2/18/2005 Houston, TX Adam S. Garden Journal of Clinical Oncology, Vol 23, No 6 (February 20), 2005: pp. 1059-1060 Nasopharynx cancer is a disease known for chemosensitivity compared with its counterparts in the head and neck, and is also notorious for a greater incidence of systemic spread compared with squamous cancers arising from other head and neck sites. Thus, the appeal of systemic therapies to treat this disease is great. In the current issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Chua et al1 report a form of meta-analysis evaluating cisplatin-based induction therapy for nasopharynx cancer. By pooling the data from the two largest trials exploring the role of induction chemotherapy, it was hoped that the combination of two independently negative trials would gain sufficient statistical power to result in a positive result. Alas, with respect to overall survival, the overall trial results remain negative. The current analysis adds to the growing database of neoadjuvant chemotherapy trials in head and neck cancer that have not demonstrated a survival advantage for the use of induction therapy. These results are consistent with the Meta-Analysis of Chemotherapy in Head and Neck Cancer Collaborative Group's finding, which revealed no significant survival benefit associated with the use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy.2 In the 1990s, induction chemotherapy was a critical component in the management of patients when organ preservation was the goal. Often, survival equivalence was a satisfactory end point. The Veterans Affairs and European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer larynx preservation studies demonstrated that not [...]

2/18/2005 B Tokman, SE Gultekin, C Sezer, and R Alpar Saudi Med J, December 1, 2004; 25(12): 1922-30 Objective: Inactivation of p53 and p16 tumor suppressor genes, and apoptosis which is crucial in carcinogenesis have commonly been studied in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). However, their prognostic value has not yet been clearly established. Methods: This study was conducted in the Department of Oral Pathology, Faculty of Dentistry, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey during the period 2002 to 2003 on formalin-fixed paraffin embedded tissue specimens of 12 lip and 18 intraoral primary squamous cell carcinoma cases. The expression of p53 and p16 proteins were studied by immunohistochemistry, and the apoptosis by TdT-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end-labeling (TUNEL) methods. The possible prognostic value of p53, p16 expression and apoptotic index (AI) value in OSCC were examined on the basis of their correlation with mode of invasion (MI) grading system. Results: Seven lip (58%) and 9 intraoral cancer (50%) cases showed p53 positivity; where 5 lip (42%) and 15 intraoral cancer (83%) cases showed loss of p16 protein. P53 positive cases increased parallel to MI grade where the AI value decreased. There was not any correlation either between p16 expression and MI grade or AI value. The mean AI value was found as 1,884. Apoptotic index values were higher in invasive site of tumors, and it was statistically significant in MI grade 2 OSCC cases. Apoptotic index value of both central and invasive sites were lowest in MI grade 4 cases. Conclusion: The present [...]

2/18/2005 Houston, TX The Herald Democrat (www.heralddemocrat.com) A mostly harmless virus could play a vital role in the treatment of a certain form of throat cancer, according to researchers whose findings are published online at the website for Blood, the official journal of the American Society of Hematology. Carried in 90 percent of all people, the Epstein-Barr virus was recently found to produce antigens that may help patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma, a form of throat cancer common in North Africa and Southeast Asia. The discovery was made by researchers at the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), The Methodist Hospital and Texas Children's Hospital, all in Houston. "Radiation and chemotherapy, the traditional treatments for nasopharyngeal carcinoma, frequently fail and can cause severe long-term side effects," said Dr. Helen Heslop, professor of medicine and pediatrics at BCM as well as senior study author. "The results of this study demonstrate that these virus-specific T cells have activity in some patients with this cancer." In the study, patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma were given intravenous doses of specialized T cells that specifically targeted antigens produced by the Epstein-Barr virus, a member of the herpes family responsible for mononucleosis and commonly associated with this cancer's tumors. "There was a compelling need for therapies that could improve disease-free survival without severe toxicity," said Heslop. Six patients remain completely disease-free one to two years after the treatment. Two patients showed no response to the treatment.

2/18/2005 Laramie, WY Addicted to chew laramieboomerang.com The tender age of 13 is a time when children take their first step toward adulthood. It’s also a time when anything seems possible and consequences are not yet a priority in making decisions. Gruen Von Behren probably never could have fathomed that the choice he was about to make one night while camping with friends would have irreversible consequences. One of Gruen’s friends offered him some snuff that night, and he accepted. “I liked it. I liked the way tobacco made me feel. I liked the way tobacco tasted,” he said. Chewing tobacco was nothing more than a game at first, Gruen said, a game to see who could fit the biggest chew in their mouth, and who could hold it there the longest. Gruen said that he and his friends would see who would get sick from the tobacco, tease them for getting sick and then entice them to use more. “Here chew this. Now throw up. Blah,” Gruen said mimicking a puking noise. “Here, chew more, you idiot.” What started as a game quickly became an addiction, but no one could have known how quickly the addiction would create cancer in Gruen’s body. “Halfway through my junior year of high school, after only using tobacco for three years, I noticed a white spot developing on the side of my tongue where I’d been holding my dip in my lip,” he said. “I thought it was going to go away. Well, [...]

2/18/2005 Medical News Today (www.medicalnewstoday.com) In a new study of 5,887 middle-aged smokers with mild lung disease, those who were randomly assigned to a quit-smoking program had a lower death rate than those assigned to usual care, even though only 21.7 percent of them actually quit smoking. The annual death rates were 8.8 per 1000 participants in the quit-smoking program and 10.4 per 1000 in the usual care group. The annual death rates for those who actually quit was even more positive: 6.0 per 1000 patients compared with 11.0 per 1000 in those who did not quit smoking. Overall, the death rate of those in both groups who were able to quit smoking was 46 percent lower than those who did not quit. The study, "The Effects of a Smoking Cessation Intervention on 14.5-year Morality," is the first experimental study to show that stopping smoking adds years to life. It is published in the Feb. 15, 2005, issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. The findings were based on data from the Lung Health Study. Randomized trials like the Lung Health Study are widely regarded as the gold standard for proof among clinical studies. "We know that people who smoke should quit smoking," said one of the study authors, John E. Connett, PhD, professor of biostatistics of the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. "This study showed that with very simple lung function tests -- spirometry -- we can find people who can benefit the most from an intensive quit-smoking [...]

2/18/2005 Kansas City, Paul Recer Kansas City Star (www.kansascity.com) Detecting illegal drug use may one day become as simple as testing spit on a sponge. Researchers on Thursday said techniques now being developed for analyzing saliva may in the future replace many of the blood and urine tests that now are used to detect drug abuse and disease. Some law enforcement agencies in Europe already test drugged drivers using saliva and the technique is gaining acceptance in the U.S., said Edward Cone, a Maryland researcher developing equipment for using oral fluids to screen for drug abuse. "There are a lot of advantages to using oral fluid or spit," he said Thursday at a news conference of the national meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. "It is easily accessible, noninvasive and not embarrassing. You don't have to greet an employee with a urine cup." Most people produce more than a quart of saliva a day. Researchers have found the oral fluids accurately mirror the proteins that are found in blood and urine. This means that simple spit could provide a diagnostic window on the body in tests not requiring a needle or the embarrassing collection of urine. Cone said experiments have already shown that spit can be even more reliable than urine tests for drug use screening. "Drug users have learned how to beat the urine test in a variety of ways," said Cone, an organic chemist who heads up firm near Annapolis, Md. "We haven't found [...]

2/17/2005 Yael Waknine Medscape (www.medscape.com) Orphan Drug (Proxinium) for Advanced, Recurrent Head and Neck Cancer On Feb. 3, the FDA approved orphan drug status for Proxinium (formerly known as VB4-845, made by Viventia Biotech, Inc.), allowing its use in the treatment of advanced, recurrent head and neck cancer. The product is intended to target tumor cells while avoiding healthy tissue. Proxinium is made up of a humanized single-chain antibody fragment recombinantly fused with a protein cytotoxic agent. The antibody fragment binds to an epithelial cell surface antigen found on the surface of most head and neck tumor cells, allowing its internalization and delivery of the cytotoxic component. The approval was based on the results of a phase 1 trial showing that treatment with Proxinium yielded an objective response rate of 43% in 14 patients with progressive disease. All patients had head and neck tumors expressing the target antigen and a majority had failed prior courses of chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. Of the 14 patients, tumor regression was significant in two patients and minor in four others. In an additional four patients, their disease stabilized after treatment. Tumor growth control was therefore achieved in 71% of treated lesions. Treatment-related adverse events were mild, such as injection-site pain. A second phase-1 trial is currently under way to assess the safety and tolerability of the product using a more intensive dosing schedule than that previously studied. The product is also being evaluated for use in bladder cancer.

2/15/2005 Youngstown, OH Len Rome WYTV News (www.wytv.com) How are your New Year’s resolutions coming along? Have you forgotten them yet? Some of the most popular can help cut your risk of cancer. Let's list the five best ways to do that. If you vow to quit smoking, for example, you’ll be doing your body a huge favor. It’s the number one way to cut your risk for cancer, and much more than just lung cancer. “Bladder cancer, cervical cancer, colon cancer, throat cancer, mouth cancer…they’re all associated with cigarette smoking,” says Dr. Electra Paskett of Ohio State University. Number two, if you exercise, not only might you lose weight, you can cut your risk of colorectal cancer in half and breast cancer by a third. Number three, yes, you are what you eat. So eat more fruits and vegetables. Number four, you’ll want to keep in mind when the summer sun returns to watch your exposure to avoid the most common kind of cancer, skin cancer. And finally, remember your annual screenings. Studies show that if we all got the screenings we need, the five-year survival rate for most major cancers would jump to 95 percent. Okay, one more is to control your stress. High levels of stress can actually affect how quickly a cancer progresses.

2/15/2005 Phoenix, AZ The Business Journal Phoenix Zila Inc. has been granted an additional U.S. patent for its Zila Tolonium Chloride product, the company announced Tuesday. The patent covers certain compounds within the Zila Tolonium Chloride product and the use of these compounds in detecting a type of tissue which has been shown in testing to be a potential precursor to cancer. Zila officials also said the company expects to receive patent protection in 15 European countries under an additional patent titled "Method and Prepackaged Swab for Epithelial Cancer Screening." The European patents will cover the use of a prepackaged swab saturated with Zila Tolonium Chloride for performing routine screening procedures to detect cancer. The use of Zila Tolonium Chloride as a screening agent to detect oral cancer has previously been approved by certain European regulatory agencies, and is currently pending regulatory review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Phoenix-based Zila Inc. develops and markets preventative health care technologies and products.

2/15/2005 England BBC News World Edition Saliva tests could be used to detect tumours such as breast cancer, researchers believe. A small study on 32 patients with head and neck cancers showed promising results using a test that checks for genetic signs of cancer in saliva. The University of California Los Angeles researchers now plan a much larger study they told the journal Clinical Cancer Research. UK cancer experts said there was a need for simple, non-invasive cancer tests. Spit test Researchers have been looking at ways to pick up cancer in samples of urine, faeces and saliva for some time as an alternative to blood tests. Some have focused on detecting proteins produced by cancers. Dr David Wong and his team at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center decided instead to look at the genetic messenger for such proteins, called RNA. They recruited 32 patients with cancers of the mouth, tongue and throat and 32 healthy volunteers of the same age and sex. By testing saliva samples, the scientists were able to spot which of the study participants had cancer correctly nine times out of 10. Dr Wong said their results were good, but not good enough. "Although we were able to identify the head and neck cancer patients with 91% sensitivity and accuracy, we missed one out of 10. "With a larger study, we will move that accuracy closer to 100%," he said. Future hope His team is currently recruiting 200 patients with oral cancer to this end. "We [...]