Listerine – Oral Cancer News

Evaluation of genotoxicity after application of Listerine® on human lymphocytes by micronucleus and single cell gel electrophoresis assays

Source: Sage Journals Abstract Listerine (LN) is one of the most commonly used mouth rinses worldwide although very limited information is available concerning its genotoxicity. In another view, the biological safety profile of oral care products is frequently assumed on the basis of simplistic test models. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to investigate the in vitro genotoxic potential of LN using micronucleus and single cell gel electrophoresis tests as genetic endpoints. Different concentrations of LN (0–100% of ml/culture, v/v) were applied to whole human blood cultures (n = 5). The result of the present study showed that there were no statistically significant differences (p > 0.05) between the control group and the groups treated with LN alone in both analysed endpoints. In conclusion, our result first demonstrated the absence of genotoxicity of LN on human lymphocytes. This news story was resourced by the Oral Cancer Foundation, and vetted for appropriateness and accuracy.

Charlotte Parker2012-03-15T10:51:42-07:00March, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Oral Cancer Prevention international lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson claims actions expected to cause over 7,300 oral cancers

Source: www.marketwatch.com Author: press release A lawsuit filed by Oral Cancer Prevention International (OCPI) against Johnson & Johnson in Federal Court in Trenton New Jersey claims that J&J's actions to protect the reputation of its Listerine mouthwash, which has been linked to oral cancer, can be expected to result in over 7,300 cases of otherwise preventable oral cancer across the US and over 1,120 such cancers in New York State alone. Some of the key markets impacted include: California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington. "Oral cancer kills as many Americans as melanoma and twice as many as cervical cancer," says Mark Rutenberg, CEO of OCPI. "It is also rising sharply among women, young people and non-smokers. Because there has previously not been an easy way to test routine oral spots for precancerous cells, the disease is generally not detected until it is an already invasive cancer with a high mortality rate that has changed little in the last 50 years." The lawsuit, which seeks compensatory and punitive damages, claims that J&J blocked an agreement between OCPI and a then J&J subsidiary to sell its test for oral precancer. The lawsuit claims that J&J was concerned that such sales could draw attention in the $1B US Listerine market to recent studies suggesting that the mouthwash may be linked to oral cancer. J&J was particularly concerned about a 2008 study in the Australian Dental Journal -- which concluded that mouthwashes with high alcohol content could [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-08-11T07:08:35-07:00August, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Oral Cancer Prevention International alleges that thousands of cancers are likely to result from J&J’s actions to protect its sales of Listerine

Source: www.benzinga.com Author: press release A lawsuit was filed against Johnson & Johnson and its Consumer Products Companies in the United States District Court, District of New Jersey on behalf of Oral Cancer Prevention International, Inc. (OCPI). OCPI is the developer of OralCDx®, a patented, testing protocol that can prevent oral cancer by identifying precancerous (dysplastic) cells in the mouth while they are still harmless. OralCDx® testing can be performed by dentists in addition to otolaryngologists (ENT's), family practitioners, dermatologists, and other physicians. The complaint alleges that in order to protect sales of its mouthwash Listerine, which has been linked to oral cancer, Johnson & Johnson and its Consumer Products Companies intentionally interfered with a February 10, 2010 sales agreement between OCPI and OraPharma, Inc., a specialty oral healthcare company. OraPharma had agreed to obtain the exclusive sales rights for OralCDx® to US dentists. According to Attorney James S. O'Brien, Jr. of Pryor Cashman LLP, who represents OCPI: “The effect of J&J's behavior, based on OraPharma's own projections, is that an estimated 7,300 cases of otherwise preventable oral cancer will occur in the United States over the term of the sales agreement.” According to the National Cancer Institute, over 30,000 Americans are diagnosed with oral cancer each year. It kills approximately as many Americans as melanoma, twice as many as cervical cancer, and is now rapidly rising among women, young people, and non-smokers. In fact there has been a nearly five-fold increase in oral cancer incidence in patients under age [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-07-25T07:59:00-07:00July, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Johnson & Johnson Sued for $70 Million Over Oral Cancer Test Detection

Source: Dr.Bicuspid.com July 8, 2011 -- Oral Cancer Prevention International (OCPI), makers of the Oral CDx brush test for oral cancer detection, is suing Johnson & Johnson (J&J) over a terminated distribution contract with OraPharma. OraPharma was previously a subsidiary of J&J until it was acquired last December by Water Street Healthcare Partners, a private equity firm in Chicago. J&J, which among other things sells Listerine mouthwash, was worried that a 2008 study linking alcohol-containing mouthwashes with oral cancer would negatively affect sales of Listerine and allegedly induced OraPharma to breach the sales agreement, according to OCPI. The lawsuit, filed July 6 in U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey, claims that J&J "maliciously and fraudulently" interfered with a contract between OCPI and OraPharma that gave OraPharma exclusive rights to sell the test to U.S. dentists. J&J's interference caused OraPharma "to suppress sales of and withhold from the public a proven lifesaving oral cancer prevention product in order to protect sales of its mouthwash, Listerine, which has been linked to oral cancer," according to the complaint. After OCPI signed the contract in February 2010, J&J did not want to "lend credence to the link between Listerine and oral cancer" by selling both its mouthwash and OralCDx, the complaint states. As of press time, J&J did not return calls for comment by DrBicuspid.com. Sales of Listerine bring in more than $1 billion per year, the suit claims. OralCDx is a "quick, painless, and inexpensive test that can prevent oral cancer by [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-07-11T10:12:41-07:00July, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Tempest in a bottle of mouthwash

Source: blog.macleans.ca Author: staff It’s a ritual observed by thousands of Canadians every day: brush, floss, gargle and spit. Rinsing with mouthwash doesn’t just provide a scrubbed, minty feeling; it’s good for our health, we’re told, curbing plaque and gingivitis (not to mention bad breath). Some brands even carry the Canadian Dental Association’s official seal. But this so-called healthy habit could be doing more harm than good. Australian researchers recently concluded that mouthwashes containing alcohol may contribute to oral cancer. Tobacco use is the biggest risk factor for oral cancer, according to the Canadian Cancer Society. Combined with excessive drinking, it’s even more dangerous—a heavy smoker and drinker is up to 30 times more likely to develop it. Even so, “there’s a small group of patients who don’t seem to have any risk factors,” says Michael John McCullough, an associate professor at the Melbourne Dental School and one of the experts behind the report. “I noticed some were saying they’d used alcohol-containing mouthwashes over a long period of time.” In the article, published in the Australian Dental Journal in December, McCullough and co-author Camile Farah conclude there is now “sufficient evidence” to suggest these mouthwashes are a contributing factor. Not only does alcohol seem to make the mouth’s cells more vulnerable to cancer-causing agents, McCullough says “its first breakdown product is acetaldehyde, a known human carcinogen.” While alcohol is mostly metabolized in the liver, they argue the breakdown process actually begins in the oral cavity. “Excessive mouthwash use, over a [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-02-19T16:27:30-07:00February, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Row erupts over oral cancer paper authorship

Source:The Australian Writer: Gay Healy AN international expert on oral cancer withdrew from joint authorship of a paper that drew a link between the disease and theListerine mouthwash made by his university laboratory's corporate sponsors, it has been claimed. The research paper's co-authors say Newell Johnson, whose Griffith University laboratory was funded by pharmaceutical firm Pfizer, Listerine's recent owner, decided not to put his name to the research paper, which made headlines across the world with its finding that alcohol-based mouthwashes were implicated in oral cancer. Professor Johnson says he was never an author. The claim about his involvement and withdrawal, made by Australian co-authors Michael McCullough of the University of Melbourne and Camile Farah of the University of Queensland, adds a new dimension to the controversy ignited by the paper, published in the Australian Dental Journal last December. In January UQ's head of dentistry Laurence Walsh came to the defence of mouthwashes, arguing they might prevent oral cancer, but later conceded that Listerine's present owner, Johnson & Johnson, had sponsored some of his workshops. The paper found the risk of oral cancer was increased by prolonged use of alcohol-based mouthwashes and highlighted six Listerine products. Professor McCullough said the research paper or literature review sprang from a 2007 meeting of the three researchers at a conference in Amsterdam. "After a session on the role of alcohol in oral cancer, we ended up deciding that we would formally write this article and review it between the three of us," hesaid. [...]

Webmaster2009-02-17T12:18:31-07:00February, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Dentist who told mouth cancer victim to gargle with Listerine allowed to carry on practising

Source: Daily Mail (www.dailymail.co.uk) Author: staff A dentist who told a patient suffering from mouth cancer to gargle with Listerine will be allowed to continue in practice. Nalin Dhamecha told Robin Read, 44, there was 'nothing untoward' with the ulcer on his tongue but the plumber only had a year to live. Mrs Read said: 'If he had been referred to a specialist and diagnosed, Robin's chances would have been so much greater.' 'It may have been that the cancer would have come back after treatment but at least he would have had a longer life. That's why this is not fair.' The GDC panel decided to allow Dhamecha to continue to practice, subject to conditions, describing him as a 'dedicated and valuable member of the dental profession'. It was ruled that Dhamecha's failure to spot the sore did not contribute to Mr Read's death. Panel Chair Dr John Gibson told the dentist even if you had detected the lesion on the tongue, the outcome would have been no different. Mr Read, who has a teenage daughter, first consulted Dhamecha at the Aberdeen House Dental Practice in Surrey, on two occasions in May 2006. The plumber had been visiting the surgery near his home since he was a child and began seeing Dhamecha when the previous dentist retired. Dhamecha suggested he use Bonjela and Listerine mouthwash to ease the ulcer, and took no history of Mr Read's smoking. When his mouth had still not healed by October that year, he [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2008-09-08T11:51:22-07:00September, 2008|Oral Cancer News|