New England Journal of Medicine

Oral sex is a major risk factor for oral cancer in men

Source: AOL News Rates of oral cancer are on the rise among men, and researchers say the culprit isn't the devil you might think. The rising rates of oral cancer aren't being caused by tobacco, experts say, but by HPV, the same sexually transmitted virus responsible for the vast majority of cases of cervical cancer in women. Millions of women and girls have been vaccinated against HPV, or human papillomavirus, but doctors now say men exposed to the STD during oral sex are at risk as well and may have higher chances of developing oral cancer. John Moore, Getty Images About 65 percent of oral cancer tumors were linked to HPV in 2007, according to the National Cancer Institute. And the uptick isn't occurring among tobacco smokers. "We're looking at non-smokers who are predominantly white, upper middle class, college-educated men," Brian Hill, the executive director of the Oral Cancer Foundation, told AOL News by phone. Tobacco use has declined over the past decade, but rates of HPV infections have risen and affect at least 50 percent of the sexually active American population, according to the Centers for Disease Control. HPV-16, the strain of the virus that causes cervical cancer in women, has become the leading cause of oral cancer in non-smoking men, Hill said, citing research in the New England Journal of Medicine. "When the No. 1 cause of your disease goes down [tobacco use], you would expect that the incidence of disease would go down, but that hasn't happened," he said. [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-04-21T13:48:09-07:00April, 2011|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

HPV is now the leading cause of oral cancer in the US: learn the facts.

Source: New York Daily News HPV, otherwise known as the human papillomavirus, is a leading cause of cervical cancer for women but the nasty virus is now causing a spike in oral cancer and ravaging an entirely different group: men. Cases of oral cancer resulting from exposure to the HPV-16 strain of the virus are hitting epidemic proportions in the U.S., doctors say. Though the mention of oral cancer evokes images of gravely-voiced chain-smokers, the disease now has a new face: mostly white, male, non-smokers in their late 30s and early 40s. The tumors forming on the back of their tongues and tonsils have nothing to do with nicotine – they are directly linked to engaging in oral sex with multiple female partners. "If you've had more than five or six sexual partners, you are at a higher risk," Dr. Eric M. Genden, professor and chair of head and neck surgery at Mount Sinai Medical center told the Daily News. "We're only now beginning to see the beginning of a bell curve." Women can get it from men as well although their chances are lower, according to doctors. The human papillomavirus (HPV), a nasty bug with strains that causes genital warts and cervical cancer in women, is now the top cause of oral cancer in men, beating out smoking and drinking, according to reports from the New England Journal of Medicine and the Journal of Oncology as well as other research and treating institutions. The number of smokers in the [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-04-21T13:52:00-07:00April, 2011|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

Quadrivalent HPV Vaccine May Be Effective in Young Men

Source: Medscape Today By: Laurie Barclay, MD February 2, 2011 — Quadrivalent human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine may prevent infection with HPV types 6, 11, 16, and 18 and the development of related external genital lesions in young men 16 to 26 years old, according to the results of a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial reported in the February 3 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. "Infection with ...HPV and diseases caused by HPV are common in boys and men," write Anna R. Giuliano, PhD, from the Risk Assessment, Detection, and Intervention Program, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute in Tampa, Florida, and colleagues. "We report on the safety of a quadrivalent vaccine (active against HPV types 6, 11, 16, and 18) and on its efficacy in preventing the development of external genital lesions and anogenital HPV infection in boys and men." The study sample consisted of 4065 healthy boys and men, aged 16 to 26 years, enrolled from 18 countries. The primary efficacy goal was to demonstrate that use of the quadrivalent HPV vaccine was associated with a lower incidence of external genital lesions related to HPV-6, 11, 16, or 18. The investigators used a per-protocol population, in which participants received all 3 vaccinations and had tested negative for relevant HPV types at enrollment, and an intent-to-treat population, in which participants received vaccine or placebo, regardless of baseline HPV status. In the intent-to-treat population, there were 36 external genital lesions in the vaccine group and 89 in [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-02-07T12:19:31-07:00February, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

New cancer drug gets dramatic results

Source: Technology Review Author: Emily Singer Researchers call the experimental drug a major success for targeted cancer therapies. An experimental drug designed to block the effects of a genetic mutation often found in patients with malignant melanoma, a deadly cancer with few existing treatments, significantly shrank tumors in about 80 percent of those who carried the mutation. The findings, published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, signal a major success for so-called targeted cancer therapies, which are designed to block the effects of genetic mutations that drive the growth of cancer cells. "This study is a major breakthrough in cancer treatment, and for metastatic melanoma," saysMatthew Meyerson, an oncologist and researcher at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Meyerson was not involved in the study. "It's a spectacular example of how genome-targeted therapies are beginning to help cancer patients." The drug in the current study inhibits activity of a protein called BRAF, which is overactive in 50 to 60 percent of malignant melanomas. Advances in genetic technologies over the last decade have allowed scientists to study the genetic mutations that underlie cancer in much greater detail. The result has been a new approach to drug design. Unlike chemotherapy, which can affect both healthy and cancerous cells and often triggers serious side effects, genetically targeted drugs act selectively on cancer cells that carry the mutation. Only a handful of such drugs have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and most target rare mutations. The BRAF mutation, [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-08-29T07:37:09-07:00August, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Could HPV be transmitted orally?

Source: Bright Hub Author: Kira Jaines Can a kiss transmit HPV? Or oral sex? Studies conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins University found that not only can human papilloma virus be transmitted orally, it can also increase the risk of oropharyngeal cancer. Can HPV Be Transmitted Orally? In a word, yes. Once thought to be uncommon, the oral transmission of human papilloma virus (HPV) through oral sex and even French kissing has been documented and linked to an increasing rate of oropharyngeal cancer. The oropharynx consists of the base the tongue, the tonsils, the back of the mouth and the walls of the throat. Results of a study by Johns Hopkins researchers published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2007 linked HPV exposure and infection to an increased risk of cancer of the mouth and throat. HPV infection has rapidly caught up with tobacco and alcohol as a risk factor for oral cancer, and has, in fact, become one of the leading causes of oral cancer in men, independently of smoking and drinking. About HPV Over 120 different HPV viruses have been identified, according to the Oral Cancer Foundation. Different types of HPV infect different parts of the body. Some cause warts on the skin. Some cause warts on the genitals. Some are harmless. Some cause cancer. The HPV virus is easily passed via skin-to-skin contact or sexual contact. HPV viruses cause no early identifiable symptoms and most are fought off by the body’s immune system. In fact, sexually-active adults have a [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-07-11T16:10:45-07:00July, 2010|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

HPV-positive tumors increase chance of survival

Source: Dotmed Author: Heather Mayer For some time now, experts have suspected a link between the human papillomavirus and oral cancer. DOTmed News reported in April that HPV could be linked to a nearly one-quarter increase in mouth and throat cancers in the United States (see DM 12140). But now it's been shown that not only can HPV cause oral cancer, but it can increase a patient's chance of survival, according to a study from the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center. The report, published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine found that the presence of HPV, the virus that causes cervical cancer, is the most important predictor of survival for people with oropharyngeal cancer -- cancer of the back of the mouth. Lifetime smoking history and cancer stage follow HPV as survival predictors. "We believe HPV cancers are likely more susceptible to radiation treatment than tobacco tumors," says Brian Hill, founder and executive director of the Oral Cancer Foundation and cancer survivor. While historically, most oral cancers were caused by tobacco and alcohol, within the past couple of decades, HPV has become a key player in causing the cancer, explains Hill. He points out that the cells in the back of mouth are attractive to the virus. Lead researcher and neck cancer specialist Dr. Maura Gillison, conducted the retrospective study, analyzing the tumors and outcomes of 323 patients with stage 3 or 4 oropharyngeal cancer. Of these patients, 206 had HPV-positive tumors, and 117 tested negative [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-06-14T12:18:30-07:00June, 2010|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

New oral cancer data could prompt new treatments

Source: The Columbus Disbatch Author: Misti Crane Doctors are focusing increasingly on the role that human papilloma virus plays in oral cancer, and new research is prompting hope that treatments can be better tailored to patients. People with oral cancer have a better chance of surviving if the cancer is linked to HPV, according to a new study led by an Ohio State University researcher. Dr. Maura Gillison and her colleagues found that 82 percent of those with HPV-positive tumors in the back of their mouths survived at least three years, compared with 57percent of those with mouth tumors not tied to HPV. Their study included 323 oropharyngeal cancer patients. HPV, which is spread by sexual contact, is the virus that also causes cervical cancer. It can cause cancer of the mouth through oral sex. The research took into account other risk factors such as tobacco use. It was published online yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine. This study should prompt more studies and advances in treatment, Gillison said. For example, it could be that patients with a better prognosis could have less radiation and suffer fewer side effects, she said. Side effects of treatment include trouble swallowing, dental problems, difficulty speaking and inflexibility in the neck. Gillison also presented new data yesterday at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago. The data showed a worse outcome for smokers who have HPV-positive cancers than for patients with the same type of cancer who don't smoke. The risk [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-06-09T10:00:14-07:00June, 2010|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

Cetuximab approved for first-line treatment of head and neck cancer in Europe

Source: www.docguide.com Author: staff The European Commission has approved a new indication for the use of cetuximab (Erbitux) to include first-line treatment of patients with recurrent and/or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. The approval is based primarily upon the results of the Erbitux in First-Line Treatment of Recurrent or Metastatic Head and Neck Cancer (EXTREME) study, published in the September issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. The EXTREME study established that adding cetuximab to platinum-based chemotherapy significantly prolonged median overall and progression-free survival, and also significantly increased response rate. Patients treated with cetuximab plus chemotherapy experienced the following improvements, compared with chemotherapy alone: · Median overall survival increase of nearly 3 months (10.1 vs 7.4 months; P = .04), equating to a 20% reduction in the risk of death (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.80) during the study period · 70% increase in median progression-free survival (5.6 vs 3.3 months; P < .001) · 80% relative increase in response rate (36% vs 20%; P < .001) The most commonly reported side effect with cetuximab is an acne-like skin rash that seems to be correlated with a good response to therapy. In approximately 5% of patients, hypersensitivity reactions may occur during treatment with cetuximab; about half of these reactions are severe. Note: 1. Source: Merck

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2008-12-01T18:50:38-07:00December, 2008|Oral Cancer News|