3/16/2005 Houston, TX NBC Local 2 (click2houston.com) Every year, nearly 300,000 people are diagnosed with a form of oral or throat cancer. About 8,000 die. In order to educate the public about the disease, Local 2 launched Buddy Check: On Guard for Oral Cancer on Monday, in partnership with M.D. Anderson Hospital. Oral cancer does not just affect those over 50 who smoke, Local 2 reported Tuesday. At the age of 44, George Timmons became part of a disturbing trend. "Certainly, we know tobacco and alcohol and age are sort of co-factors in the cancer, but we are seeing more cancer in the oral cavity and throats of younger individuals, if they're in their 30s and 40s and 50s," said Rhonda Jacob, an M.D. Anderson dental oncologist. In Timmons' case, doctors believe years of using smokeless tobacco led to the tumor in his tongue. After chemotherapy, surgery took lymph nodes from his neck, as well as half of his tongue. "I wish I would have been more receptive to the information and I was, like, hard-headed, like, 'That is not going to happen to me.' But you know what? It can. It will," Timmons said. "There is literature that says, and nationally based databases that have found, that head and neck cancer in young people seems to be increasing," said Dr. Erich Sturgis, M.D. Anderson's head and neck surgeon. The young age is not the only trend catching young people off guard. More oral cancer patients have little to no [...]

3/16/2005 Miranda Hitti WebMD Medical News Blood Pressure, Adrenalin Also Increase Smokeless tobacco boosts heart rate, blood pressure, and adrenalin. The results have "potential implications" for heart risk, the study notes. The study was small and short, so it's not the final word on smokeless tobacco. But the findings indicate cigarettes may not be the only tobacco product that affects the heart. Smokeless tobacco, also called snuff or "spit" tobacco, is used by more than 5 million adults and more than 750,000 adolescents, say researchers. With more young men -- especially athletes -- using smokeless tobacco, the researchers were curious about its impact. Experts have already tied smokeless tobacco to oral cancer and dental problems such as receding gums, bone loss, and bad breath. In 1986, the U.S. Surgeon General concluded that smokeless tobacco isn't a safe alternative for cigarettes or cigars, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS). Smokeless tobacco may also lead to nicotine addiction, says the ACS. Not as much is known about how smokeless tobacco affects the heart. But doctors do know that cigarettes are a heart hazard. Quitting smoking is widely regarded as one of the best things a smoker can do for his heart. Studying Smokeless Tobacco Participants were 16 healthy young men who habitually used smokeless tobacco. They were about 22 years old, on average. The men were asked not to use smokeless tobacco or smoke for 12 hours before each of two study sessions. They were randomly given either 1.5 grams of [...]

3/15/2005 Rosalyn Heights, NY Business Wire (home.businesswire.com) Ortek Therapeutics Inc. announced today that it has developed a new candy that uses a significant and entirely new approach to counteract the tooth decay process. Second only to the common cold, tooth decay is one of the most prevalent diseases in humans. BasicMints(TM) is a fluoride-free, all natural, sugar-free candy based on Ortek's CaviStat(R) technology. CaviStat was designed to mimic and integrate the powerful alkali producing, buffering and remineralizing benefits of saliva. In a previous clinical trial, CaviStat was significantly more effective than fluoride in reducing cavities in a two-year 726 patient toothpaste study. CaviStat was developed, clinically tested and patented by researchers in the Department of Oral Biology and Pathology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and exclusively licensed to Ortek. Stony Brook researchers presented data on BasicMints at the 83rd session of the American Association of Dental Research (March 9-12) in Baltimore, Maryland. The data presented describes how BasicMints provides immediate and sustained (nearly 24 hours) neutralization of harmful plaque acids after one application as well as favoring tooth remineralization. BasicMints will be available later this year through dental professionals. "CaviStat can be considered to be a super-saliva complex that will pick up where fluoride has left off," said Dr. Israel Kleinberg, the lead researcher of the CaviStat program and Distinguished Professor and Founding Chairman of the Department of Oral Biology and Pathology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. "By mimicking the [...]

3/15/2005 Managed Care Law Weekly A novel method of mandibular reconstruction with frozen autologous mandibular bone has been developed. With this technique, "vascular supply to the neomandible is ensured by the periosteal layer of a microvascular radial periosteal fasciocutaneous free flap, placed so as to envelop the bone and cover the surgical defect," surgeons in Italy explained. "The use of the periosteal layer of the radius to provide new blood vessels to the frozen mandible is an original technical feature," according to R. Roselli and coauthors at University Hospital Circolo in Varese. They described two cases of "oral carcinoma involving the mandible, treated with mandibular resection and reconstruction." "This technique allows good functional and aesthetic results, avoiding more serious complications related to the use of composite free flaps harvested from distant anatomic donor sites," the researchers concluded. Roselli and colleagues published their study in the Annals of Otology, Rhinology and Laryngology (Mandibular reconstruction with frozen autologous mandibular bone and radial periosteal fasciocutaneous free flap: Preliminary report. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol, 2004;113(12):956-960).

3/14/2005 Ann Arbor, MI Shaomeng Wang, Ph.D., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (advanced online edition) Researchers have discovered a small molecule that could be the first step in developing a new drug that may one day be able to treat multiple types of cancer. The study, published this week in the advanced online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, identifies a small molecule that inhibits in cell cultures a protein involved in multiple types of cancer. The protein, called Stat3, is constantly activated in some but not all tumors and has been identified in breast cancer, prostate cancer, ovarian cancer and head and neck cancer. It contributes to new cancer cells growing and prevents cancer cells from dying. It's associated with poorer prognosis for patients since traditional chemotherapy treatments cannot shut down this protein. That's what makes it such an attractive target for new drug development, researchers say. In this new study, researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center discovered a molecule called STA-21 blocked Stat3 activity in human breast cancer cells, stopping cancer cells from growing and allowing them to die. “We now can use this compound as a starting point to develop a new class of anti-cancer drugs to target cancer cells with constantly activated Stat3. One of the promises of molecular target drugs like this is they will work in many types of tumors where Stat3 protein is constantly activated. While our work looked specifically at breast cancer cells, [...]

3/11/2005 S Syrjanen J Clin Virol, March 1, 2005; 32 Suppl: 59-66 The term "head and neck cancer" has been widely adopted in the recent literature, to include the lesions at several anatomic sites: the lip, oral cavity, nose and para-nasal sinuses, naso-pharynx, oro-pharynx, hypo-pharynx, and larynx. In this report, the data on human papillomavirus (HPV) involvement in oral, oro-pharyngeal, sino-nasal, and laryngeal carcinomas are reviewed. Our group was the first to present evidence on the involvement of HPV infections in both laryngeal and oral carcinogenesis, prompted by the discovery of morphological similarities between oral and cervical squamous cell lesions. The latest meta-analyses of the epidemiological studies as well as the multi-centre case-control studies have confirmed HPV as an independent risk factor for oral cancer, with a range of odds ratios (OR) between 3.7 and 5.4. Until 2002, 4768 oral carcinomas have been analysed for HPV DNA, and 22% were reported to contain HPV by any of the detection techniques. Of all non-genital cancers, tonsillar carcinomas appear to have the highest prevalence of HPV. By the end of 2002, 422 cases of tonsillar carcinoma have been analyzed for the presence of HPV DNA, with the overall detection rate of 51%. HPV 16 is the most prevalent HPV type found in 84% of HPV DNA-positive tumours. HPV seems to be mainly episomal in tonsillar carcinomas, but the significance of this observation is still obscure. Interestingly, patients with HPV 16-positive tumours seem to have a better overall- and disease-specific survival, as compared [...]

3/11/2005 Medical News Today (www.medicalnewstoday.com) The jury may be out on whether a low-carb diet is the best way to lose weight. But moderating the carbohydrates you eat could help prevent cancer. “It's very clear for all the top cancers that diet has an influence on your risk of getting cancers,” says Mack Ruffin, M.D., M.P.H., professor of family medicine at the University of Michigan Health System and a member of the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center. If your dinner plate is filled with all-white, starchy foods, take note: Not only is the food plain, but it has fewer cancer-fighting vitamins and minerals and is loaded with calories. “So you're lacking all of those protective agents and you're at risk for eating too many calories. The risk is about the same if you were eating micro-concentrations of dioxin or other pharmaceutical or other pesticide agents that might be harmful,” Ruffin says. Instead, Ruffin suggests bringing color to the dinner table through vegetables and fruits in the yellow, green, red and orange families. Fruits and vegetables contain thousands of micronutrients, which are vitamins and minerals from the plants. These micronutrients have an antioxidant effect, reducing the amount of chemicals produced in the body. The nutrients - including vitamins A, B and E, carotenoids, selenium and calcium - work individually and together to protect your body. The more richly colored vegetables pack more protective ingredients. So mashed potatoes won't cut it. Look for spinach, broccoli, carrots and deep-hued berries such as blueberries or [...]

3/11/2005 Medical News Today (www.medicalnewstoday.com) Emerging field of nano-medicine is part of cutting edge research at University of Missouri-Columbia. Earlier detection of cancer means a better chance of effective treatment. The five-year survival rate for a patient with Stage I breast cancer is 98 percent, while the survival rate for later detection, stage II or greater, drops to as low as 16 percent. University of Missouri-Columbia experts from several fields, including physics and radiology, are working together to use ultra tiny nanoparticles to detect and treat cancer at the molecular level. The researchers involved with this project say early detection of all types of cancer is the primary motivation for this research. “The nanoparticles are safe to handle and safe to administer, so this could speed the process of approval.” said Kattesh Katti, professor of radiology and biomedical physics. “This research looks very promising.” The metallic nanoparticles are made especially for medical applications in a patented process on the MU campus. Research is underway to use the nanoparticles to detect cancer, even at a pre-cancerous stage through medical imaging techniques. First, doctors would administer millions of nanoparticles programmed to target cancerous tumors. Once the metallic particles locate the early tumor, doctors would use an X-ray to see the tumor as early as just one cancer cell, possibly months or even years earlier than can be detected now. With current technology, cancer must exist within a cluster of hundreds of cells and in a much more advanced stage to be seen. [...]

3/11/2005 S Minami and K Komut Gan To Kagaku Ryoho, February 1, 2005; 32(2): 215-7 We report a case of recurrent and metastatic oral squamous cell carcinoma successfully treated with second-line combination chemotherapy of cisplatin and gemcitabine. A 62-year-old woman, who had previously been treated with surgery and chemoradiation, was referred to our department for systemic metastasis of oral cancer. She had received a combination regimen of cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil against locoregional recurrence. Systemic evaluation revealed metastasis to the lungs, liver and bones. Three cycles of a four-week regimen of combination chemotherapy including cisplatin and gemcitabine resulted in remarkable reduction of the pulmonary and liver metastatic tumors despite frequent neutropenia. Combination chemotherapy of gemcitabine and cisplatin was highly effective in this case, which recurred after a cisplatin-containing regimen. Gemcitabine seems promising and active for head and neck cancer treatment. Authors' affilations: Dept of Respiratory Medicine, Osaka Police Hospital

3/9/2005 Jon Saraceno USA Today Curt Schilling is addicted. His drug of choice ... Smokeless tobacco. It is legal, but it certainly is not harmless. And someone you know — maybe even your own child — craves the stuff at this very moment. Many would like to shake the disgusting habit, but they can't seem to conquer the highly addictive properties of nicotine. They don't feel as alert when they're not using. They become edgy and irritable without the pinch of snuff between cheek and gum. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention more young athletes are trying the nasty stuff — even girls. Many are like Schilling, who first dipped at 16 in his Arizona high school. "I tried it at lunch, liked it and have been doing it ever since." Schilling, 38, wants to quit, but that New Year's resolution seems like years ago now. His family is after him, too, particularly his 7-year-old daughter, Gabriella. Tuesday, the big, tough right-hander sounded scared — almost as afraid as the time when a lesion was discovered in his mouth several years ago. He went cold turkey for a year and a half, until someone handed him the strong stuff at a golf tournament. "I took one dip, and I was full-blown back in it," he says despondently. "It's an addiction that covers so many things physically and mentally." He stopped during spring training this year. For all of two days. "I've never had any experience with something [...]