oral Cancer News|

PET may artificially boost HNC survival rates

Source: www.drbicuspid.com Author: Donna Domino, Features Editor The use of positron emission tomography (PET) is associated with a stage migration phenomenon in locally advanced head and neck cancer (HNC) patients, according to a recent report in JAMA Otolaryngology -- Head & Neck Surgery. Multiple studies have shown the increased sensitivity of fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-PET over computed tomography (CT) for detecting primary tumors, regional nodal disease, and distant metastases. Because of potential treatment changes and prognostic information, as well as patient and physician preference, FDG-PET has been rapidly adopted for managing head and neck cancers. Because FDG-PET is more sensitive than CT, it often leads to patients being assigned a higher stage than if they were staged with CT alone, the study authors noted. In this retrospective study, the researchers sought to confirm whether the increased use of FDG-PET over time is associated with the appearance of improved stage-specific survival due to stage migration (JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg, July 1, 2014, Vol. 140:7, pp. 654-661). Results In the study's model of clinically important variables, PET scan use was associated with a higher stage of disease. In addition, oropharyngeal cancers were more likely to be assigned a higher stage than oral cavity cancers. Within the PET era, no statistically significant survival difference was found between those who underwent FDG-PET and those who did not. However, a significant increase in stage-specific survival was detected for patients with locally advanced disease. No stage-specific survival differences were found in patients with local disease or metastatic [...]

Colgate Total ingredient linked to hormones, cancer spotlights FDA Process

Source: www.bloomberg.com Author: Tiffany Kary The chemical triclosan has been linked to cancer-cell growth and disrupted development in animals. Regulators are reviewing whether it’s safe to put in soap, cutting boards and toys. Consumer companies are phasing it out. Minnesota voted in May to ban it in many products. At the same time, millions of Americans are putting it in their mouths every day, by way of a top-selling toothpaste that uses the antibacterial chemical to head off gum disease - Colgate-Palmolive Co.’s Total. Total is safe, Colgate says, citing the rigorous Food and Drug Administration process that led to the toothpaste’s 1997 approval as an over-the-counter drug. A closer look at that application process, however, reveals that some of the scientific findings Colgate put forward to establish triclosan’s safety in toothpaste weren’t black and white -- and weren’t, until this year, available to the public. Colgate’s Total application included 35 pages summarizing toxicology studies on triclosan, which the FDA withheld from view. The agency released the pages earlier this year in response to a lawsuit over a Freedom of Information Act request. Later, following inquiries from Bloomberg News, the FDA put the pages on its website. The pages show how even with one of the U.S.’s most stringent regulatory processes -- FDA approval of a new drug -- the government relies on company-backed science to show products are safe and effective. The recently released pages, taken alongside new research on triclosan, raise questions about whether the agency did appropriate [...]

New cancer classification system might boost patient outcomes

Source: health.usnews.com Author: Robert Preidt, HealthDay Reporter Changes to the way cancers are classified could lead to more accurate diagnoses and perhaps more effective treatments in about one in 10 cancer patients, new research suggests. Typically, cancers are categorized according to the tissue in which they originated, such as breast, bladder or kidney cancer. But tissues are composed of different types of cells. In this study, researchers who analyzed more than 3,500 tumor samples of 12 different cancer types concluded that defining tumors by their cellular and molecular features, rather than by the tissues in which they originated, would improve diagnoses in about 10 percent of cancer cases. "This genomic study not only challenges our existing system of classifying cancers based on tissue type, but also provides a massive new data resource for further exploration, as well as a comprehensive list of the molecular features distinguishing each of the newly described cancer classes," study co-senior author Dr. Christopher Benz, professor at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging at the University of California, San Francisco, said in a university news release. The study, published online Aug. 7 in the journal Cell, is part of The Cancer Genome Atlas initiative, which is led by the U.S. National Cancer Institute and U.S. National Human Genome Research Institute. The researchers report particularly significant findings in bladder and breast cancers. They identified at least three different subtypes of bladder cancer, including one that was nearly identical to a form of non-small cell lung cancer [...]

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