Wisconsin scientists grow functional vocal cord tissue in the lab

Source: www.med.wisc.edu Author: press release Madison, Wisconsin - University of Wisconsin scientists have succeeded in growing functional vocal-cord tissue in the laboratory, a major step toward restoring a voice to people who have lost their vocal cords to cancer surgery or other injuries. Dr. Nathan Welham, a speech-language pathologist, and colleagues from several disciplines, were able to bioengineer vocal-cord tissue able to transmit sound, they reported in a study published today in the journal Science Translational Medicine. About 20 million Americans suffer from voice impairments, and many have damage to the vocal-cord mucosae, the specialized tissues that vibrate as air moves over them, giving rise to voice. While injections of collagen and other materials can help some in the short term, Welham says not much can be done for people who have had larger areas of their vocal cords damaged or removed. “Voice is a pretty amazing thing, yet we don’t give it much thought until something goes wrong,” says Welham, an associate professor of surgery in the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. “Our vocal cords are made up of special tissue that has to be flexible enough to vibrate, yet strong enough to bang together hundreds of times per second. It’s an exquisite system and a hard thing to replicate.” Welham and colleagues began with vocal-cord tissue from a cadaver and four patients who had their larynxes removed but did not have cancer. They isolated, purified and grew the cells from the mucosa, then applied them to [...]

2015-11-21T09:45:52-07:00November, 2015|Oral Cancer News|
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Oral gel contains cancer-preventing compounds derived from black raspberries

Source: www.dentistryiq.com Author: Maria Perno Goldie, RDH, MS, with the assistance of Allison Walker Maria Perno Goldie (MPG): I had the opportunity to interview Dr. Susan Mallery, who is a humble as she is intelligent. I had the assistance of Allison Walker, a freelance journalist who has been involved in dental publishing for more than 20 years. Dr. Susan Mallery (SM) is a Professor in the Division of Oral Surgery, Oral Pathology, and Anesthesiology at The Ohio State University, College of Dentistry, in Columbus, Ohio. Her research interests include oral cancer initiation, AIDS-related oral cancer and chemoprevention. Dr. Mallery has published articles in journals such as Cancer Research, Cancer Prevention Research, Molecular Pharmaceutics, Carcinogenesis and Clinical Cancer Research, to name a few. She graduated from The Ohio State University with her DDS and later returned to receive her oral pathology specialty training and a PhD in Pathology. Dr. Mallery is licensed by the Ohio State Dental Board and board certified by the American Board of Oral Pathology and American Academy of Oral Pathology. She belongs to the American Academy of Oral Pathology, American Board of Oral Pathology, American Association for Cancer Research, and is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She is a consultant at The Ohio State University and James Cancer hospitals. MPG: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) will be diagnosed in more than 36,000 Americans this year and has a particularly high mortality rate—as it will kill approximately 8,000 patients this year. As [...]

2012-03-15T11:56:00-07:00March, 2012|Oral Cancer News|
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Protein inhibitor may supply contemporary HPV treatment

Source: Dr.Bicuspid.com Researchers from Tufts University School of Medicine have developed a protein-based inhibitor that could provide a topical treatment for HPV as an alternative to surgical and harsh chemical treatments (FASEB Journal, April 11, 2011). HPV affects about 20 million people in the U.S., making it the most common sexually transmitted infection. There are more than 100 types of HPV, of which more than 40 are sexually transmitted. These include two high-risk types, HPV-16 and HPV-18, which cause the majority of cervical and anogenital cancers, and some portion of head and neck cancers, particularly oral cavity and oropharynx cancers. "Currently, there is no cure for HPV, and the available treatment options involve destroying the affected tissue. We have developed a protein inhibitor that blocks HPV protein expression in cell culture, a first step toward a topically applied treatment for this cancer-causing virus," said senior author James Baleja, PhD, an associate professor of biochemistry at Tufts University School of Medicine. In their efforts to inhibit HPV, Baleja and his team zeroed in on the viral protein E2, which controls viral activities including DNA replication and the activation of cancer-causing genes. Using structure-guided design, the team developed a protein called E2R that prevents E2 from functioning normally. When the researchers applied E2R to a cell model of HPV biology, viral gene transcription was halted. Because HPV infects epithelial cells, the outermost layer of the skin, and the mucous membranes, protein inhibitors such as E2R could be applied in a topical form. [...]

2011-04-27T12:21:43-07:00April, 2011|Oral Cancer News|
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Comparing the HPV vaccines

Source: www.hemonctoday.com Author: Debbie Blamble, PharmD, BCOP HPVs are double-stranded DNA viruses that affect epithelial cells. More than 100 strains of HPV have been detected. Approximately 40 strains are known to infect genital mucosa, of which about 15 strains are known to cause cancer. HPV types 16 and 18 are the most common cancer-causing strains, leading to about 70% of all cervical cancer cases worldwide. HPV types 6 and 11 are associated with about 90% of all cases of genital warts. Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia is an abnormality of the cervical epithelium associated with HPV infection and is thought to be a precursor to cervical cancer. CIN is classified into three grades: 1, 2, 3. With CIN-1, mild dysplasia is present and affects only the lowest third of the cervical epithelium; 70% to 90% of CIN-1 lesions undergo spontaneous regression. CIN-2 and CIN-3 show moderate to severe dysplasia and affect the lowest two-thirds to full thickness of the cervical epithelium, respectively. More than half of CIN-2 and CIN-3 cases are estimated to persist or progress to squamous cell cancer. Persistent HPV infection may also lead to cervical adenocarcinoma in situ. In the United States, screening with the Pap test identifies these precancerous lesions and has led to a decrease in the rates of cervical cancer. These precancerous lesions may develop less than five years after HPV infection. HPV infection HPV infection is most frequently acquired through sexual contact. It is estimated that more than 80% of men and women in the [...]

2010-04-11T10:57:29-07:00April, 2010|Oral Cancer News|
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RhoC gene may be marker of aggressive head and neck cancer

Source: www.dddmag.com Author: staff A well-known marker of metastatic breast cancer and melanoma may also indicate aggressive head and neck cancer and offer an important new therapeutic target, according to a new study led by researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center-Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute. Overexpression of the gene RhoC is associated with invasive breast cancer, with progression to invasive disease in several cancer types, and with conversion of immobile breast epithelial cells into highly mobile, invasive cells. This laboratory and animal study suggests that inhibiting RhoC function in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) reduces a tumor’s aggressive behavior and identifies the RhoC pathway as a target for HNSCC therapy. The findings, published and highlighted in the November issue of the journal Molecular Cancer Research, suggest the following: •That RhoC plays an important role in cell invasion, motility and metastasis in HNSCC; •That inhibiting RhoC expression reduces lung metastasis in an animal model; •That RhoC is required for formation of tumor blood vessels. “Our findings illustrate the important role of RhoC in head and neck cancer progression and metastasis and suggest that this protein may be a novel target for therapeutic intervention,” says study leader Dr. Theodoros N. Teknos, professor of otolaryngology, director of head and neck oncologic surgery, and the David E. and Carole H. Schuller Chair in Head and Neck Oncologic Surgery. Head and neck cancer is the sixth most lethal cancer worldwide, and about 70,000 new [...]

2009-12-09T05:52:34-07:00December, 2009|Oral Cancer News|
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Human papillomavirus infection and cancers of the oropharynx

Source: www.ajho.com Author: Robert Haddad, MD Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA The author was invited to contribute his thoughts on the topic of human papillomavirus and cancers of the oropharynx. Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) is a major public health problem, affecting nearly half a million individuals worldwide each year. These cancers can arise from the oral cavity, oropharynx, nasopharynx, hypopharynx and larynx.1 Treatment of head and neck cancer is often multidisciplinary, involving chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery. Patient symptoms can include a sore throat, ear pain, odynophagia, or hoarseness. Most patients will present with stage III or IV disease. The major risk factors are smoking tobacco and alcohol abuse. A large number of patients diagnosed with oropharynx cancer, however, have no history of smoking or drinking, and increasing epidemiological, molecular, and clinical evidence suggests that high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV), especially HPV-16, account for the development of these cancers.2-5 Most individuals are unaware of their infection and have no symptoms. HPV is one of the more common virus groups in the world, and more than 80 types of HPV have been identified. Some types (eg, HPV 6 and 11) are known to cause benign conditions such as genital warts, while other types (eg, HPV 16 and 18) are known to be associated with malignant, cancerous transformation. Although different types of HPV are known to infect different parts of the body, HPV usually infects the epithelial cells of skin and mucosa. The epithelial surfaces include all [...]

2009-10-13T21:15:33-07:00October, 2009|Oral Cancer News|
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Improvements for patients with oral mucositis

Source: cancerfocus.net Author: staff New data show that Caphosol® (www.caphosol.com), an advanced electrolyte solution, significantly limits the occurrence and severity of oral mucositis (OM) in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiation therapy. The data, which contain the final results from a prospective observational study sponsored by EUSA Pharma, were presented today at the 50th annual meeting of the American Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO), and demonstrate that Caphosol use is associated with high levels of medication compliance and patient and physician satisfaction. The latest findings expand upon the growing body of evidence of the benefits of Caphosol in the management of OM and related symptoms in patients with various types of cancer. "Oral mucositis is a common, debilitating side effect of chemotherapy and radiation therapy, resulting from erosion of epithelial cells in the oral cavity (cells lining the surface of the throat and esophagus) during therapy," said principal investigator Marilyn L. Haas, PhD, RN, CNS, ANP-C, Nurse Practitioner, Carolina Clinical Consultant. "Patients with oral mucositis often experience severe pain, difficulty eating and swallowing, and greater susceptibility to infection. The registry data suggests that CAPHOSOL, a supersaturated electrolyte oral rinse, has a significant positive impact on the occurrence and severity of oral mucositis, and is highly regarded by patients and physicians." Dr. Haas and colleagues reported data from 68 patients with head and neck (HN) cancer enrolled in an open-label, observational registry maintained at 26 treatment centers in the U.S. The patients were considered at high risk of developing [...]

2008-09-28T21:23:42-07:00September, 2008|Oral Cancer News|
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