NIH – Oral Cancer News

NYU’s Bluestone Center Receives a $369,250 High Priority, Short Term Project Award from NIDCR to Study Oral Cancer Pain

Source: www.nyu.edu/newsAuthor: Christopher James Drs. Yamano and Schmidt have developed a novel non-viral gene delivery method, and the proposed studies are designed to test whether this could be used to treat cancer pain effectively and safely. Up to 90% of cancer patients suffer from pain, with oral cancer ranked consistently as one of the most painful cancers. The quality of life for oral cancer patients is the lowest of any patients suffering from cancer because the intense uncontrolled pain interferes with necessary oral functions including eating, talking and swallowing. “Oral cancer pain is more severe, and the opioid requirement is higher, than pain from any other cancer,” said Dr. Brian L. Schmidt, DDS, MD, PhD, professor in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, and director of NYU’s Bluestone Center for Clinical Research and the NYU Oral Cancer Center. “And in the end, pharmacological agents used to treat cancer pain often lack anatomical specificity and produce off-target effects that create additional suffering.” “Gene therapy is emerging as an exciting prospect and alternative to opioids for the treatment of cancer pain,” said Dr. Seiichi Yamano, DDS, PhD, DMD, MMSc, assistant professor of prosthodontics at NYU College of Dentistry. “We seek to eliminate oral cancer pain by reversing epigenetic changes using gene therapy and set the stage for a new class of medicines that selectively disrupt nociceptive signaling with limited off-target effects.” To further their research, the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), part of the National Institute of Health (NIH) [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2015-07-29T10:45:41-07:00July, 2015|Oral Cancer News|

New Discovery May Offer Cure for Human Papillomavirus (HPV)

MONMOUTH JUNCTION, N.J., Nov. 29, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --Tamir Biotechnology, Inc. (Pink Sheets: ACEL) (formerly Alfacell Corporation) announced today that scientists supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) reported test results confirming two of our lead compounds showed excellent in vitro antiviral activity and no cellular toxicity at dose levels tested for Human Papillomavirus (HPV). Testing was performed using the HPV 11 strain, which along with HPV type 6, is responsible for ninety percent of genital or anal warts. According to the scientist performing the test, the results were among the top one to two percent seen by the researcher for testing of HPV type 11. The report states the following: "Excellent antiviral activity and no cellular toxicity at doses tested." Within the last several months, we have reported significant results for our compounds against Dengue Fever, Yellow Fever, SARS, CMV, and now HPV. We are on the cusp of building an impressive antiviral portfolio that will be targeting viruses where there is currently an unmet need. Besides the fact that our drugs have shown significant antiviral activity against the viruses mentioned above, equally impressive is the fact that very low concentrations of our drugs were needed in order to show this significant antiviral activity. It is important to realize that Onconase®, our lead compound, has been in clinical studies for other oncology indications and has proven itself to be well tolerated in over 1,000 patients treated to date. We cannot stress enough how significant our drug [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-12-06T11:50:03-07:00December, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Dentistry’s Schmidt and Boston Biomedical Share $1.25mil NIH Grant for Cancer Pain Research

Source: Iewy Author: Staff The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has awarded a joint, five-year, $1.25 million grant to Dr. Brian L. Schmidt, a Professor of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the NYU College of Dentistry, and Dr. Markus Hardt, a protein chemist at the Boston Biomedical Research Institute, for a study of the molecular mechanisms of oral cancer pain. The ultimate goal of the research is to spur the development of more sophisticated analgesics (pain medications) to alleviate the pain that is so often manifested in patients with oral cancer. “Oral cancer is a logical place to start when seeking clues about cancer pain,” Dr. Schmidt said. “To begin, oral cancer is very painful. In fact, pain is the most common presenting symptom associated with this cancer. Secondly, oral cancer is painful at the primary site, not just at sites of metastasis as is the case in almost all other cancers. Lastly, the primary site of the oral cancer is readily accessible, enabling us to directly sample the cancer microenvironment.” Dr. Schmidt hypothesizes that the cause of oral cancer pain and pain generated by other cancers may be produced along similar molecular pathways in the body. Oral cancer pain, like many other kinds of cancer pain, is triggered by specific actions. Just as oral cancers can cause patients to feel pain in the oral cavity when they speak, other cancers generate pain during mechanical stimulation. For example, if a [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-10-18T14:53:54-07:00October, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

UConn scientist may have way to detect pre-tumor cancer

Source: www.theday.com Author: staff A University of Connecticut researcher thinks he might have found a way to find cancer even before it reveals itself in a tumor or other symptoms. Jim Rusling, professor of chemistry and cell biology at the UConn Health Center, has been working with colleagues at the National Institutes of Health to detect specific proteins found in the blood of those with prostate or oral cancer. These biomarker proteins are detectable in early stages of these cancers, so the researchers believe they can be used for earlier detection and prevention than is now possible. Rusling noted that the approach has an advantage over genetic testing, because that can only assess the risk of getting the disease, whereas measuring biomarkers can reveal the actual presence cancer. He described the project, funded by a $1.5 million NIH grant, in a recent issue of Analytical Chemistry.

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-05-21T07:26:05-07:00May, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Rice wins NIH funding for oral-cancer test

Source: www.nanotech-now.com Author: staff The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded researchers in Rice University's new BioScience Research Collaborative (BRC) a $2 million Grand Opportunity (GO) grant to develop a fast, inexpensive test for oral cancer that a dentist could perform simply by using a brush to collect a small sample of cells from a patient's mouth. "We want to provide an accurate diagnosis for oral cancer in less than 30 minutes using a minimally invasive test that requires no scalpels or off-site lab tests," said principal investigator John McDevitt, Rice's Brown-Wiess Professor in Bioengineering and Chemistry. "The payoff for this could be tremendous because oral cancers today are typically diagnosed much too late in their development." NIH established the GO grant program to support projects that address large, specific research endeavors that are likely to deliver near-term growth and investment in biomedical research and development, public health and health care delivery. GO grant funding was provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. If oral cancer is detected early, the prognosis for patients is excellent, with a five-year survival rate of more than 90 percent. Unfortunately, the actual five-year survival rate for oral squamous cell carcinoma is only about 50 percent, among the lowest rates for all major cancers. Oral squamous cell carcinoma affects about 300,000 people per year worldwide, and most cases are diagnosed in their late stages. The new test is possible because of a novel microchip invented in McDevitt's lab. This "lab-on-a-chip" uses the latest [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-11-05T13:38:46-07:00November, 2009|Oral Cancer News|