2010 – Page 19 – Oral Cancer News

Dental researchers discover human beta defensins-3 ignite in oral cancer growth

Source: www.innovations-report.com Author: Kimyette Finley Detecting oral cancer in its earliest stages can save the lives of the nearly 40,500 people diagnosed annually. But early detection has been difficult. Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine researchers discovered a biomarker, called human beta defensin-3 (hBD-3), which may serve as an early warning. The defensin is present in all oral cancers and associated with the early stages of oral cancer. “Using the biomarker to detect oral cancer holds potential for saving lives when the cancer is most curable. Annually some 10,000 people die from this cancer,” said Ge Jin, assistant professor of biological sciences at the dental school. He led the study, “An Antimicrobial Peptide Regulates Tumor-Associated Macrophage Trafficking via the Chemokine Receptor CCR2, a Model for Tumorigenesis.” The Public Library of Science published the research in PLoS ONE. Oral cancer first appears as white or red lesions in the mouth, the same as noncancerous lesions. Often, the lesions are not biopsied, and cancer is not discovered until it becomes apparent in its later stages, when it has metastasized to other organs. Such a late-stage diagnosis is generally fatal and can result in costly surgeries and treatments or disfigurement that may include removing parts of the tongue, jaw and cheek. All this can be avoided with early removal of the lesion. The hBD-3 biomarker is one of many innate immune peptides found in the epithelial lining of the mouth. In a normal, healthy oral cavity, hBD-1, -2 and -3 ward [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-07-20T14:18:41-07:00July, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Head and neck cancer among lifelong never-smokers and ever-smokers: matched-pair analysis of outcomes after radiation therapy

Source: HighWire Medline Author: Am J Clin Oncol From the Departments of *Radiation Oncology and daggerOtolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of California Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA. PURPOSE:: An increasing proportion of patients with head and neck cancer have no history of smoking. The purpose of this analysis was to compare the clinical outcomes between patients without a history of smoking (never-smokers) and those with a previous history of smoking (ever-smokers) treated by radiation therapy. METHODS AND MATERIALS:: Seventy patients with newly diagnosed squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx or oral cavity without a previous history of smoking were matched to a control ever-smoker with a positive tobacco history (>10 pack-years) based on age, gender, ethnicity, Karnofsky Performance Status, primary tumor site, disease stage, primary treatment, radiation dose, and start date. Outcome was compared using Kaplan-Meier analysis. Normal tissue effects were graded according to the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group/European Organization for the Treatment of Cancer radiation toxicity criteria. RESULTS:: With a median follow-up of 33 months, lifelong never-smokers had an increased 3-year overall survival (86% vs. 69%), disease-free survival (82% vs. 65%), and local-regional control (85% vs. 70%) compared with the ever-smoker control population (P < 0.05, for all). These differences remained statistically significant when patients treated by postoperative or definitive radiation therapy were analyzed separately. The incidence of grade 3+ complications was also significantly lower among never-smokers compared with ever-smokers (10% vs. 29%, P = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS:: Prognosis differed significantly between never-smokers and ever-smokers with head and neck [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-07-20T14:11:01-07:00July, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Dysphagia, stricture, and pneumonia in head and neck cancer patients: does treatment modality matter?

Source: HighWire Medline Author: Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. OBJECTIVES: Dysphagia-related sequelae are common after head and neck cancer treatment. Our aims were 1) to document overall and site-specific dysphagia, stricture, and pneumonia rates in a Medicare population, 2) to calculate treatment-specific rates and adjusted odds of developing these complications, and 3) to track changes in rates between 1992 and 1999. METHODS: Head and neck cancer patients between 1992 and 1999 were identified in combined Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) registry and Medicare databases. Multivariate analyses determined odds of dysphagia, stricture, and pneumonia based on modality. RESULTS: Of 8,002 patients, 40% of experienced dysphagia, 7% stricture, and 10% pneumonia within 3 years of treatment. In adjusted analyses, patients treated with chemoradiation had more than 2.5-times-greater odds of dysphagia than did those treated with surgery alone. Combined therapy was associated with increased odds of stricture (p<0.05). The odds of pneumonia were increased in patients treated with radiation with or without chemotherapy. Temporally, the dysphagia rates increased 10% during this period (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Sequelae of head and neck cancer treatment are common and differ by treatment regimen. Those treated with chemoradiation had higher odds of experiencing dysphagia and pneumonia, whereas patients treated with any combined therapy more commonly experienced stricture. These sequelae represent major sources of morbidity and mortality in this population.

Charlotte Parker2010-07-20T11:56:04-07:00July, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Robot gives surgeons another weapon against throat cancer

Source: www.star-telegram.com Author: Jan Jarvis It started with hoarseness that refused to go away. Then swallowing became difficult. Within a month, Madonna Griffin could no longer eat. By the time she finally learned what was causing the hoarseness, she could barely breathe. It took Dr. Yadro Ducic just one look down her throat to identify the cause. A 2-inch tumor was growing in the 38-year-old Azle grandmother's larynx, blocking her airway. "I could look down her throat and see this big cancer," said Ducic, co-medical director of the Skull Base Center at Baylor All Saints Medical Center in Fort Worth. "But the voice box was obstructing the view." To remove the tumor, Ducic turned to the da Vinci Surgical System, which gave him a much better view of the throat from different angles. "The nice thing about the robot is you can see around the corner so you can operate around the corner," he said. "It allows you to take out things you can't otherwise." The May 21 operation is believed to be the first such throat surgery in North Texas using the da Vinci Surgical System and was performed less than six months after the federal Food and Drug Administration approved the procedure, according to Baylor All Saints officials. A week later, UT Southwestern Medical Center surgeons performed the same robotic surgery on a patient in Dallas. The transoral robotic surgery is an alternative to the conventional approach using lasers to remove throat tumors. For the nearly 13,000 people [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-07-20T07:28:47-07:00July, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

FDA analysis finds toxic substances in electronic cigarettes

Source: www.rwjf.org/publichealth Author: staff A preliminary analysis by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) indicates that electronic cigarettes contain traces of toxic substances and carcinogens, contradicting manufacturers' claims that the products are safe alternatives to tobacco, the New York Times reports. According to manufacturers, the battery-powered devices, which produce a vapor that users inhale, contain little more than water, nicotine and propylene glycol, which is used in theatrical performances to create artificial smoke. However, an FDA analysis of the ingredients in two leading brands of electronic cigarettes found that some had detectable levels of nitrosamines, tobacco-specific compounds known to cause cancer. In addition, one Smoking Everywhere cartridge contained diethlyene glycol, a common ingredient in antifreeze that contributed to the death of hundreds of individuals worldwide after it was incorrectly used as a substitute for glycerin in toothpaste. According to the FDA's principal commissioner, the effect of inhaling diethlyene glycol and other carcinogens through electronic cigarettes on the human body remains unknown. The study also highlighted several quality control issues with the electronic cigarettes, which are manufactured in China. For example, nicotine levels varied among cartridges with labels that claimed to contain identical amounts of nicotine, and some cartridges claiming to be nicotine free did contain nicotine. Calling the products drug delivery devices, the FDA says electronic cigarettes should not be allowed in the United States and has rejected approximately 50 shipments at the border since summer 2008. However, vendors in malls nationwide and online continue to sell electronic cigarettes, which [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-07-20T06:49:17-07:00July, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

FDG-PET staging and importance of lymph node SUV in head and neck cancer

Source: 7thspace.com Author: staff Objectives: The role of positron emission tomography (PET) with fluoro-deoxy-glucose (FDG) in the staging of head and neck cancer (HNC) is unclear. The NCCN guidelines do not recommend FDG-PET as a part of standard workup. The purpose of this report is to examine the role of FDG-PET imaging in altering management and providing prognostic information for HNC. Methods: Retrospective review of HNC patients who had a staging FDG-PET scan performed at either Thomas Jefferson University or University of Kansas Medical Center between the years 2001 and 2007. A total of 212 PET scans were performed in patients who went on to receive radiotherapy. Results: The median follow-up time for all patients was 469 days. The PPV and NPV of PET imaging to correctly identify lymph node status was 94% and 89% respectively. Lymph nodes with extracapsular extension (ECE) had higher SUVs than nodes without ECE, 11.0 vs. 5.0 (p <0.0007). Maximum SUV for the primary tumor >8.0 was predictive of worse overall survival (p <0.045), while the SUV of the lymph nodes was predictive for distant recurrence at one year--with a mean SUV value of 10.4 for patients with distant failure vs. 7.0 without (p <0.05). Conclusions: FDG-PET staging in head and neck cancer has good positive and negative predictive values in determining lymph node status. The maximum SUV of the primary tumor is predictive of overall survival. This is the first report to find that the SUV of a lymph node is predictive for ECE [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-07-18T06:52:58-07:00July, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

HPV testing following excisional therapy for cervical neoplasia can identify high-risk patients: presented at IPC

Source: www.docguide.com Author: Louise Gagnon About one-quarter of women continue to have high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) after excisional therapy for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) 2/3, a study presented here at the 26th International Papillomavirus Conference (IPC) has found. Women with CIN are at increased risk for developing invasive cervical cancer, and persistent infection of high-risk HPV is a main risk factor for treatment failure, said Wendy Mei, BSc, MLT, the study's presenting investigator and clinical trials coordinator at the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, Vancouver, British Columbia. HPV testing and Pap smear together are more sensitive than using Pap smear alone, noted Mei. "We wanted to evaluate the impact of implementing ASCCP [American Society for Colposcopy and Clinical Pathology] guidelines in British Columbia," Mei told attendees here at an oral presentation on July 7. "We also wanted to determine the genotype distribution of women with higher risk HPV to gain insight on vaccine and diagnostics evaluation." Researchers used ThinPrep to collect cervical brushings, instead of conventional Pap smear, to permit an aliquot to be tested to determine if the HPV types were high-risk using a DNA test. Mei and colleagues collected 1,007 specimens and found 25.4% (n = 256) were positive for high-risk HPV. They found HPV 16 in 29.7% of specimens and HPV 18 in 5.5% of specimens. "HPV 18 was lower than expected, but the treatment options are more effective for HPV 18," said Mei in an interview. Investigators found single and multiple high-risk HPV genotypes were [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-07-16T14:06:44-07:00July, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Researchers study relationship of oral cancers and periodontal disease

Source: www.medicalnewstoday.com Author: staff During the 88th General Session & Exhibition of the International Association for Dental Research, in Barcelona, Spain, author J. Meyle, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany, presented an abstract titled "P. gingivalis Infection and Immune Evasion of Oral Carcinomas." Meyle and his team are investigating the relationship of oral cancers and periodontal disease. They achieved results by infecting cell carcinoma cells SCC-25 with Porphyromonas gingivalis (P.g.) W83. After 48h the cells were stained with antibodies against human B7-H1, B7-DC and TLR4 and analysed by flow cytometry. RNA was extracted after 24h and gene expression of B7-H1, B7DC, TLR4, IFN-γ and IL-10 was quantified by real time PCR and analysed by the (2 triangles)CT method. Up-regulation of B7-H1 in host cells may contribute to the chronicity of inflammatory disorders which frequently precede the development of human cancers. B7-H1 expression was detected in the majority of human cancers and leads to anergy and apoptosis of activated T cells, which might enable tumors to evade the immune response. TLR4 signalling has been shown to induce B7-H1 in bladder cancer cells. P.g., a putative periodontal pathogen, is an etiologic agent of periodontitis and expresses a variety of virulence factors. In this study the expression of B7-H1 and B7-DC receptors and TLR4 on squamous cell carcinoma cells SCC-25 was analysed after infection with P.g. in vitro. The research concludes that P.g. is able to induce the expression of the immune regulating receptors B7-H1 and B7-DC in squamous cell carcinoma which may facilitate [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-07-16T13:09:40-07:00July, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Compound discovery may lead to earlier oral cancer detection

Source: www.dentalplans.com Author: staff A biomarker found in the mouth may help dental care specialists diagnose patients with cancer of the mouth and gums at earlier stages, according to a study published in the web-based journal, PLoS ONE. One of the first signs of oral cancer is the development of white or red sores on the inside of the mouth, which commonly go untested because they are typically cancer-free. However, if cancerous lesions go untreated, the disease can progress to later stages. In an effort to improve oral cancer detection, a team of researchers conducted a series of tests, and discovered the hBD-3 biomarker, which improves immune system health in the mouth. The location of the compound is what has made these results important, as they were found in the lining of the mouth where cancerous cells begin to grow. Because they were able to discover where the hBD-3 biomarker develops, the investigators concluded that these findings could lead to the development of diagnostic equipment that could detect oral cancer sooner. "Using the biomarker to detect oral cancer holds potential for saving lives when the cancer is most curable. Annually some 10,000 people die from this cancer," said Ge Jin, assistant professor of biological sciences at the Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine.

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-07-14T21:09:32-07:00July, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Which new tobacco products are scoring?

Source: CSP Author: Mitch Morrison OAK BROOK, Ill. -- Camel Snus continues to ride a wave of loyal national support as R.J. Reynolds extends its marketing focus to oral tobacco consumption. In an exclusive CSP-UBS tobacco survey, retailers praised Camel's Snus product as well as Camel Crush, the company's customizable cigarette that contains a small blue menthol capsule within the filter. "Camel Snus—extremely aggressive and the first to market in this new and growing category," a Virginia retailer said of the smokeless, spitless product. "'Fill the Fridge' is a good concept." Added a retailer from Iowa: "Snus continues to be a growth driver. Camel did a really good job out of the chute with its initial launch and now Marlboro has gotten into the game as well." Indeed, more than half of the 50-plus respondents cited the snus segment as a strong nascent player that is slowly gaining recognition and consumer acceptance. Another winner was Marlboro, which scored well with its Marlboro 72, Marlboro Special Blend and Copenhagen Wintergreen smokeless tobacco. "Marlboro Special Blend and 72s have done exceptionally well in our area with an attractive price," an Arkansas operator said. Others receiving praise included Liggett's private-label lines, Star Scientific's Stonewall spitless, Reynold's Natural American Spirit and the broader smokeless tobacco category. "Camel is doing a great job in building awareness for the Snus category," said UBS tobacco analyst Nik Modi. "PM USA had great traction with its Marlboro Special Blend, but we wonder how the brand will respond to [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-07-14T20:16:42-07:00July, 2010|Oral Cancer News|