Dentists may soon start asking about your sex life in a bid to control staggering HPV rates

Source: www.dailymail.co.uk Author: Jaleesa Baulkman for DailyMail.com Your dentist may be interested in more than just your flossing habits, but for a good reason. Dentists and dental hygienists are being encouraged to assess patients' risk of developing oral cancers from HPV, the most common sexually-transmitted disease. According to experts, they will likely skirt around the topic of their patients' sex life and ask about potential symptoms of cancer like jaw pain and swelling. But a new report published in the Journal of the American Dental Association insists it is imperative that dentists to play a more active role in detecting the disease, which is linked to seven types of cancer. 'What we're going to find over time is that HPV is going to be a more common cause of cancer over time,' Ellen Daley, a public health professor at the University of South Florida, told Daily Mail Online. 'We need to worry about how to prevent it.' HPV is responsible for about 70 percent of oropharyngeal cancers in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The most common sexually transmitted infection in the US, it affects more than half of American adults. In fact, Dr Daley says it's as common as the common cold. However, asking about a patient's sex life isn't necessary to preventing HPV-related oral cancers. 'If [dentists] want to [ask patient's about their sex life], they can, Dr Daley explained. 'But that's not relevant since HPV is so common. We need to get [...]

Rate of HPV-associated cancers on the rise in U.S., according to new CDC report

Source: www.curetoday.com Author: Andrew J. Roth Though the first preventive human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration 10 years ago, the incidence of HPV-associated cancers is on the rise. From 2008 to 2012, the number of HPV-associated cancers diagnosed per year increased by approximately 16 percent compared with the previous five-year period, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Nearly all sexually active individuals in the U.S. will get at least one type of HPV in their lifetime, making it the most common sexually-transmitted infection in the country. And though about 90 percent of HPV infections will clear a person’s system within two years, some infections persist and can cause cervical cancers and some types of vulvar, oropharyngeal, penile, rectal and cancers. There are over 40 HPV types, and vaccines are available for HPV types 16 and 18 (which account for 63 percent of HPV-associated cancers), as well as for types 31, 33, 45, 52 and 58 (which account for an additional 10 percent). Type 16 is the most likely to persist and develop into cancer. In this new report, the CDC analyzed data from its own National Program of Cancer Registries as well as the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database. In total, 38,793 HPV-associated cancers (11.7 per 100,000 persons), on average, were diagnosed annually from 2008 to 2012 compared with 33,369 diagnoses (10.8 per 100,000 persons) from 2004 to 2008. [...]

The Oral Cancer Foundation Launches April Oral Cancer Awareness Month

Source: Yahoo NewsAuthor: The Oral Cancer Foundation  NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., April 9, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- April is Oral Cancer Awareness Month. 2015 marks the 16th year that The Oral Cancer Foundation has lead the effort to raise awareness of this disease and the need for an annual screening. OCF has learned that although we accomplish a great deal as an organization, we can do so much more through the formation of strategic relationships with those who share our values and goals. OCF is grateful to the thousands of private dental offices that make time on multiple days during the month of April to offer free screenings to members of the public in their local communities across the nation. Besides the screening itself, these offices provide valuable information to the public related to risk factors and early signs and symptoms. An informed public can engage in self-discovery, which has generated early stage finds in so many other cancers. In addition to the 1,000's of private dental offices who will join with OCF this April, a coalition of professional organizations, private sectors companies, and educational institutions have chosen to partner with us. The professional organizations include; The American Academy of Oral Medicine (AAOM), The American Academy of Periodontology (AAP), The American Dental Hygienists Association (ADHA), The American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS), The Academy of General Dentistry (AGD), The American Dental Association (ADA), The American Academy of Oral & Maxillofacial Pathology (AAOMP), and The Canadian Dental Hygiene Association (CDHA).  Our [...]

2015-04-09T10:53:10-07:00April, 2015|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

HPV Oral Cancer: Low Risk for HPV Transmission

Source: MedScapeBy: Zosia ChusteckaPublished: June 6, 2013  CHICAGO, Illinois — Because human papillomavirus (HPV) is transmitted through sexual contact, patients with HPV-related cancer often ask whether their partners are at risk and whether they should they change their sexual practices. For patients with HPV-related oral cancers, data from the Human Oral Papillomavirus Transmission in Partners Over Time (HOTSPOT) study, presented here at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO®), will be reassuring. In the small pilot study of 166 patients with HPV-related oral cancer and 94 long-term partners, researchers measured HPV DNA in oral rinse samples taken at baseline and at 1-year follow-up. The results show that the partners do not appear to be at increased risk for HPV infection, so they are not at increased risk for HPV-related oral cancer, the researchers conclude. "This is reassuring for patients and their partners," said lead author Gypsyamber D'Souza, PhD, MPH, MS, from the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland. At a press briefing, she explained that patients are often anxious about this issue, and has heard of instances where it has led to divorce. "Couples who have been together for several years have likely already shared whatever infections they have and no changes in their physical intimacy are needed." However, "with new partners, caution is always advised," she added. Results Not Surprising The results are not surprising, Otis Brawley, MD, chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society, told Medscape Medical News. [...]

2013-11-11T13:32:20-07:00November, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

NIH scientists find promising biomarker for predicting HPV-related oropharynx cancer

Source: National Cancer InstitutePublished: 6-17-13  Researchers have found that antibodies against the human papillomavirus (HPV) may help identify individuals who are at greatly increased risk of HPV-related cancer of the oropharynx, which is a portion of the throat that contains the tonsils. In their study, at least 1 in 3 individuals with oropharyngeal cancer had antibodies to HPV, compared to fewer than 1 in 100 individuals without cancer.  When present, these antibodies were detectable many years before the onset of disease. These findings raise the possibility that a blood test might one day be used to identify patients with this type of cancer.               Genomic structure of HPV      The results of this study, carried out by scientists at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, in collaboration with the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), were published online June 17,  2013, in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Historically, the majority of oropharyngeal cancers could be explained by tobacco use and alcohol consumption rather than HPV infection. However, incidence of this malignancy is increasing in many parts of the world, especially in the United States and Europe, because of increased infection with HPV type 16 (HPV16). In the United States it is estimated that more than 60 percent of current cases of oropharyngeal cancer are due to HPV16.  Persistent infection with HPV16 induces cellular changes that lead to cancer. HPV E6 is one of the viral genes that contribute to tumor formation. Previous [...]

2013-06-18T12:16:01-07:00June, 2013|Oral Cancer News|
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