Cannabinoids may offer hope for patients with oral cancer pain

Source: www.elements4health.com Even the strongest available pain medications are largely ineffective for many cancer patients, particularly those with oral cancers. One of the nation’s leading oral cancer treating clinicians, speaking at the American Pain Society’s annual meeting, said he believes that while prospects for major treatment advances remain bleak, a new cannabinoid-based medication may have some promise for providing meaningful pain relief. Brian Schmidt, DDS, MD, PhD, professor, New York University College of Dentistry and School of Medicine, delivered the Global Year Against Pain Lecture and reported that today, more than 100 years since President Ulysses S. Grant died from oral cancer, there is only modest improvement in patient survival. Grant is the only American president to die from cancer. “Oral cancer is one of the most painful and debilitating of all malignancies,” said Schmidt, “ and opioids, the strongest pain medications we have, are an imperfect solution. They become dramatically less effective as tolerance to these drugs develops.” Now considered to be the fastest increasing cancer in the United States, oral and oropharyngeal malignancies usually begin in the tongue. Human papillomavirus transmitted through oral sex, tobacco use and excessive alcohol consumption are the leading causes of this increase in oropharyngeal cancer. In the United States, some 43,000 new cases of oral cancer are diagnosed every year and the disease is more widespread worldwide with 640,000 new cases a year. Schmidt said oral cancer patients often undergo multiple surgeries as tumors recur and also are treated with radiation and chemotherapy. [...]

Cancer waiting times ‘could cost lives’

Source: www.rochdaleonline.co.uk Author: staff Statistics released by the Department of Health reveal costly delays that could jeopardize the lives of suspected head and neck cancer patients. According to the 2012/13 Cancer Waiting Times annual report1, 1,252 suspected head and neck cancer patients had to wait longer than three weeks to be seen by a specialist, a delay that could potentially cost lives. With mouth cancer cases on the increase, campaigners the British Dental Health Foundation are calling for suspected head and neck cancer patients to be seen within the two-week referral target due to the very nature of the disease. Without early detection, the five year survival rate for mouth cancer is only 50 per cent. If it is caught early, survival rates over five years can dramatically improve to up to 90 per cent. Between April 2012 and March 2013 over one million patients were seen by cancer specialists following an urgent referral. A total of 96.1 per cent of suspected head and neck cancer were seen within 14 days of referral, compared to 96.3 per cent in 2010-20112. More than 50,000 patients were not seen within 14 days of referral. Cancer waiting times are monitored carefully by the Foundation, which organises the Mouth Cancer Action Month campaign, sponsored by Denplan also supported by Dentists’ Provident and the Association of Dental Groups (ADG), in November each year to help raise awareness of the disease and its symptoms. Tobacco use, drinking alcohol to excess, smoking, poor diet and the human [...]

2013-09-04T07:03:39-07:00September, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

HPV Connected to Oral Cancers Too

Source: Chicago Tribune It's common knowledge that HPV — or human papillomavirus — is linked with cervical cancer, thanks to the controversy over the vaccine. But far fewer people know that this same sexually transmitted viral strain is connected to oral cancers, according to a new study, recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. For years, clinicians thought these kinds of cancer — affecting the tongue and tonsil areas — were almost exclusively caused by tobacco use, since they mostly struck heavy smokers and drinkers. But according to Dr. Maura Gillison, an oncologist and researcher at Ohio State University, it's not cigarettes that are the culprit, but oral sex. The good news: Most people with oral HPV will never develop cancer. Dr. Ezra Cohen, a specialist in head, neck, thyroid and salivary gland cancers at the University of Chicago, helped explain what it all means: Q. In general, mouth cancers are increasing? A. Oropharynx cancer is on the rise dramatically. It's gone up 3 percent a year for the last three decades and will surpass all other sites for head and neck cancers. Q. And HPV-positive oral cancers? A. They will surpass cervical cancers within the next three years. It's only relatively recently that we've come to realize the scope of HPV-related cancers. Q. What have we learned from this study? A. Quite a lot, actually. It told us about prevalence — that about 7 percent of adults in the U.S. are infected with oral HPV... and [...]

2012-02-15T10:45:22-07:00February, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Global Rise in Cancer Cost $300 Billion in 2010, Harvard Economist Says During Press Briefing Hosted by the American Cancer Society and the United Nations

23 June 2011 United Nations — Newly diagnosed cancer cases cost the global economy $300 billion in 2010, as illnesses once believed to be largely confined to wealthier countries took hold in developing nations, a Harvard University economist said during a press briefing hosted by the American Cancer Society Global Health Programs and the United Nations Department of Public Information. Tobacco use, alcohol intake, obesity and decreased physical activity have grown in poorer countries, causing the rise of cancer and diabetes, said David E. Bloom, professor of economics and demography at Harvard’s School of Public Health in Boston. Bloom and other researchers held a briefing today in advance of the United Nations High Level Meeting on noncommunicable diseases. The Sept. 19-20 meeting will be the first gathering of the UN Assembly dealing with cancer, cardiovascular illness, chronic lung conditions and diabetes. These diseases cause 60 percent of deaths worldwide, killing 36.1 million people annually, according to an April report by the World Health Organization. “Noncommunicable diseases will evolve into a staggering economic burden in the coming years,” Bloom said. “It’s a huge impediment to the mitigation of poverty.” Bloom said treating newly diagnosed cancer cases cost $300 billion globally in 2010, and obstructive pulmonary disease -- often correlated with smoking tobacco -- costs $4 billion a year. Not Confined to Health “Economic policy makers like ministers of finance and ministers of planning see noncommunicable diseases as an issue confined to the health sector,” a misperception that needs to be addressed, [...]

Cancer incidence, deaths expected to double by 2030 without preventive measures

Source: HemOnc Today In a report released for World Cancer Day, the American Cancer Society said worldwide cancer incidence will increase to 21.4 million diagnoses per year, with 13.2 million cancer deaths, by 2030 unless preventive measures are adopted worldwide. ACS attributes the predicted increase in diagnoses and death to an aging world population and a rise in lifestyle- and behavior-related cancers such as lung, breast and colorectal disease caused by improved economic development. The findings come from the second edition of “Global Cancer Facts & Figures” and its academic publication, “Global Cancer Statistics,” published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. Both publications were released Feb. 4, World Cancer Day. The International Agency for Research on Cancer estimates that there were approximately 12.7 million new cancer diagnoses and 7.6 million cancer deaths worldwide in 2008. OCF More than half of those diagnoses, 7.1 million, occurred in developing countries, and those countries accounted for 4.8 million cancer deaths. The agency took a specific look at cancer in Africa. The continent accounted for approximately 681,000 new cancers and 512,400 deaths in 2008. In keeping with worldwide trends, those numbers are projected to double by 2030 because of population growth and the aging of the population. Writing in an accompanying editorial, Otis W. Brawley, MD, ACS chief medical officer, said roughly one-third of cancer deaths in 2008 could be attributed to known risk factors, including tobacco use, physical inactivity, diet, infection and alcohol use. “The worldwide application of existing cancer control knowledge [...]

2011-02-09T11:41:43-07:00February, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Evidence-based dentistry – detect oral cancers early through dental exams

Source: www.tonguecancer.com Author: staff A recent posting on the American Dental Association web site describes an interesting study conducted by a panel convened by the ADA Council on Scientific Affairs, a sub-group of the American Dental Association. The panel, in conjunction with the ADA Center for Evidence-Based Dentistry (EBD) staff, reviewed five systematic reviews and four clinical studies to determine if dentists could detect oral cancers early through routine dental examination. The study panel examined four distinct questions in the detection of oral squamous cell carcinomas during routine dental exams: 1. Does routine dental screening reduce the likelihood of potentially malignant lesions on the tongue, cheeks, lips, gums and other parts of the oral cavity? 2. Do specialized treatments help dentists identify potential cancers during routine examinations? 3. Compared to examinations without specialized detection tools, can dentists identify trouble spots or should dentists use these specialized tools for the early detection of squamous cell carcinomas in the mouth? 4. Are there specific groups which benefit more from detailed, dental examinations – groups such as seniors, smokers, men, women and other groups within the larger study group? According to the panel’s report, “…while oral cancer screenings may detect potentially malignant and malignant lesions, clinicians are urged to remain alert to signs the lesions may become cancerous or early stage cancers while performing routine visual and tactile examinations in all patients, particularly those who use tobacco or consume alcohol heavily.” It’s been shown that any kind of tobacco use is a cause [...]

2010-09-30T14:29:24-07:00September, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Lifestyle risk factors for oral cancer

Source: Oral Oncol, July 30, 2008 Author: Stefano Petti The "style of life is the unique way in which individuals try to realize their fictional final goal and meet or avoid the three main tasks of life: work, community, love" (Alfred Adler, founder of the Individual Psychology). Lifestyle refers to the way individuals live their lives and how they handle problems and interpersonal relations. The lifestyle behaviours associated to oral cancer with convincing evidence are tobacco use, betel quid chewing, alcohol drinking, low fruit and vegetable consumption (the detrimental lifestyle is high fat and/or sugar intake, resulting in low fruit and/or vegetable intake). Worldwide, 25% of oral cancers are attributable to tobacco usage (smoking and/or chewing), 7-19% to alcohol drinking, 10-15% to micronutrient deficiency, more than 50% to betel quid chewing in areas of high chewing prevalence. Carcinogenicity is dose-dependent and magnified by multiple exposures. Conversely, low and single exposures do not significantly increase oral cancer risk. These behaviours have common characteristics: (i) they are widespread: one billion men, 250 million women smoke cigarettes, 600-1200 million people chew betel quid, two billion consume alcohol, unbalanced diet is common amongst developed and developing countries; (ii) they were already used by animals and human forerunners millions of years ago because they were essential to overcome conditions such as cold, hunger, famine; their use was seasonal and limited by low availability, in contrast with the pattern of consumption of the modern era, characterized by routine, heavy usage, for recreational activities and with multiple [...]

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