10/17/2005 Pittsburgh, PA Miranda Hitti WebMDHealth (mywebmd.com) The process of diagnosing cancer can be tricky, and when it goes wrong, it could impact patients, a new study shows. The report, published in Cancer, examines cancer diagnosis data from four unnamed U.S. institutions. The vast majority of cancer diagnoses had no errors. However, some errors in cancer diagnosis did show up, and experts had different opinions about how those errors might have affected patients. The researchers included Stephen Raab, MD. He works in the pathology department of the University of Pittsburgh's medical school. Diagnostic Errors The frequency of cancer diagnosis errors varied between the institutions, Raab's team notes. Errors were rare across the board. For gynecological cases, error frequency ranged from less than 2% to about 9%. For nongynecological cases, the range was nearly 5% to 12%, the researchers write. All four institutions showed a "relatively high number" of nongynecological errors from specimens taken from the urinary tract and lung, the researchers note. The Big Picture The researchers estimated how common diagnostic errors might be in the U.S., assuming similar figures nationwide. Take the Pap test, for example. The Pap test can screen for cancerous or precancerous abnormalities of the cervix, which is part of women's reproductive system. If 50 million U.S. women get Pap tests in a year, at least 150,000 of them would have a diagnostic error in their test's results, write the researchers. Or, let's say 5 million people got a nongynecological test, such as one from the [...]

10/14/2005 Simon Frantz [email protected] Forget drugs carefully designed to hit one particular molecule — a better way of treating complex diseases such as cancer may be to aim for several targets at once, says Simon Frantz. It's not often that a science lecture can turn a person on to the idea of promiscuity. But when Michael Heinrich heard a talk about a promising new cancer drug, it triggered a transformation of his ideas about how to target disease. It sounds heretical, but Heinrich and others are now saying that 'magic bullet' drugs designed to hit single biological targets might not be the answer to treating complex illnesses such as cancer and cardiovascular disease. The future, they say, could be in drugs that are less picky about their molecular partners. Heinrich's turning point was a seminar given in early 1998 at the Oregon Health and Science University Cancer Institute in Portland, where he worked. Brian Druker, a molecular biologist in the medical department at the same university, was talking about the revolutionary leukaemia treatment Gleevec (imatinib mesylate). Made by Swiss drug company Novartis, Gleevec was designed to zero in on a single protein in cancerous cells, specifically killing them while leaving healthy cells unharmed. It proved to be spectacularly effective and non-toxic. Compared with the relatively indiscriminate action and distressing side effects of conventional cancer treatments, Gleevec seemed to vindicate the single-target approach to drug discovery. But it soon became clear that Gleevec was not as specific as its creators had [...]

10/11/2005 Italy staff Medicinenews.net (www.xagena.it) A relatively common cancer susceptibility gene appears to be frequently acquired in metastatic lesions from colorectal cancer, and give cancer cells a growth advantage. Transforming growth factor beta ( TGF-beta ) is a potent naturally occurring inhibitor of cell growth. It exerts its action by binding to type I ( TGFBR1 ) and type II ( TGFBR2 ) receptors located on the cell membrane. Increased cell growth due to decreased TGF-beta growth inhibition may contribute to cancer development. TGFBR1*6A is a common polymorphism of TGFBR1. Previous studies have shown that TGFBR1*6A is one of the first candidate tumor susceptibility alleles that is found in a large proportion of the general population 13.7 percen) and significantly increases cancer risk by approximately 24 percent. How TGFBR1*6A contributes to cancer development is largely unknown. Boris Pasche, of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, and colleagues conducted a study that included 531 patients with a diagnosis of head and neck cancer, colorectal cancer, or breast cancer recruited from 3 centers in the United States and from 1 center in Spain from June 1, 1994, through June 30, 2004. Multiple genetic testing of the cancer cells was conducted. The researchers found that TGFBR1 mutated into TGFBR1*6A, i.e. was somatically acquired, in 13 of 44 ( 29.5 percent ) colorectal cancer metastases, in 4 of 157 ( 2.5 percent ) of colorectal tumors, in 4 of 226 ( 1.8 percent ) head and neck primary tumors, and in none of [...]

10/11/2005 New Zealand press release Scoop Independent News (www.scoop.co.nz) A graphic new television commercial showing the effects of smoking on the lungs will be launched in New Zealand on Sunday 16 October. The new Quit Group commercial shows the amount of tar deposited on an average smoker's lungs over a year. Quit Group Medical Advisor Peter Martin says over a year 150 mls of tar is deposited in the lungs of smokers who smoke 18 or 19 cigarettes each day. In its condensed form, tar is a sticky brown substance that is the main cause of lung and throat cancer in smokers. Tar can also cause unsightly yellow-brown stains on fingers and teeth, Dr Martin says. "The images showing the damage caused by tar to the lungs are graphic and confronting but realistic." Dr Martin says tar absorbed by the lungs can cause lung cells to die. Cigarette smoke paralyses or destroys the fine hairs (cilia) that line the upper airways and help protect against infection, he says. "When these fine hairs are damaged, tar can penetrate even further into your lungs, where it can do even more damage." The main message of the new commercial is that every cigarette is doing you damage. However Dr Martin says smokers' lungs will improve if they quit smoking. "Cilia that are paralysed (and not destroyed) can start to recover within three months and remove mucus from the lungs. Smokers who quit will see an improvement in chest and lung conditions such as [...]

10/10/2005 Detroit, MI Karen Buffard Detroit News (www.detnews.com) Sometimes, it's hard for Bill Downs to speak because a near-fatal bout with cancer robbed him of his salivary glands 15 years ago. But the 70-year-old Detroiter often speaks to community groups -- as many as three a week -- to share his hopeful tale of surviving cancer. It's just one of Downs' many volunteer efforts. He has devoted his life to volunteer activities, from starting the first Little League team in his neighborhood to coaching Junior Achievement and working on behalf of the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute and the United Way. "Sometimes my voice is cracking because I've had surgery 11 times in my neck area," said Downs, who suffered an aggressive form of head and neck cancer. "But I still do volunteer work. "I've been doing it for 35 years, and I think I've done just about everything you can think of." Born and raised in West Virginia, Downs came to Detroit, where he thought job opportunities would be better. His first job was picking up car parts for mechanics at an auto dealership. But eventually, he opened his own party store, Billy D's, on the corner of 14th Street and McGraw in Detroit. That's when the volunteer work started. "Kids (in the neighborhood) didn't have anything to do; they were just hanging out and getting in trouble," Downs said. "I said 'Why don't you play some baseball?' "I got all the instructions on how to start a team, [...]

10/9/2005 Dallas, TX Kathy LaTour Cure Magazine, October 2005 Looking at Larry Menkhoff, it’s hard not to be a little skeptical as he launches into his history with oral cavity cancer. In 1999 the discovery of a tumor against his upper teeth and palate resulted in removal of the teeth on the upper left side, half of his palate and jawbone and a sinus cavity. The discovery of another tumor in a salivary gland a few years later meant more surgery and radiation. But to any but the highly observant, Menkhoff looks normal, a comment that prompts him to remove the prosthesis that fills out his cheek and sinus cavity for closer inspection. “It’s the gift that keeps on giving,” Menkhoff says of his cancer. What Is It Oral cavity cancer is included in the larger category of head and neck cancers (see sidebar), which account for 3 to 5 percent of all cancers diagnosed in the United States and result in nearly 13,000 deaths a year. There are more than 500,000 head and neck cancer survivors living in the United States today. In addition to oral cavity cancer, cancers of the larynx, pharynx, salivary glands and lymph nodes are also included in the designation. Within each location are subsites, says Nancy Leupold, oral cavity cancer survivor and founder of Support for People with Oral and Head and Neck Cancer (SPOHNC). “There are so many locations for head and neck cancer and then each of those have subsites and then [...]

10/8/2005 San Francisco, CA staff MedIndia (www.medindia.net) Gold nanoparticles are potential and very practical agents in therapeutic applications. Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco and Georgia Institute of Technology, writing Cancer Letters (Available online 28 September) demonstrate the efficiency of gold nanospheres as photothermal agent by selectively delivering gold nanoparticles to oral carcinoma cells that overexpress EGFR, a clinically related cancer biomarker, and discuss the potential of using this selective technique in molecularly targeted photothermal therapy. In the study, two oral squamous carcinoma cell lines and one benign epithelial cell line were incubated with anti-epithelial growth factor receptor (EGFR) antibody conjugated gold nanoparticles and then exposed to continuous visible argon ion laser at 514 nm. It was found that the malignant cells required less than half the laser energy to be killed than the benign cells after incubation with anti-EGFR antibody conjugated Gold nanoparticles. No photothermal destruction was observed for all types of cells in the absence of nanoparticles at four times energy required to kill the malignant cells with anti-EGFR/Au conjugates bonded. Gold nanoparticles thus offer a novel class of selective photothermal agents using a CW laser at low powers. Photodynamic therapy for the management of malignant tumors is gaining acceptance in Europe and United States for various malignancies as new generation of photosensitizers becomes available and technological improvement in the delivery of light occurs. It is an attractive alternative to surgery or radiation with less morbidity and can preserve the anatomic and functional integrity of many [...]

10/8/2005 Mississauga, Ontario, Canada I C Munro, G M Williams, H O Heymann, and R Kroes Food Chem Toxicol, September 28, 2005 Tooth whitening products (TWP) containing hydrogen peroxide (HPO) or carbamide peroxide (CPO) were evaluated in relation to potential oral cancer risk from their use. HPO is genotoxic in vitro, but such activity is not expressed in vivo. The genotoxic risk of HPO exposure of the oral mucosa encountered from TWP use is likely therefore to be vanishingly small. Available animal data on the carcinogenicity of HPO are of limited relevance to risk assessment of oral hazard of HPO exposure from TWP, and where relevant, do not indicate that there is an increased oral cancer risk for people using TWP. Clinical data on HPO-containing TWP only show evidence of mild, transient gingival irritation and tooth sensitivity, with no evidence for the development of preneoplastic or neoplastic oral lesions. Exposures to HPO received by the oral cavity, including areas commonly associated with oral cancer, are exceedingly low and do not plausibly pose a risk for the promotion of initiated cells or for induction of co-carcinogenic effects in conjunction with cigarette smoke or alcohol. The use of TWP was concluded not to pose an increased risk for oral cancer in alcohol abusers and/or heavy cigarette smokers. Furthermore, TWP were concluded to be safe for use by all members of the population, including potential accidental use by children.

10/8/2005 Carbondale, IL SJ Maurizio et al. J Dent Hyg, December 1, 2005; 79(1): 10. Local health departments can be resources for the public and health professionals to access educational materials on a variety of topics. Though the dental office is ideal, it should not be the only venue for obtaining oral cancer educational materials. As part of a cancer prevention and early detection project, this pilot study solicited printed educational materials concerning oral cancer from all local health departments (LHDs) in Illinois. Sixty of the 94 health departments responded, for a response rate of 63.8%. Only 32 had printed oral cancer educational materials for public and professional distribution, and most focused on tobacco. Forty-eight different samples were received. At least one risk factor was identified in all materials. The most common was tobacco usage, present in 100% of the materials. Twenty-nine (61%) identified tobacco use as the only risk factor. Alcohol consumption, the second most frequently identified risk factor, was mentioned in only 12 (26%) of the materials. Few materials comprehensively covered areas such as signs and symptoms, risk factors, and the importance of examinations for early detection. Only five materials (11%) acknowledged that early lesions are often asymptomatic. Local health departments are in an influential position to disseminate educational materials to the public and health professionals. Dental hygienists have the knowledge and expertise required to identify quality materials. They should be proactive in assisting LHDs with acquisition of appropriate printed materials and partner with them to advocate for [...]

10/7/2005 Oslo, Norway Robert Preidt Forbes.com Long-term use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) shows promise in preventing mouth cancer in former and current smokers but may pose a heart risk, according to a Norwegian study in this week's issue of The Lancet. The study of more than 900 active and former smokers concluded that use of NSAID painkillers like ibuprofen and naproxen -- but not aspirin -- reduced the risk of mouth cancer by half but also doubled users' risk of death from heart disease. The study authors said their results show the need for careful risk-benefit analysis when long-term NSAID use is being considered. The study did not include data on use of the cox-2 inhibitor subclass of NSAIDs, which includes Vioxx, Celebrex and Bextra. The findings were first reported last spring at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research. Researchers led by Dr. Jon Sudbo of Norwegian Radium Hospital, Oslo, found that NSAIDs reduced the risk of oral cancer by 53 percent, even in active smokers. This protective effect against oral cancer is comparable to quitting smoking. However, the study found this protective effect against oral cancer didn't translate into increased overall survival. That's because long-term NSAID use doubled the risk of death due to heart disease, the study found. The study authors noted that oral cancer prevention trials of NSAIDs are either planned or already under way. "Researchers of these trials must carefully monitor potential adverse cardiovascular effects in their populations, which are at [...]