mouthwash – Page 2 – 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|

Alcohol based mouthwash and oral cancer – too much confusion

Source: scienceblogs.com Author: Francis Mawanda If you are like me, you probably always and almost faithfully, include a bottle of mouthwash on your grocery list especially after watching and/or listening to the numerous commercials in the media which claim that you will not only get long lasting fresh breath, but also freedom from the germs that cause plaque and gingivitis. However, many proprietary mouthwashes including my favorite brand contain Alcohol (ethanol) which also gives them the characteristic burn we have to endure, albeit for a few seconds each day, but safe in the knowledge that the product is hard at work killing all the germs that give us bad breath and may cause plaque and gingivitis. But the question I continually ask myself is whether regular or long term use of these products is safe especially after reading the numerous research reports and newspaper articles suggesting a possible link between long term use of alcohol based mouthwashes and oral cancer. Several research studies have reported finding an association between long term mouthwash use and oral cancer (1, 2, 3). For example, in a study conducted by Wynder and colleagues (1), they found a significant association between mouthwash use and oral cancer. A bigger multi-site study by Guha and colleagues (3) comparing participants who reported having used mouthwash to those who reported never having used mouthwash found that individuals who reported using mouthwash more than twice a day were nearly six times more likely to develop oral squamous cell carcinoma compared [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-04-23T08:39:01-07:00April, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Doctors using mouthwash to detect head, neck cancer

Source: www.king5.com Author: Jean Enersen For a patient with head and neck cancer, the cure rate is only 30 percent. That's because the disease is often detected in the late stages. Now catching the cancer earlier may be as simple as gargling with mouthwash. Edie Acosta's niece and nephew gave her the courage to fight neck cancer. "They cut from here, all the way down here," she said. On her neck, the scar marks where a stage four tumor was removed. "It seemed bigger and bigger 'til it got to the size of a fist, a man's fist," she said. "And I couldn't even move my neck. You feel like a little bird whose wings got cut and you can't fly anymore. I just, I thought I was really gonna die." For patients like Edie, late stage diagnosis makes treating neck cancer more difficult. Now, researchers have developed a quick, inexpensive mouthwash to detect these cancers earlier. The patient rinses with the saline mouthwash. After they spit it out, doctors add antibodies. In about 48 hours, if there's cancer detected in the saliva, the molecules show up in color. "We've found that these molecules show up differently in the oral rinses from patients that have cancer compared to patients that don't have cancer," said Dr. Elizabeth Franzmann, otolaryngologist, Sylvester Cancer Center at the University of Miami. In a study that included 102 head and neck cancer patients and 69 patients with benign disease, the oral rinse detected the cancer nearly [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-12-25T11:07:06-07:00December, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Mouthwash multiplies risk of cancer up to nine times

Source: www.theaustralian.com.au Author: Adam Creswell Mouthwashes containing alcohol should be used only for short periods because they may increase the risk of oral cancer by up to nine times. Dental researchers warned yesterday that among people using such mouthwashes, the risk of oral cancer was increased nine times if they smoked, and five times if they drank alcohol. For non-drinkers using alcohol-based mouthwashes, the risk of oral cancer is just under five times higher, the experts warn in the latest edition of the National Prescribing Service journal Australian Prescriber. Brands of mouthwash with more than 20 per cent alcohol could have other harmful effects, including the gum disease gingivitis, flat red spots called petechiae and detachment of the cells lining the mouth, they said. "Although many popular mouthwashes may help to control dental plaque and gingivitis, they should only be used for a short time and only as an adjunct to other oral hygiene measures such as brushing and flossing," they wrote. "Long-term use of ethanol-containing mouthwashes should be discouraged, given recent evidence of a possible link with oral cancer." The paper expands on concerns aired by university researchers early this year.

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-12-01T15:27:54-07:00December, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Oral health, mouthwashes and cancer – what is the story?

Source: www.nature.com Author: David Conway Question: What are the lifestyle, occupational and genetic risk factors for head and neck and oesophageal cancers? Abstract Design Two hospital-based case–control studies were conducted in central and eastern Europe and Latin America. Case/control selection Cases and controls were recruited in Moscow (Russia), Bucharest (Romania) and Lodz and Warsaw (Poland) from 1998 to 2002, and from 1998 to 2003 in Buenos Aires (Argentina), La Habana (Cuba) and the Brazilian towns Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Pelotas, Porto Alegre and Goiânia. Incident cases of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (oral cavity, pharynx, larynx) and oesophagus, as well as age- (in quinquennia) and sex frequency-matched controls, were enrolled from 1998 to 2003. Control subjects included residents of the study areas for at least 1 year who were admitted to the same hospitals as the cases or in a comparable catchment area (controls in São Paulo were not recruited from oncology hospitals, and population-based controls were enrolled in Warsaw). Controls were hospitalised for prespecified conditions thought to be unrelated to tobacco use or alcohol consumption. Both studies were coordinated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer according to an identical protocol for both case and control recruitment. Data analysis Data from the central European and Latin American studies were analysed separately. Multivariable logistic regression models, including terms for oral health indicators, age, sex, education, country (central Europe) or centre (Latin America), tobacco pack–years and cumulative alcohol consumption, were used to obtain odds ratios (OR) [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-03-27T08:16:46-07:00March, 2009|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: www.theaustralian.news.com.au Author: Guy Healy An international expert on oral cancer withdrew from joint authorship of a paper that drew a link between the disease and the Listerine 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," [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-02-19T05:17:09-07:00February, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Mouthwash cancer link questioned

Source: www.bupa.co.uk/health_information Author: staff Mouthwashes that contain alcohol should only be available on prescription from a dentist because of a possible link with oral cancer, according to researchers in Australia. Professor Michael McCullough and Dr Camile Farah looked at previous research to see whether using mouthwashes containing alcohol is linked to oral (mouth) cancer. The review highlights the fact that certain mouthwashes contain more alcohol than some alcoholic drinks. Drinking alcohol is one of the main risk factors for oral cancer, along with smoking. Smoking and drinking together increase the risk even further. The researchers recommend that mouthwashes that contain alcohol should only be available on prescription from a dentist, and should only be used for short periods of time to treat specific conditions. However, Dr Nigel Carter, Chief Executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, told the health information team: "The public can continue to use alcohol-containing mouthwashes with the utmost confidence. There is absolutely no proven link with mouth cancer. This is a poor piece of research and has led to unnecessary scaremongering." One of the studies that the researchers looked at showed that mouthwash users were more likely to develop oral cancer, even if they didn't smoke or drink. However, this study was carried out in Latin America where mouthwash isn't routinely used. Those who used it may have been trying to treat problems caused by poor oral hygiene. It may have been this poor hygiene, rather than the mouthwash use, that increased the risk of oral [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-01-16T13:37:50-07:00January, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Using mouthwash could increase risk of cancer by nine times, claim scientists

Source: news.scotsman.com Author: Shan Ross Mouthwashes containing alcohol can cause oral cancer and should be removed from supermarket shelves, a dental health study claims. Scientists say there is now "sufficient evidence" that such mouthwashes contribute to an increased risk of the disease. The ethanol in mouthwash is thought to allow cancer-causing substances to permeate the lining of the mouth. Michael McCullough, associate professor of oral medicine at the University of Melbourne, Australia, who led the study, said: "We see people with oral cancer who have no other risk factors than the use of (mouthwash containing alcohol], so what we've done is review all the evidence. "Since this article, further evidence has come out, too. We believe there should be warnings. If it was a facial cream that had the effect of reducing acne but had a four to fivefold increased risk of skin cancer, no-one would be recommending it." Professor McCullough, chair of the Australian Dental Association's therapeutics committee, said the alcohol in mouthwashes "increases the permeability" of the mucus membrane to other carcinogens, such as nicotine. A toxic breakdown product of alcohol called acetaldehyde that may accumulate in the oral cavity when swished around the mouth is also a "known human carcinogen," he said. Top-selling mouthwashes contain as much as 26 per cent alcohol. Smoking and alcohol are well-established risk factors in causing cancer, but the use of mouthwash containing alcohol is more controversial. Prof McCullough and co- author Dr Camile Farah, director of research at the University of [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-01-14T07:24:27-07:00January, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Mouthwash and oral cancer risk: an update

Source: Oral Oncol, October 24, 2008 Author: Carlo La Vecchia The possible relationship between mouthwash use and oral cancer risk has been the subject of at least 10 case-control studies published over the last three decades. Three of these reported relative risks above unity and seven no consistent association. Only a few studies, moreover, included information on different types of mouthwash, and addressed the issue of alcohol-containing mouthwash. Thus, critical review of published data revealed that a link between mouthwash use, specifically alcohol-containing mouthwash, and oral cancers is not supported by epidemiological evidence. Author's affiliation: Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche "Mario Negri" Milano e Istituto di Statistica Medica e Biometria "G.A. Maccacaro", Universit degli Studi di Milano, Via Giuseppe La Masa 19, 20156 Milano, Italy

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2008-11-03T09:44:40-07:00November, 2008|Oral Cancer News|