High-risk sexual behavior alone may not increase risk for oropharyngeal cancer

Source: www.healio.com Author: Matthew Shinkle High-risk sexual behavior may not be the primary contributor to the development of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma, according to data published in Cancers. Although patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma appear more likely to self-report having their first sexual intercourse before age 18 years, study findings did not show an association between high-risk sexual behavior and the disease, researchers wrote. “The consistent absence of high-risk sexual behavior in the overwhelming majority of HPV-driven oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas stands against the argument of a lowered frequency of HPV-driven oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma in our cohort ... that would have lowered the chance to detect an impact on high-risk sexual behavior on the development of HPV-driven oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma,” Gunnar Wichmann, PhD, head of the ENT ResearchLab at University of Leipzig Medical Center, and colleagues wrote. Background and methodology Certain studies have provided evidence to establish a potential link between high-risk sexual behavior, the persistence of HPV DNA in saliva and the presence of oncogenic high-risk HPV subtypes in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. Researchers conducted a case-control study of patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma and propensity score-matched unaffected controls from a large population-based German cohort study. The investigators interviewed patients and provided them with questionnaires on main risk factors — including age, sex, tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption — as well as logging information regarding sexual behavior categories. The study included 329 patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, of whom 317 patients answered [...]

HPV-positive African-Americans with throat cancer have better outcomes

Source: www.drbicuspid.com Author: DrBicuspid Staff African-Americans with throat cancer who are positive for the human papillomavirus (HPV) have better outcomes than African-Americans without HPV, according to a new study in Clinical Cancer Research (March 26, 2013). African-Americans who are HPV-negative also fared worse than Caucasians both with and without HPV present in oropharyngeal cancer, concluded lead author Maria Worsham, PhD, from Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, and colleagues. "This study adds to the mounting evidence of HPV as a racially-linked sexual behavior lifestyle risk factor impacting survival outcomes for both African-American and Caucasian patients with oropharyngeal cancer," Worsham said in a statement about the study. To compare survival outcomes in HPV-positive and HPV-negative African-Americans with oropharyngeal cancer, the researchers retrospectively evaluated 118 patients. Among the study group, 67 were HPV-negative and 51 were HPV-positive, and 42% of the patients were African-American. The study results indicate the following, according to the researchers: African-Americans are less likely to be HPV-positive. Those older than 50 are less likely to be HPV-positive. Those with late-stage oropharyngeal cancer are more likely to be unmarried and more likely to be HPV-positive. HPV-negative patients had 2.7 times the risk of death compared to HPV-positive patients. The HPV race groups differed, with significantly poorer survival for HPV-negative African-Americans versus HPV-positive African-Americans, HPV-positive Caucasians, and HPV-negative Caucasians. Overall, the study showed that HPV has a substantial affect on overall survival in African-Americans with oropharyngeal cancer, Worsham and colleagues concluded.

Oropharyngeal cancer survival better in those with HPV

Source: www.dailyrx.com Author: Laurie Stoneham The human papillomavirus (HPV) causes a number of malignancies, including head and neck and cervical cancers. Oddly enough, being infected with the virus may help those living with oral cancer. Researchers believe that having HPV improves the lifespan of African Americans who have throat cancer, compared to African Americans who do not have the virus. These are the unexpected findings of a group of researchers, led by Maria J. Worsham, PhD, director of research in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery at Henry Ford Health System in Detroit. "This study adds to the mounting evidence of HPV as a racially-linked sexual behavior lifestyle risk factor impacting survival outcomes for both African American and Caucasian patients with oropharyngeal cancer," Dr. Worsham said. Oropharyngeal cancer affects part of the throat, including the base of the tongue, tonsils, soft palate (back of the mouth) and the walls of the throat (pharynx). Risk factors for this oral cancer include smoking, drinking alcohol and HPV infection. To look at how HPV status impacted the outlook of throat cancer patients, researchers worked with 118 patients - 67 of whom did not have the virus and 51 individuals who did. A total of 42 individuals in the study were African American. Here's what researchers learned: African Americans were less likely than Caucasians to have the virus (HPV-positive) as are people over the age of 50 HPV-negative patients who didn't have the virus were nearly 3 times (2.9) more likely to die as [...]

With HPV-related head and neck cancers rising, focus on treatment and vaccination

Source: blogs.wsj.com/health Author: Laura Landro A form of head and neck cancer associated with the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus is on the rise, especially in men, the WSJ reports. Fast-rising rates of oropharyngeal cancer — tumors in the tonsil and back-of-the-tongue area — have been linked to changes in sexual behavior that include the increased practice of oral sex and a greater number of sexual partners. But HPV-positive cancer has also been reported in individuals who report few or no sexual partners. It may also be possible for the virus to be transmitted to an infant via an infected mother’s birth canal. An HPV vaccine is routinely recommended for girls because the virus can cause cervical cancer. The rise in HPV-positive head and neck cancers is leading to a new focus both on treatment of the disease, and whether recommending routine vaccination for boys could prevent oral infections and cancers. (A CDC advisory panel said in 2009 that it was fine for boys to get the vaccine, but recommended against routine administration.) Eric Genden, chief of head and neck oncology at Mt. Sinai Medical Center, tells the Health Blog that when treated appropriately, patients with HPV-positive cancers have an 85% to 90% disease-free survival rate over five years. By contrast, patients with HPV-negative head and neck cancers, which are often associated with smoking and drinking, typically have more advanced disease when the cancer is detected and face a five-year survival rate of only 25% to 40%, Genden says. HPV-induced head [...]

Mouth tumors increase; same virus causes cervical cancer

Source: The Oregonian (www.oregonlive.com) Author: Cynthia Billhartz Gregorian St. Louis Ten years ago, most of Dr. Brian Nussenbaum's oral cancer patients were men over 60 who used tobacco and drank heavily. Today, his patients with oral cancer look different. And so does the risky behavior that seems to be leading to their cancer. Nussenbaum, an ear, nose and throat doctor at Washington University, estimates that 70 percent of his cancer patients have tumors on the back of their tongues and tonsils caused by human papillomavirus-16. Most patients are between ages 45 and 55. About half are women. And experts suspect that all got the HPV from oral sex. "We know now that 98 percent of cervical cancer is caused by HPV, and mostly HPV-16," says Nussenbaum. "But no one talks about how you can also get mouth cancer from it." Last week, Dr. Harald zur Hausen, a German doctor and scientist, was awarded the Nobel Prize for medicine for finding human papilloma viruses that cause cervical cancer, the second-most-common cancer among women. In awarding zur Hausen the prize, the Nobel assembly said he "went against current dogma" in the 1970s when he discovered that certain types of HPV caused the cancer and that the DNA of HPV could be found in tumors. More than 20 years passed before researchers at Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center reported a link between HPV and these specific throat cancers in 2000. They and other medical experts suspect the increase in HPV oral cancer stems [...]

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