9/19/2005 Akihiro Terada et al. Head Neck, September 9, 2005 Background: The sentinel node concept has become one of the most interesting topics in the treatment of head and neck cancer. The aim of this article is to report the results of our feasibility study and clinical application of sentinel lymph node (SLN) radiolocalization and biopsy in patients with clinically negative neck oral cancer. Methods: Individuals with previously untreated N0 oral cancer participated in the study. The radioactive tracer used was 99m Tc phytate. Lymphoscintigrams were taken in the feasibility study, and fusion images of SPECT and CT were obtained in the clinical SLN biopsy (SLNB) group. In the feasibility study, metastases to SLNs and other nodes were analyzed in permanent specimens. In the clinical application group, we investigated the comparative effectiveness of multi-slice frozen section analysis and imprint cytology for the intraoperative diagnosis of SLNB. Results: Fifteen individuals participated in the feasibility study. Six SLNs in five patients were cancer-positive, and two thirds of the SLNs were micrometastases. The SLN concept was established, and SLNs with the highest to the third highest radioactivity reflected the patients' neck status accurately. Twelve patients participated in the clinical application group of SLNB. Intraoperative diagnosis of the three hottest SLNs correctly predicted the neck status of 10 patients. Three patients underwent modified radical neck dissection on the basis of the intraoperative diagnosis of cancer metastasis to SLNs, whereas neck dissections were spared in patients with no evidence of such metastases. There were two [...]

9/18/2005 Australia staff World News Australia (www9.sbs.com.au) Nearly all of Sydney's south Asian grocery stores are selling deadly chewing tobacco, despite an Australia-wide ban on the substance. A new study published in the Medical Journal of Australia has found 94 per cent of Indian, Sri Lankan, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Fijian grocery shops sell products containing the tobacco. A plug of the product held in the mouth for 30 minutes delivers as much nicotine as up to four cigarettes and has been linked to oral cancer. Researchers from the University of Sydney, who surveyed 53 Asian mixed businesses in suburbs with large south Asian populations, discovered 50 of the businesses sell the dangerous smokeless tobacco. The study's co-author, Professor Simon Chapman, says of those, 31 kept it under the counter, 14 on display behind the counter and five on shelves accessible by customers. "I think the fact that they didn't have the products on open display, but if you asked for it, it was pulled out from under the counter, suggests they're aware they're not supposed to be selling it. "These products are very carcinogenic - rapid cancer can be caused in as little as seven years. "Mouth and throat and tongue cancer are a very, very disfiguring and fatal form of cancer and totally preventable if people don't use these sort of products." The manufacture and commercial supply of smokeless tobacco is banned in Australia but individuals can import up to 1.5 kilograms at a time of it for personal [...]

9/15/2005 New York, NY Gabriella M. D'Andrea, MD CA Cancer J Clin 2005; 55:319-321 The term "complementary and alternative methods" (CAM) refers to products and regimens that individuals may employ either to enhance wellness, relieve symptoms of disease and side effects of conventional treatments, or cure disease. CAM articles provide evidence-based information on promising complementary and alternative methods, and inform clinicians of methods that may harm patients. Many patients being treated for cancer use dietary supplements, particularly antioxidants, in the hope of reducing the toxicity of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Some researchers have claimed, furthermore, that antioxidants also increase the effectiveness of cytotoxic therapy and have explicitly recommended their use. However, mechanistic considerations suggest that antioxidants might reduce the effects of conventional cytotoxic therapies. Preclinical data are currently inconclusive and a limited number of clinical studies have not found any benefit. Clinicians should advise their patients against the use of antioxidant dietary supplements during chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Such caution should be seen as the standard approach for any unproven agent that may be harmful. Author's affiliation: Assistant Clinical Member, Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY

9/15/2005 New Jersey Bob Groves NorthJersey.com Income and race appear to make a difference in New Jersey when it comes to surviving cancer, according to the state's first county-by-county tally of the disease. Those factors appear to affect access to health care - particularly early diagnosis - which is key in reducing mortality, state health officials said Wednesday in presenting statistical "snapshots" of all 21 counties in the state. Those profiles were based on 1996-2000 state and federal data. In Bergen County - which is 78 percent white and has a median household income of $65,241 - the incidence for all cancers among men was 633.3 per 100,000, compared with New Jersey's overall rate of 628.7. But the mortality rate for Bergen County men with cancer was 241.2, slightly less than the 261.1 statewide average rate for men. Women in Bergen County had a 456.8 incidence rate, compared with 453.7 for the state, and a 173.2 mortality rate, compared with 181.6 for the state. By comparison, Essex County - which is 45 percent white and has a median household income of $44,944 - had more cases and deaths among men than the state average. Women in the county had a lower incidence than the statewide average, but they had a 188.1 mortality rate, compared with the 181.6 statewide rate for women. Essex also had the highest prostate cancer mortality rate and one of the highest oral cancer death rates. "We have to help people understand the benefits of cancer screening [...]

9/14/2005 Santa Fe, NM Susan Aldridge Health & Age, Sept. 14, 2005 People who smoke are less likely to visit the dentist, even though they run a greater risk of oral health problems. A regular visit to the dentist is a must for everyone. Not only can your dentist pick up problems with teeth, he or she can also check for gum disease or oral cancer. But, according to a survey sponsored by the US National Institutes of Health and the Center for Disease Control, smokers are missing out on dental care. This is a cause for concern as smoking can promote both gum disease and oral cancer. The survey showed that 33 per cent of current smokers had had at least one dental visit in the last year compared to 45 per cent of non-smokers. The researchers would now like to know why smokers are so reluctant to go to the dentist. Perhaps they fear being judged and urged to quit smoking. It's important that dental professionals do more to educate smokers on the added risk they run regarding their dental health. But they need to tread a fine line between judgement and concern. If the dentist can help someone quit smoking, that's good. If they cannot, then at least more regular dental checks can be encouraged. Source: American Journal of Health Behavior August 2005

9/14/2005 Newton, PA Neal Bellucci PharmaLive (www.pharmalive.com) With a continued investment in innovative therapies in oncology, Merck KGaA has ongoing active development programs with additional novel therapies that may offer new hope to people with cancer. The company is best known for the first-in-class EGFR-targeted monoclonal antibody, Erbitux, comprising cetuximab, that works by blocking the epidermal growth factor receptor to inhibit tumor growth and spread. Merck KGaA focuses on four therapeutic technology platforms in oncology: EGFR-targeting monoclonal antibodies that may block tumor growth; immunocytokines that may provide local stimulation of the immune system; angiogenesis inhibitors that may starve tumors of the blood supply they need to grow and spread; and cancer vaccines that may stimulate a specific immune response against tumors. "These are exciting times in oncology," says Dr. Bernhard Ehmer, VP, oncology, Merck KGaA (merck.de). "With a better understanding of the growth and spread of tumors, we are able to develop treatments that target the cancer cells and give physicians and their patients additional options with which to fight cancer. "We are particularly excited by Erbitux not only in the treatment of colorectal cancer but also in its potential in head and neck cancer, and by BLP25 Liposome Vaccine, which is showing impressive results in the treatment of nonsmall cell lung cancer. Furthermore, our humanized EGFR-targeting monoclonal antibody matuzumab is showing potential in several types of cancer." Erbitux is a first-in-class and highly active IgG1 monoclonal antibody targeting the epidermal growth factor receptor. As a monoclonal antibody, the mode [...]

9/14/2005 Steve Walters EarthTimes Health News (www.earthtimes.org) A new research indicates that vitamin C might have cancer-fighting properties, but at very high doses, possible only through injection into the bloodstream. The study, by researchers from the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, studied the action of vitamin C as ascorbate on cultures of nine cancer and four normal cells. They found that ascorbate increased the production of hydrogen peroxide that in turn killed cancer cells while leaving normal cells safe. If found effective, the vitamin can revolutionize cancer treatment and eliminate damage to healthy cells that are also affected when a patient undergoes chemotherapy. The findings, however, don't hold true for high oral doses of vitamin C, as many previous studies have discounted any cancer-fighting benefits of the vitamin. “These findings give plausibility to intravenous ascorbic acid in cancer treatment, and have unexpected implications for treatment of infections where hydrogen peroxide may be beneficial,” the researchers said in a report published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “Because intravenous ascorbate is easily available to people who seek it, a phase 1 safety trial in patients with advanced cancer is justified and underway,” the report added. Mark Levine, the lead author of the study, said that further tests, especially on animals and humans, are required to take these findings seriously. “If it were to work, even in a couple of cancers, that would be wonderful for patients. So the message is that there may be new hope [...]

9/14/2005 Burlington, VT Maranda Hitti, reviewed by Brunilda Nazaro, MD Cancer, Sept. 1, 2004; vol 101: pp 1058-1064 Vitamins and minerals may appear to be safe because they are sold as over-the-counter remedies. But a new study shows that vitamin supplements may affect chemotherapy -- for better or worse. Patients may think supplements are safe because they're "natural" products, but there is growing evidence that they can intensify or weaken the effects of chemotherapy drugs, say the researchers. With many supplements on the market, scientists don't yet know how each affects chemotherapy. But the pool of knowledge has now expanded with a new study from the University of Vermont in Burlington. Immune Effects In a small study of 49 women undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer, researcher Richard Branda, MD, of the University of Vermont's department of medicine and Vermont Cancer Center asked the women what supplements they took. The women were at various stages of their disease. Some were newly diagnosed; others had been battling breast cancer's advanced stages. Most women (71%) in the study took supplements, and the average number of supplements taken was three. But some took as many as 20 different supplements per day. The three that were most commonly used were multivitamins, vitamin E, and calcium. Supplementation with vitamins, especially vitamin E, has been recommended to decrease the toxicity of cancer drugs, according to the authors. Much of the toxicity associated with chemotherapy is related to a decrease in cells that help fight infection, leaving victims [...]

9/14/2005 St. Louis, MO press release PR Newswire (www.prnewswire.com) Introgen Therapeutics Inc. and its collaborators presented new data from its INGN 007 program in oncolytic viruses for the treatment of cancer this past weekend at the American Society of Gene Therapy 8th Annual Meeting. Three abstracts were presented by Introgen collaborator William S.M. Wold, Ph.D., chairman of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine and founder and chief executive officer of VirRx, describing the activity of Introgen's portfolio of oncolytic viruses, as well as preclinical pharmacology and safety data with INGN 007 its leading oncolytic viral product candidate. Results show that INGN 007 has a favorable safety profile and significantly inhibits primary tumor growth as well as metastatic disease. The oncolytic virus data were presented in abstracts #1021, #1022 and #1023. "We have been impressed with the efficacy of INGN 007 that significantly inhibited tumor growth and metastasis in these studies. Importantly, the safety of INGN 007 was similar to that of other adenoviral products that are derived from a naturally occurring and benign virus to which many people have been exposed," said Louis A. Zumstein, Ph.D., Introgen's associate vice president of Research. Dr. Zumstein continued, "The preclinical models also tolerated a very high dose of INGN 007, suggesting a good margin of safety with this product. Taken together, these data provide a strong rationale for advancing INGN 007 and our other oncolytic viruses into the clinic and support their potential utility as [...]

9/13/2005 Cambridge, MA press release PRNewswire (www.prnewswire.com) OmniGuide, Inc. announced today the successful completion of the first three head and neck surgeries in patients using the OmniGuide Fiber, a revolutionary hollow-core photonic bandgap fiber for delivery of CO2 laser energy. The procedures were performed by Dr. Randal Weber, the Chairman of the Department of Head & Neck Surgery and by Dr. Chris Holsinger, Attending Surgeon at the Department of Head and Neck Surgery at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. OmniGuide Fibers enhance existing surgical procedures and enable new minimally invasive treatments that cannot be performed with existing medical tools. The fiber, enabling flexible delivery of a CO2 laser, was used to remove a vocal cord pre-cancerous lesion, to ablate vocal cord carcinoma in- situ (stage 0 cancer), and to perform a base of tongue biopsy on a cancer patient. The laryngeal cases required very delicate ablation and removal of a thin mucosal layer while the biopsy case required quick cutting through thick tissue. In all cases the fiber was used through a rigid laryngoscope and manipulated by use of a malleable hand-piece. Dr. Weber said: "We were very pleased with the performance of the fibers and the superb tissue interaction, which allowed very efficient, safe, and precise application. We anticipate that the OmniGuide Fiber will serve as a very useful tool in our specialty in both laryngeal and oral cavity cases, and we will publish the results on these first cases as soon as [...]