esophageal cancer – Oral Cancer News

Researchers Find Hookah Smoking Can Lead to Serious Oral Conditions – Equivalent To Smoking 100 Cigarettes

Source: www.multivu.comAuthor: PR Newswire CHICAGO, Oct. 28, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2.3 million Americans smoke tobacco from pipes, and many of those who smoke waterpipes, or hookahs, believe it's less harmful than cigarettes. However, research published in The Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA) suggests hookah smoking is associated with serious oral conditions including gum diseases and cancer. "We found that waterpipe smoking is associated with serious health problems affecting the head and neck region," said study author Teja Munshi, B.D.S., M.P.H of Rutgers University. "The public needs to know they are putting themselves at risk. They should be made aware of the dangers of smoking hookahs." The authors conducted a literature review that focused on waterpipe smoking and head and neck conditions. They found waterpipe smoking to be associated with gum diseases, dry socket, oral cancer and esophageal cancer among other conditions. According to the World Health Organization, smoking a hookah is the equivalent of smoking 100 cigarettes, based on the duration and number of puffs in a smoking session. "This study sheds light on the common misconception that smoking from a waterpipe is somehow safer than smoking a cigarette," said JADA Editor Michael Glick, D.M.D. "Whether you are smoking a cigarette, an e-cigarette, a cigar, or tobacco from a waterpipe, smoking is dangerous not only to your oral health but to your overall health." The American Cancer Society is hosting The Great American Smokeout on November 19, 2015, an annual event that encourages [...]

Charlotte Parker2015-10-29T12:32:23-07:00October, 2015|Oral Cancer News|

Athletes drive increase in high schoolers’ use of smokless tobacco, CDC study shows

Source: www.kyforward.comAuthor: www.kyforward.com web staff High-school athletes are using more smokeless tobacco, even though overall tobacco use among high-school students has declined, according to a study published by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We can do more to protect America’s youth from a lifetime of addiction,” Tom Frieden, CDC director, said in a press release. “The fact is, smokeless tobacco products, such as chewing tobacco, snuff or dip, can cause cancer of the mouth, esophagus and pancreas. And the nicotine in these products is harmful to the developing brain. Because we know tobacco-free policies in schools and other public recreational areas work, we must take action now so that our children are safe from these toxins.” Student responses to the national Youth Risk Behavior Survey from 2001 through 2013 show that the share reporting any tobacco use dropped to 22.4 percent from 33.9 percent, and the rate of those smoking combustible tobacco products dropped to 19.5 percent from 31.5 percent. However, those who reported using smokeless tobacco products increased to 8.8 percent from 8.2 percent. The increased use of smokeless tobacco was driven by athletes. The rate among non-athletes remained unchanged at 5.9 percent but has “increased significantly” to 11.1 percent from 10 percent in youth athletes. Researchers suggest that athletes are aware of the adverse consequences of smoking on athletic performance, but may view smokeless tobacco as “less harmful, socially acceptable, or even a way to enhance athletic performance.” The 2013 YRBS found that 26.3 percent [...]

Charlotte Parker2015-10-19T16:38:45-07:00October, 2015|Oral Cancer News|

Mayor Walsh Wants Ban On Chewing Tobacco At All City Ballparks

Source: www.wbur.orgAuthor: Philip Marcelo Former Boston Red Sox pitcher and mouth cancer survivor Curt Schilling, pictured here at Fenway Park in 2012, was on hand Wednesday as Mayor Marty Walsh proposed banning smokeless tobacco products from all city professional and amateur athletic venues. (Winslow Townson/AP) From storied Fenway Park to youth baseball diamonds across the city, Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh is calling for a ban on dip, snuff and chewing tobacco. With former Red Sox pitcher and mouth cancer survivor Curt Schilling at his side, the mayor on Wednesday proposed banning smokeless tobacco products from all city professional and amateur athletic venues. “Kids shouldn’t have to watch their role models using tobacco, either at a neighborhood park or on TV,” Walsh said, standing at home plate of a South Boston baseball diamond. “Ballfields are places for mentoring and healthy development. They’re no place for cancer-causing substances.” Schilling, who revealed earlier this year he was diagnosed with mouth cancer after decades of using chewing tobacco, described his battle with the illness, which he said is in remission. “It was more painful than anything you could imagine,” he said, addressing the dozens of school-age kids in attendance. “I couldn’t swallow. I had to eat from a tube. I was sick every single day. And if it came back, I don’t know if I would go through the treatment again. It was that bad.” The 48-year-old ESPN analyst acknowledged Walsh’s proposal will likely meet resistance from major league players, but he [...]

Charlotte Parker2015-08-05T16:30:17-07:00August, 2015|Oral Cancer News|

CDC reveals no drop in smokeless tobacco use among U.S. workers

Source: philly.comAuthor: Margaret Steele, HealthDay Reporter THURSDAY, June 5, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Cigarette smoking continues to decline among Americans who work, but use of smokeless tobacco -- a known cause of cancer -- has held steady since 2005, U.S. health officials reported Thursday. Certain types of jobs -- construction and mining, especially -- are hotbeds of smokeless tobacco use, according to a study conducted by the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Looking at tobacco use over five years, the researchers found a decline in cigarette smoking among working adults -- from about 22 percent in 2005 to 19 percent in 2010. But use of smokeless tobacco products such as chewing tobacco and snuff inched up slightly -- from 2.7 percent in 2005 to 3 percent in 2010."These findings can help health professionals direct assistance to working men and women to stop using smokeless tobacco, a known cause of oral, esophageal and pancreatic cancer," the researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. The CDC called on employers to try to snuff out all forms of tobacco use. New smokeless tobacco products such as snus (finely ground moist snuff) and candy-flavored dissolvable tobacco, combined with increased marketing, might explain smokeless tobacco's steady use, the CDC authors said. However, snus and some other products weren't included in the questionnaire so it's possible smokeless tobacco use is underestimated, study author Dr. Jacek Mazurek, of the division of respiratory disease studies, and colleagues noted. Chewing tobacco and snuff aren't safe, research has shown. [...]

Charlotte Parker2014-06-06T10:47:15-07:00June, 2014|Oral Cancer News|

Saving Mr. Disney: What Walt Taught Us

Source: Huffington PostPublished: January 15, 2014By: Cary A. Presant, M.D. Walt showed us in Mary Poppins that Mr. Banks could be saved from his work addiction, as demonstrated in Tom Hanks wonderful portrayal in Saving Mr. Banks. However, he could not save Mr. Goff (P. L. Travers' father) from his alcohol addiction, leading to his fatal infection (influenza, not TB). And Walt, unfortunately, could not save himself. Not portrayed in the film was the most important lesson Walt taught us. Walt Disney's fatal illness which shortened his life and deprived us all of his extraordinary imagination and creations was lung cancer directly caused by his life-long chain smoking. When he died at the young age of 65 from lung cancer only 1 month after it was diagnosed, he had left us with the record 59 Oscar nominations and 22 Academy Awards, a record that still has not been broken. But could Walt have been saved? Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in America. 392,000 Americans die every year from smoking, including deaths from smoking-induced heart and lung disease and also 160,000 deaths from smoking-related cancers. America's 43 million smokers have a shortened life, 13.2 years less for men and 14.5 years less for women. Smoking causes not only lung cancer, but also throat, larynx, esophagus, stomach, pancreas, colon, cervix, kidney, bladder and ovary cancer and also leukemia. And of course, Walt Disney is only one of the well-known celebrities to have died from smoking addiction and then cancer. [...]

Charlotte Parker2014-01-16T17:57:38-07:00January, 2014|Oral Cancer News|

Researchers explain link between alcohol, cancer risk

Source: Dr.Bicuspid.com September 4, 2012 -- Almost 30 years after discovery of a link between alcohol consumption and certain forms of cancer, scientists are reporting the first evidence from research on people explaining how the popular beverage may be carcinogenic. The findings were reported August 22 during the American Chemical Society annual meeting in Philadelphia. The human body metabolizes the alcohol in beer, wine, and hard liquor into several substances, including acetaldehyde, a substance with a chemical backbone that resembles formaldehyde -- a known human carcinogen, according to lead author Silvia Balbo, PhD, a research associate at the University of Minnesota. "We now have the first evidence from living human volunteers that acetaldehyde formed after alcohol consumption damages DNA dramatically," Balbo stated in a press release. "Acetaldehyde attaches to DNA in humans in a way that results in the formation of a 'DNA adduct.' It's acetaldehyde that latches onto DNA and interferes with DNA activity in a way linked to an increased risk of cancer." To test the hypothesis that acetaldehyde causes DNA adducts to form in humans, Balbo and colleagues gave 10 volunteers increasing doses of vodka (comparable to one, two, and three drinks) once a week for three weeks. They found that levels of a key DNA adduct increased up to 100-fold in the subjects' oral cells within hours after each dose, then declined about 24 hours later. Adduct levels in blood cells also rose. "These findings tell us that alcohol, a lifestyle carcinogen, is metabolized into acetaldehyde [...]

Charlotte Parker2012-09-05T09:14:48-07:00September, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Aspirin Protects Against Barrett’s Esophagus, Study Suggests

Source: ScienceDaily.com Aspirin use appears to reduce the risk of Barrett's esophagus (BE), the largest known risk factor for esophageal cancer, according to a new study in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official clinical practice journal of the American Gastroenterological Association. "The protective effect of aspirin use appears robust because the analyses suggests a dose-response relationship in which high-dose aspirin was significantly associated with decreased Barrett's esophagus risk," said Chin Hur, MD, MPH, of the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute for Technology Assessment and lead author of this study. "It would not be advisable at this time for patients to start taking aspirin, particularly at higher doses, if preventing Barrett's esophagus is the only goal. However, if additional data confirms our findings and an individual at high risk for development of Barrett's esophagus and esophageal cancer also could derive additional benefits, most notably cardiovascular, aspirin could be a consideration." Dr. Hur and his team of researchers analyzed characteristics of 434 BE patients for factors that might be used in screening and management. In addition to finding that those taking aspirin were 44 percent less likely to have BE, they also found that men were more than three times more likely to develop BE than women. The incidence of esophageal cancer has been increasing at an alarming rate during the past few decades; current attempts at targeted screening for this type of cancer focus on identifying BE. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), particularly aspirin, have been associated with reduced esophageal cancer incidence. Although [...]

Charlotte Parker2012-07-26T15:26:31-07:00July, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Strong Oral Carcinogen Identified in Smokeless Tobacco

Source: ScienceDaily.com Although smokeless tobacco products have long been linked with certain cancers, including oral cavity cancers and esophageal cancers, this is the first study to identify a specific chemical present in smokeless tobacco products that induces oral cancer in animals, according to Silvia Balbo, Ph.D., research associate at the Masonic Cancer Center of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minn. "(S)-NNN is the only chemical in smokeless tobacco known to cause oral cancer," Balbo said. "This finding provides mechanistic underpinning for the epidemiologic observations that smokeless tobacco products cause oral cancer." Balbo and colleagues administered two forms of NNN called (S)-NNN and (R)-NNN to four groups of 24 rats. The rats were given either (S)-NNN alone, (R)-NNN alone, a combination of both or tap water. The total dose was approximately equivalent to the amount of (S)-NNN to which a smokeless tobacco user would be exposed from chronic use of these products. All rats assigned to (S)-NNN alone or the combination began losing weight after one year of exposure and died by 17 months. Rats assigned to (R)-NNN or tap water were terminated at 20 months. All rats assigned to (S)-NNN had esophageal tumors and demonstrated 100 percent incidence of oral tumors including tumors of the tongue, buccal mucosa, soft palate and pharynx. In contrast, researchers found oral tumors in only five of 24 rats given (R)-NNN and esophageal tumors in three of 24 rats assigned to (R)-NNN. Twelve rats given the combination of (S)-NNN and (R)-NNN had 153 esophageal [...]

Charlotte Parker2012-04-02T16:22:05-07:00April, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

$1 Million Donated for Head and Neck Cancer Research at Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center

Source: Ohio State University- James Cancer Center COLUMBUS, Ohio – Two siblings are honoring their deceased parents by pledging $1 million to create an endowed chair in head and neck cancer research at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC– James). Ron Alford of Westerville, Ohio, along with his sister Barb Cantlin and her husband Mike of Newark, Ohio, have pledged the additional funding over the next four years. Their $1 million pledge adds to the original $500,000 donation made by John Alford to create the first research endowment at The James shortly after the free-standing cancer hospital opened in July 1990. After his wife died of stomach cancer in 1987, John Alford chose to honor her memory by creating the Mary E. Alford Cancer Research Endowment Fund for cancer research at The James. When John Alford died of esophageal cancer in 1996, his children donated an additional $500,000 to create the Mary E. and John W. Alford Cancer Research Endowment Fund at The James. With the latest gift pledge, once the fund reaches $2 million it will be renamed the Mary E. and John W. Alford Research Chair in Head and Neck Cancer. “The level of support shown by the Alford family through the years to The James is a testament to their lifelong mission of trying to improve and enhance the lives of others,” says Dr. Michael Caligiuri, director of Ohio State’s Comprehensive Cancer Center [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-06-24T08:59:43-07:00June, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Hall of Fame Slugger, Killebrew Enters Hospice Care

Source: Yahoo News MINNEAPOLIS – Harmon Killebrew announced Friday that he no longer plans to fight his esophageal cancer and has settled in for the final days of his life, saddening friends and fans of the 74-year-old Hall of Fame slugger. In a statement released jointly by the Minnesota Twins and the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Killebrew said "it is with profound sadness" that he will no longer receive treatment for the "awful disease." He said the cancer has been deemed incurable by his doctors and he will enter hospice care. "With the continued love and support of my wife, Nita, I have exhausted all options," Killebrew said. He added: "I have spent the past decade of my life promoting hospice care and educating people on its benefits. I am very comfortable taking this next step and experiencing the compassionate care that hospice provides." Killebrew, who's 11th on baseball's all-time home run list with 573, thanked his well-wishers for their support. "I look forward to spending my final days in comfort and peace with Nita by my side," he said. Killebrew lives in the Phoenix area and was receiving treatment at a branch of the Mayo Clinic nearby after his diagnosis in December. He expressed optimism at the time, saying he expected to make a full recovery while acknowledging he was in "perhaps the most difficult battle" of his life. Killebrew was able to travel to Fort Myers, Fla., in March for his annual stint as a guest instructor [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-05-16T11:44:28-07:00May, 2011|Oral Cancer News|