NCI – Oral Cancer News

NCI-designated Cancer Centers Urge HPV Vaccination for the Prevention of Cancer

Source: www.medicine.wustl.eduAuthor: Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis Staff Approximately 79 million people in the United States are currently infected with a human papillomavirus (HPV) according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and 14 million new infections occur each year. Several types of high-risk HPV are responsible for the vast majority of cervical, anal, oropharyngeal (middle throat) and other genital cancers. The CDC also reports that each year in the U.S., 27,000 men and women are diagnosed with an HPV-related cancer, which amounts to a new case every 20 minutes. Even though many of these HPV-related cancers are preventable with a safe and effective vaccine, HPV vaccination rates across the U.S. remain low. Together we, a group of the National Cancer Institute (NCI)- designated Cancer Centers, recognize these low rates of HPV vaccination as a serious public health threat. HPV vaccination represents a rare opportunity to prevent many cases of cancer that is tragically underused. As national leaders in cancer research and clinical care, we are compelled to jointly issue this call to action. According to a 2015 CDC report, only 40 percent of girls and 21 percent of boys in the U.S. are receiving the recommended three doses of the HPV vaccine. This falls far short of the goal of 80 percent by the end of this decade, set forth by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s Healthy People 2020 mission. Furthermore, U.S. rates are significantly lower than those of countries such as [...]

Charlotte Parker2016-02-04T12:35:06-07:00February, 2016|Oral Cancer News|

Use and Acceptance of HPV Vaccine Still a Work in Progress

Source: National Cancer Institute A bellwether moment in the history of cancer prevention came in 2006 when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first vaccine to prevent cervical cancer. The vaccine, Gardasil, protects against the two primary cancer-causing, or oncogenic, types of the human papillomavirus (HPV)—HPV-16 and HPV-18. These types are responsible for more than 70 percent of cervical cancer cases worldwide. In 2009, the FDA approved a second HPV vaccine, Cervarix, which also targets HPV-16 and HPV-18. Gardasil and Cervarix, vaccines that protect against the two primary cancer-causing types of the human papillomavirus (HPV), entail a three-shot regimen, with each dose delivered several months apart. But what has transpired since these two vaccines received regulatory blessing in the United States has reaffirmed something that cancer and public health researchers have appreciated for some time: The translation of basic research to the clinic doesn’t end with FDA approval of a new drug or treatment. In many respects, FDA approval is just a beginning. In March 2007, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) gave its strongest recommendation for HPV vaccination for females ages 9 to 26, which is the FDA-approved indication for Gardasil. Cervarix is approved for females ages 10 to 25. Both vaccines entail a three-shot regimen, with the doses delivered several months apart. According to the most recent data, only 44 percent of adolescent girls 13 to 17 years of age have received at least one dose of the vaccine. Completion rates for the three-shot [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-11-30T10:47:00-07:00November, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

House Committee convenes hearing on smokeless tobacco

Source: Cancer.gov Author: Staff The House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Health, held a hearing on April 14: “Smokeless Tobacco: Impact on the Health of Our Nation's Youth and Use in Major League Baseball.” NCI’s Deputy Director of the Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences Dr. Deborah Winn testified before the committee, as did Dr. Terry Pechacek, associate director for science in the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health. The full panel of witnesses included representatives of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the MLB Players Association (MLBPA); Dr. Greg Connolly, a dentist and Harvard professor who has conducted research on smokeless tobacco for more than 20 years; Gruen Von Behrens, an oral cancer survivor and tobacco prevention advocate; and baseball legend Joe Garagiola, Sr., who continues to work as an MLB announcer and is a vocal advocate for ridding MLB of smokeless tobacco. Dr. Winn’s testimony recognized smokeless tobacco, which includes snuff and chewing tobacco, as an established cause of oral, pharyngeal, pancreatic, and esophageal cancers, and stressed that there is no safe level of tobacco use. She also addressed questions from members of the committee regarding MLB players using smokeless tobacco on the field, and therefore on television. Media depictions of tobacco use have been shown to contribute to an increase in youth tobacco use, explained Dr. Winn. NCI’s “Monograph 19: The Role of the Media in Promoting and Reducing Tobacco Use” provides additional information on this topic. Dr. Pechacek provided an overview of current [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-04-21T12:49:53-07:00April, 2010|Oral Cancer News|