April 2016 – Oral Cancer News

Researchers link hepatitis C virus to head and neck cancers

Source: lymphomanewstoday.com Author: Magdalena Kegel A study from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center shows the hepatitis C infection, previously linked to liver cancer and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, is associated with cancers of the head and neck — a finding that could have immediate implications in how hepatitis-infected patients are screened, and how head and neck cancer patients are treated. Hepatitis C affects as many as 1.5 percent of the U.S. population, making it the most common blood-borne disease in the country, with an estimated 3.9 million having the chronic infection. This number skyrockets to a whopping 130 million to 150 million when considering the global population. New antivirals with few side effects have, however, made it possible to cure up to 90 percent of all hepatitis C patients. The study, “Association Between Hepatitis C Virus and Head and Neck Cancers,” was performed at an MD Anderson clinic focusing on the unmet medical needs of patients with hepatitis C. The clinic opened in 2009, and to date remains the only hepatitis-focused clinic among comprehensive cancer centers in the U.S. “Obviously, a hepatitis C infection could impact how patients respond to their cancer therapy. We also realized that many of our hepatitis patients were excluded from clinical trials. Now that many with hepatitis C can be cured, it is important that we first address and potentially cure the virus, so that they can have access to necessary cancer therapy,” said senior author Harrys A. Torres, in a press release. The [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2016-04-27T07:47:24-07:00April, 2016|Oral Cancer News|

BMS gets US breakthrough status for head & neck cancer

Source: pharmatimes.com Author: Selina McKee US regulators have awarded Bristol-Myers Squibb’s immunotherapy Opdivo a breakthrough designation for the potential indication of recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN). The move, which should help expedite the drug’s development and review, comes after preliminary clinical evidence indicated it could offer a substantial survival benefit to patients with the condition who have already received platinum-based therapy. A first look at the data from the Phase III CheckMate-141 trial, stopped early in January 2016 after meeting its primary endpoint of overall survival, showed that patients treated with Opdivo (nivolumab) experienced a 30 percent reduction in the risk of death compared to the investigator’s choice of therapy (methotrexate, docetaxel, or cetuximab), with a median overall survival of 7.5 months versus to 5.1 months. Safety signals were also looking good, with treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) of any grade occurring in 58.9 percent of patients on Opdivo versus 77.5 percent of patients on investigator’s choice. Grade 3-4 TRAEs were reported in 13.1 percent of patients on Opdivo compared to 35.1 percent taking the investigator's choice, while two drug-related deaths were reported as related to Opdivo (pneumonitis and hypercalcaemia), and one Grade 5 event of lung infection in the comparator arm. The findings are particularly pertinent given the particularly bleak outlook for patients whose disease has progressed after platinum therapy and lack of systemic therapies to improve survival, and thus significant unmet medical need for new options. Head and neck cancer is the [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2016-04-27T07:39:35-07:00April, 2016|Oral Cancer News|

Drug Target in Rare, Lethal Glandular Cancer Discovered

Source: www.dddmag.comAuthor: Yale University Using a novel cell culture approach, Yale Cancer Center researchers have discovered critical vulnerabilities in adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC), a rare and lethal glandular cancer with a high recurrence rate and few treatment options. The findings, published April 15th in the journal Clinical Cancer Research, offer data that ACC and similar cancers could be treated with already available drugs. ACC most often occurs in the salivary glands but can originate in the breast, trachea, skin, or other sites. Survival rates at five years are close to 90percent but drop significantly after that with just 40percent surviving at 15 years after diagnosis. It is a slow-growing cancer that affects about 1,200 people each year, with few symptoms in early stages. Aside from surgery, there are few treatments for ACC, which until now has proven largely resistant to radiation therapy. It is this resistance that prompted Yale researchers to develop a novel cell culture technique to isolate and study ACC cancer stem cells, known to be the root of tumor growth, aggressiveness, and resistance to chemotherapy and radiation, said co-senior author Sergey Ivanov, research scientist in surgery (otolaryngology). “Within ACC cells, we found the especially aggressive cancer stem cells. As important, we found the Achilles heel of these cells, which is their addiction to NOTCH1, a signaling molecule that helps these cells to survive therapy and multiply,” Ivanov said. “Fortunately, cancer stem cells can be killed by blocking NOTCH1 production.” The similarities between the ACC stem cells and [...]

Charlotte Parker2016-04-21T10:12:16-07:00April, 2016|Oral Cancer News|

FDA Spends $36 Million on Anti-Chewing Tobacco Ad Campaign

Source: www.freebeacon.comAuthor: Elizabeth Harrington Cans of smokeless tobacco sit in the Tampa Bay Rays dugout before a baseball game between the Rays and the Baltimore Orioles, Wednesday, April 14, 2010, in Baltimore. After hounding Major League Baseball and its players union over steroids, Congress now wants the sport to ban smokeless tobacco. (AP Photo/Rob Carr) The Food and Drug Administration is spending $36 million on an anti-chewing tobacco advertising campaign targeted at white male teenagers in the midwest. The federal agency announced Tuesday it is expanding its “Real Cost” anti-tobacco campaign to “educate rural, white male teenagers” and convince them to stop dipping. “Smokeless tobacco use is culturally ingrained in many rural communities,” the FDA said. “For many, it has become a rite of passage, with these teenagers seeing smokeless tobacco used by role models, such as fathers, grandfathers, older brothers, and community leaders.” The campaign will run television, radio, and print advertisements, as well as put up public signs and billboards and post on social media. An FDA spokesperson told the Washington Free Beacon that the total cost for the campaign is $36 million, which will be financed through taxes on tobacco manufacturers. Paid ads will cost $20 million, and the remaining budget will cover “research, strategic planning, creative development, and contract management.” The agency is also partnering with two dozen minor league baseball teams in the midwest that will host anti-chewing tobacco events and feature advertisements from the campaign. “Amplification of messaging from the campaign will [...]

Charlotte Parker2016-04-21T10:03:14-07:00April, 2016|Oral Cancer News|

Chemotherapy + radiation may improve survival for some elderly

Source: journals.lww.com Author: Carlson, Robert H., Oncology Times Because the toxicity of concurrent chemoradiation is greater than radiation therapy alone for definitive head and neck cancer treatment, many clinicians have reservations about offering chemoradiotherapy for elderly head and neck cancer patients. But a new study shows that combining chemotherapy with radiation therapy improves survival rates for those head and neck cancer patients ages 71 to 79 years who have low comorbidity scores and advanced disease stage, with survival rates similar to that of younger patients. The study, which used data from the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB), suggests elderly patients are being underrepresented in prospective clinical trials that have defined standards of care for head and neck cancer. “In the era of improved radiation techniques, improved systemic therapy, and better supportive care, we found that chemoradiotherapy does, in fact, improve survival for a large segment of this population,” said Sana Karam, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Aurora, and senior author on the study.“ "These findings challenge historical data demonstrating no benefit of chemoradiotherapy for patients older than 70 years,” Karam said. The study was presented at the 2016 Multidisciplinary Head & Neck Cancer Symposium, sponsored by the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). First author is Arya Amini, MD, a fourth-year resident in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Before the meeting, Karam discussed [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2016-04-19T14:49:31-07:00April, 2016|Oral Cancer News|

Hepatitis C Virus strongly linked to head and neck cancer: study

Source: www.techtimes.com Author: Deepthi B, Tech Times People infected with the Hepatitis C virus (HCV), one of the most common blood-borne virus infections, are more prone to developing particular types of head and neck cancer, according to a new study. Researchers from the Univerity of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have revealed that HCV-infected people are at a higher risk of developing these cancers by around two to five times more than those without the Hepatitis C infection. "What we are trying to make all understand is that this is an infection that has consequences – and it's an infection we can cure," said Dr. Harrys Torres, lead author and an associate professor of infectious diseases at the university. Torres further explained that the Hepatitis C infection is easily curable and that over 90 percent of the HCV-related cases can be cured without any trouble simply by taking antiviral drugs, although they are expensive. Also, it is recommended that people should ensure timely screenings and appropriate treatment for HCV, as this can considerably prevent the condition from developing in the body. Hepatitis C appallingly affects more than 3.5 million Americans, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sadly, several of them are not even aware that they are infected with the virus. For the purpose of the study, researchers examined medical records from over 34,500 patients tested for HCV at the cancer center from 2004 to 2014. The researchers discovered that patients suffering from hepatitis C seemed [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2016-04-19T14:31:09-07:00April, 2016|Oral Cancer News|

Nivolumab Improved Survival For Patients With Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Source: www.aacr.orgAuthor: AACR Newsroom Staff NEW ORLEANS — Treatment with the immunotherapeutic nivolumab (Opdivo) improved survival for patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma that progressed after platinum-based chemotherapy compared with single-agent chemotherapy of the investigator’s choice, according to results from the CheckMate-141 phase III clinical trial presented here at the AACR Annual Meeting 2016, April 16-20. “Recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma that is not responsive to platinum-based chemotherapy progresses very rapidly, and patients have a very poor prognosis,” said Maura L. Gillison, MD, PhD, a professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute. “Treatment usually involves single-agent chemotherapy. However, no therapy has been shown to improve survival for this patient population. New treatment options are desperately needed. “This study is the first randomized clinical trial to clearly demonstrate improved overall survival for patients with platinum-refractory recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma,” continued Gillison. “We hope that the results will establish nivolumab as a new standard of care option for this patient population and thereby fulfill a huge unmet need.” CheckMate-141 was a randomized, phase III clinical trial designed to determine whether the PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab could extend overall survival for patients with platinum-refractory recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma compared with treatment of the investigator’s choice, which was any of the commonly used therapeutics docetaxel, methotrexate, or [...]

Charlotte Parker2016-04-19T10:49:39-07:00April, 2016|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

Minimizing Imaging for Recurrence of HPV-Associated Head & Neck Cancer

Source: www.journals.lww.com/oncologytimesAuthor: Robert H. Carlson SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ.—Most recurrences of HPV-positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) can be found through imaging and physical exams within six months after treatment, according to a study from the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute in Tampa, Fla. “For most patients with HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer who have had a negative three-month PET scan, physical exams with history and direct visualization are sufficient to find recurrences,” said Jessica M. Frakes, MD, Assistant Member of the Department of Radiation Oncology at the institute and lead author on the study, in a presentation at the 2016 Multidisciplinary Head & Neck Cancer Symposium. “Minimizing the number of exams that do not compromise outcomes not only helps decrease anxiety and stress for our patients, but also eases the financial burden of cancer care,” she said. The study also supports the effectiveness of specialist teams in treating HPV-positive OPSCC with definitive radiation therapy. Frakes said local control at three years was 97.8; regional control 95.3 percent; locoregional control 94 percent; and freedom from distant metastases 91.4 percent. Three-year overall survival was 91 percent. “The number of OPSCC patients and survivors is growing, so there is a great need to determine the general time to recurrence and the most effective modes of recurrence detection in order to guide optimal follow-up care,” Frakes said. But National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines for treatment of OPSCC are “one size fits all,” she said, with the same follow-up recommendations whether the disease [...]

Charlotte Parker2016-04-18T17:27:00-07:00April, 2016|Oral Cancer News|

Head & Neck Cancer Patients Face Social Isolation, Financial Burdens

Source: www.journals.lww.com/oncologytimesAuthor: Robert H. Carlson SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.—Locally advanced head and neck cancer (LAHNC) has high morbidity and is expensive to treat. The cost of the disease, not only in financial burden but also degradation of the patient's quality of life, was highlighted in a recent study from University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. The study, using data from 73 treatment-naïve LAHNC patients, showed that 69 percent relied on one or more lifestyle-altering cost-coping strategies while managing their cancer, including spending savings (62 percent), borrowing money (42 percent), selling possessions (25 percent), and having family members work more hours (23 percent). A more subtle disruption of patients' lives was also identified, that of perceived social isolation— defined as a lack of social support coupled with increased loneliness—as a risk factor for less than optimal medication adherence and use of health care resources during treatment. That meant more days of missed medication, more missed appointments, and longer inpatient hospital stays. The study was presented at the 2016 Multidisciplinary Head & Neck Cancer Symposium, sponsored by the American Society for Radiation Oncology and the American Society of Clinical Oncology. “Physical side effects are not the only ones our head and neck cancer patients endure,” said Sunny Kung, a second-year medical student and lead author on the study. “It is important for physicians to screen for social isolation just as we screen for depression and identify patients with high social isolation so we can intervene earlier on before they experience these negative financial side [...]

Charlotte Parker2016-04-18T17:15:40-07:00April, 2016|Oral Cancer News|

ASCO Urges Aggressive Efforts to Increase HPV Vaccination

Source: www.medscape.comAuthor: Zosia Chustecka Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines have now been available for 10 years, but despite many medical professional bodies strongly recommending the vaccine, uptake in the United States remains low. Data from a national survey show that about 36% of girls and 14% of boys have received the full schedule of HPV vaccines needed to provide protection (Vaccine. 2013;31:1673-1679). Now the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) has become involved, and in a position statement issued today the organization calls for aggressive efforts to increase uptake of the HPV vaccines to "protect young people from life-threatening cancers." "With safe and effective vaccines readily available, no young person today should have to face the devastating diagnosis of a preventable cancer like cervical cancer. But unless we rapidly increase vaccination rates for boys and girls, many of them will," ASCO President Julie M. Vose, MD, said in a statement. "As oncologists, we see the terrible effects of these cancers first hand, and we have to contribute to improving today's alarmingly low vaccination rates," she added. The new policy statement is published online April 11 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The statement notes that HPV vaccination has been previously recommended by many US medical societies, including the American Cancer Society, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology Committee, the American Dental Association, the American Head and Neck Society, the American Nurses Association, the American Pharmacists Association, the Association of Immunization Managers, the Society for Adolescent Medicine, and the Society of Gynecologic Oncology. [...]

Charlotte Parker2016-04-18T13:12:04-07:00April, 2016|Oral Cancer News|