human papillomavirus – Page 4

Addressing unmet needs for head and neck cancer awareness month

Source: www.targetedonc.com Author: Sara Karlovitch Head and neck cancers, also known as squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck, account for nearly 50,000 cases of cancer per year in the United States. April is head and neck cancer month. According to the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), alcohol and tobacco use are major risk factors for developing head and neck cancers. However, infection with the cancer-causing types of the human papillomavirus (HPV) also increases the risk for certain forms of the cancer, as well as eating preserved or salted foods, poor oral hygiene, occupational exposure to wood dust, asbestos, and synthetic fibers, radiation exposure, and Epstein-Barr virus infection in endemic regions, including southeast Asia. Head and neck cancers are more common among men than women. Additionally, most patients who are diagnosed with this type of cancer are 50 years or older. Symptoms include a lump or sore on that does not go away or heal, difficulty swallowing, changes in voice, or a sore throat that does not resolve or heal. Trials such as the KEYNOTE-048 study (NCT02358031), which investigated the use of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) as a first line treatment for recurrent or metastatic squamous cell cancer of the head and neck, have changed how head and neck cancers are treated. While many patients recover, many are still affected by life-long disabilities as the result of their disease and treatment. Stuart J. Wong, MD, a medical oncologist, professor, and director of the Center for Disease Prevention Research at the [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2021-04-22T09:58:37-07:00April, 2021|Oral Cancer News|

Head-and-neck surgeons buoyant about new, just-right robot

Source: newsroom.uw.edu Author: Brian Donohue You know how great it feels when someone makes a pie or cake just for you? University of Washington Medicine head and neck surgeons have been feeling that kind of love lately, and on Feb. 5 they shared the first slice, so to speak, with patient Steven Higley. Surgical assistants work near patient Steven Higley on Feb. 5. Lead surgeon Jeff Houlton is obscured by the robotics. The cake in this story is actually a da Vinci robotic-assist system built especially for head and neck procedures. It is easier to maneuver than the robotic device they’ve used for the past decade, which was designed for operations to the chest and abdomen. Higley underwent surgery to have a cancerous tonsil and part of his throat removed. Sitting at a console a few feet from the patient, Dr. Jeff Houlton manipulated the miniature surgical tools emanating from the robot’s single port, positioned just outside Higley’s open mouth. It was UW Medicine’s first trans-oral surgery with the new tool. “If you think about laparoscopic surgery in the belly area, robotics provides the advantage of multiple mechanical arms approaching from different angles,” Houlton said. “But it’s a challenge to have three robotic arms that all need to go through a patient’s mouth. With this machine, the three arms are designed to come through one garden hose-like entry port and then articulate out from there. “Pretty interesting, though, that in the past 10 years we built a nationally [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2021-02-12T18:43:12-07:00February, 2021|Oral Cancer News|

Distinct subtypes and potential treatment options found in analysis of head and neck cancers

Source: www.cancernetwork.com Author: Matthew Fowler Data published in the journal Cancer Cell presented possible new treatment options and elaborated on the contributions of key cancer-associated genes, phosphosites, and signaling pathways in human papillomavirus (HPV)–negative head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC).1 The data systematically recorded information regarding the disease, with multi-omic analysis determining 3 distinct subtypes with high potential for treatment with respective available therapeutics. “This study extends our biological understanding of HPV[-negative] HNSCC and generates therapeutic hypotheses that may serve as the basis for future preclinical studies and clinical trials toward molecularly guided precision treatment of this aggressive cancer type,” wrote the investigators.2 The first subtype, called CIN for “chromosome instability”, was determined to have the worst prognosis. It was associated with the larynx, a history of smoking, and increased instability of chromosomes. The research team suggested that this cancer type would respond best to CDK4/6 inhibitor treatment given its relation to aberrations of the CCND1 and CDKN2A genes as well as a high activity of the CDK4 and CDK6 enzymes. The investigators analyzed a number of protein elevations of basal factors in the second subtype discovered, which was in turn called Basal. These represent the most basic proteins necessary for gene transcription activation. The subtype had both high activity in the EGFR signaling pathway and high expression of the AREG and TNFA molecules. This led the investigators to suggest that treatment with monoclonal antibodies targeting EGFR would best treat this subtype. Immune, the final subtype, was discovered among [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2021-02-03T10:49:17-07:00February, 2021|Oral Cancer News|

Timing and intensity of oral sex may affect risk of oropharyngeal cancer

Source: www.eurekalert.org Author: Research News Human papillomavirus (HPV) can infect the mouth and throat to cause cancers of the oropharynx. A new study published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, has found that having more than 10 prior oral sex partners was associated with a 4.3-times greater likelihood of having HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer. The study also shows that having oral sex at a younger age and more partners in a shorter time period (oral sex intensity) were associated with higher likelihoods of having HPV-related cancer of the mouth and throat. Previous studies have shown that performing oral sex is a strong risk factor for HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer. To examine how behavior related to oral sex may affect risk, Virginia Drake, MD, of Johns Hopkins University, and her colleagues asked 163 individuals with and 345 without HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer to complete a behavioral survey. In addition to timing and intensity of oral sex, individuals who had older sexual partners when they were young, and those with partners who had extramarital sex were more likely to have HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer. "Our study builds on previous research to demonstrate that it is not only the number of oral sexual partners, but also other factors not previously appreciated that contribute to the risk of exposure to HPV orally and subsequent HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer," said Dr. Drake. "As the incidence of HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer continues to rise in the United States, our study offers a contemporary evaluation of risk [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2021-01-11T06:41:36-07:00January, 2021|Oral Cancer News|

Personalized vaccines: the new frontier in cancer treatment

Source: www.wildcat.arizona.edu Author: Udbhav Venkataraman Exciting results from a new clinical study showed that a personalized vaccine combined with an immunotherapy drug had a promising response rate in patients with advanced incurable head and neck cancer. Dr. Julie Bauman, chief of Hematology and Oncology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine — Tucson, led a phase one clinical trial with the pharmaceutical company, Moderna, to test the combined use of personalized vaccines created from tumor DNA with the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab. Of the 10 patients involved in the study, five of the them responded to the treatment, meaning 30% of the cancer mass had decreased. Furthermore, two of the patients completely responded, meaning that cancer could not be detected. Molly Cassidy is one of those two patients. What was initially determined to be a stress-related ear-ache turned out to be an aggressive case of squamous cell carcinoma, a form of head and neck cancer. Head and neck cancers impact the linings of the mouth and throat. Risk factors for this disease include alcohol consumption, smoking and other environmental carcinogens that we are all exposed to. It can also be caused by human papillomavirus (HPV). Cassidy did not fit this profile at all. “I’m HPV-negative. I didn't drink. I didn't smoke. I’m a woman. I was the first person in my family to have cancer. I was 35 when I got my diagnosis,” Cassidy said. “I was also in really good health … To hear that I had cancer was [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2020-12-09T06:51:37-07:00December, 2020|Oral Cancer News|

Mouth cancer in the UK at record high

Source: www.hippocraticpost.com Author: staff New cases of mouth cancer in the UK have risen to a record high, according to the findings of a new report. New figures show there have been 8,722 new cases of mouth cancer in the UK last year. This is an increase of 58% compared to ten years ago and 97% compared to 20 years ago. Data released in a new report to coincide with November’s Mouth Cancer Action Month. Figures collected by the Oral Health Foundation show that 8,722 people in the UK were diagnosed with the disease last year, increasing by 97% since 2000. Mouth cancer cases in the UK have soared for the 11th year in a row and have more than doubled within the last generation. The findings are part of the charity’s new State of Mouth Cancer UK Report 2020/21 and have been released to coincide with November’s Mouth Cancer Action Month. Dr Nigel Carter OBE, Chief Executive of the Oral Health Foundation, believes with mouth cancer cases continuing to rise, more must be done to raise awareness of the disease. Dr Carter says: “While many cancers are seeing a reduction in the number of people affected, mouth cancer is one of very few that is sadly going the other way. Established risk factors like smoking and excessive alcohol have been joined by emerging causes like the human papillomavirus (HPV). This has changed the profile of the disease quite considerably over recent years and mouth cancer can now affect anybody. [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2020-11-04T11:53:47-07:00November, 2020|Oral Cancer News|

There has to be more to dental hygiene than this: A systemic approach

Source: www.dentistryiq.com Author: Michelle Strange, MSDH, RDH Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there will be added pressure on dental hygienists as patients return to our practices. During the lockdown, patients did not have access to our services. Now that the doors have reopened, patient treatments have begun with a renewed focus on protection from the virus. Even though practices will be extra busy, now is a great time to make some changes to our services. What if we stop simply reacting to the apparent problems and instead make the shift from purely corrective to a preventive dental service, and from oral health to holistic health? A holistic approach Dentistry has the potential to assimilate and integrate into the holistic health approach. Until now, patients and other health professionals have considered a visit to a dental office as totally separate from other health care. Patients often view their twice-a-year visits as mandatory checkups and “cleanings” but fail to grasp the entire value we provide. Dental health is connected to our entire well-being and is even thought to be related to heart health.1 Poor dental hygiene may lead to a higher susceptibility to the human papillomavirus that can contribute to mouth and throat cancers.2 In 2013, a study from the University of Central Lancashire School of Medicine and Dentistry pinpointed a specific oral bacteria, Porphyromonas gingivalis, as present in the brains of four out of 10 participants with dementia.3 Research has found that erectile dysfunction,4 type 2 diabetes,5 irritable bowel syndrome,6 and [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2020-09-04T10:31:03-07:00September, 2020|Oral Cancer News|

Most parents of unvaccinated teens have no intention of getting HPV vaccine for their kids, study finds

Source: www.newstribune.com Author: Kasra Zarei, The Philadelphia Inquirer The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine has been proven to prevent certain types of oral and genital cancers and other health problems. However, in a study published this week in Lancet Public Health, researchers found that more than half of the parents of adolescents who have not received the HPV vaccine had no intention to initiate the vaccine series for their children. Using data from a nationally representative survey of U.S. adolescents, the study authors estimated national-level and state-level parental intent to initiate and complete the HPV vaccine series for their kids. In states including Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Utah, more than 65 percent of parents of unvaccinated adolescents had no intention to initiate the HPV vaccine series. According to the most recent data by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Wyoming and Mississippi have the lowest HPV vaccine rates at roughly 50 percent. The new study found of parents of unvaccinated adolescents in these states, almost 62 percent and 57 percent, respectively, did not intend to initiate the HPV vaccine for them. Lack of parental intent to complete the vaccine series was lowest in the District of Columbia, at nearly 11 percent, and Rhode Island, at 20 percent. HPV vaccination is mandated in both regions. In Philadelphia, HPV vaccine coverage is among the highest in the country — roughly 71 percent in 2018, according to CDC data. Still, in Pennsylvania, between 60-65 percent of the parents of unvaccinated [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2020-08-04T09:39:03-07:00August, 2020|Oral Cancer News|

Researchers take head and neck cancer by the throat

Source: www.brisbanetimes.com.au Author: Stuart Layt Research has identified more weak spots in a deadly type of head and neck cancer that it is hoped will lead to more effective treatments. Oropharyngeal cancer can affect the base of the tongue, the tonsils, soft palate and parts of the throat, and almost half of all cases in Australia are caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). Current immunotherapies target two protein receptors on the cancer; however, they have had mixed success. Lead researcher Professor Rajiv Khanna from QIMR Berghofer said they had identified four more spots on the genome of the cancer that they believed could be targeted by immunotherapy. “Everybody has been trying to make immunotherapies that target those two antigens, but what we have found is that while those two are important, we were ignoring some of the other antigens,” Professor Khanna said. “We took immune cells out of our patients and effectively asked them what they could “see” other than [the two proteins] E6 and E7, and actually they could see others.” The study analysed immune cells taken from 66 oropharyngeal cancer patients at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital and the Princess Alexandra Hospital. Co-lead author Professor Sandro Porceddu, the director of radiation oncology research at the Princess Alexandra Hospital, said they were now developing therapies based on the research. “We’re already working on developing better killer T-cell immunotherapies that recognise all, or a combination, of these proteins,” Professor Porceddu said. “Different combinations of the proteins are present on [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2020-07-27T20:09:24-07:00July, 2020|Oral Cancer News|

Fighting throat cancer with T cells

Source: www.miragenews.com Author: press release, Centenary Institute Research led by the Centenary Institute has discovered that immune cells accumulating within the tumor environment, called tumor-resident T cells, are a critical determinant in survival rates of patients suffering from throat cancer. Reported in the prestigious ‘Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer’, the research suggests that strategies aiming to boost these T-cells at tumor sites could be beneficial to patients. “Oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) is a form of throat cancer. It can be caused by environmental factors such as smoking or by human papillomavirus infection (HPV), the same virus that causes cervical cancer in women,” said Ms Rehana Hewavisenti, lead author of the study and researcher at the Centenary Institute and the University of Sydney. “We knew that patients with HPV-related OPSCC had far better clinical outcomes compared to other OPSCC patients but we didn’t know why,” she said. In examining over sixty patient samples, Ms Hewavisenti and her colleagues discovered that increased levels of tumor-resident T cells, whether in HPV or non-HPV OPSCC cases, was clearly associated with improved patient survival outcomes. “It was the accumulation of these immune T-cells, in and around the tumour site that appeared to be key,” said Ms Hewavisenti. The researchers also found in their study that HPV OPSCC patients generally had far higher levels of tumour-resident T cells compared to their non-HPV OPSCC patient counterparts. “We think these HPV positive patients tended to have better clinical outcomes as HPV infection is likely to favor the [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2020-06-12T12:47:47-07:00June, 2020|Oral Cancer News|