2013 – Page 17 – Oral Cancer News

New drug combination could prevent head and neck cancer in high-risk patients

Source: www.sciencedaily.com Author: staff A new drug combination shows promise in reducing the risk for patients with advanced oral precancerous lesions to develop squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. The results of the study, which included preclinical and clinical analyses, were published in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. "Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) is the most common type of head and neck cancer," said Dong Moon Shin, M.D., professor of hematology, medical oncology and otolaryngology at Emory University School of Medicine, and director of the Cancer Chemoprevention Program at Winship Cancer Institute at Emory University in Atlanta, Ga. "The survival rate for patients with SCCHN is very poor. An effective prevention approach is desperately needed, especially since we can identify patients who are at extremely high risk: those with advanced oral precancerous lesions." Based on prior research suggesting a role for epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in promoting SCCHN, Shin and colleagues believed combining an EGFR inhibitor and a COX-2 inhibitor could provide an effective chemopreventive approach. They found that the combination of the EGFR inhibitor erlotinib and the COX-2 inhibitor celecoxib was more effective for inhibiting the growth of human SCCHN cell lines compared with either drug alone. In addition, treating mice with the drug combination prior to transplanting them with human SCCHN cells more effectively suppressed cancer cell growth than did pretreating the mice with either drug alone. Based on these preclinical [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2013-02-20T07:38:26-07:00February, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

Kentucky cancer center emphasizes patients’ quality of life

Source: www.drbicuspid.com Author: Donna Domino, Features Editor The James Graham Brown Cancer Center at the University of Louisville is among a growing number of facilities working to improve care for head and neck cancer (HNC) patients through collaborative care programs that bring together a spectrum of oncology specialists. The center provides multidisciplinary treatment for HNC patients using novel techniques that decrease the debilitating side effects of radiation and chemotherapy. The clinic also conducts research and clinical trials with targeted therapies that aim to restore patients' oral functions. Kentucky has a higher rate of HNC than the U.S. average, which provides a large patient pool for the many clinical trials that the center conducts, according to Zafrulla Khan, DDS, MS, professor and director of maxillofacial/oncologic dentistry in the center's HNC clinic. "That's what happens when you mix tobacco and bourbon," Dr. Khan noted. Intraoral radiation shields Some of the center's novel treatment techniques involve using intraoral radiation shields during brachytherapy radiotherapy procedures to prevent the tongue and nearby oral areas from getting irradiated while minimizing mucositis and xerostomia, Dr. Khan explained. Intraoral radiation shields prevent the tongue and nearby oral areas from getting irradiated while minimizing mucositis and xerostomia "We put catheters right into tumors so they can deliver the radiotherapy in the mouth with high-density therapy machines rather than doing an external beam," he said. The clinic also uses a surgical obturator, a prosthetic device that enables patients to speak and swallow following surgery for maxillary sinus cancer. [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2013-02-20T07:32:57-07:00February, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

Detecting cancer’s biochemical ‘fingerprint’ for early diagnosis

Source: www.siliconrepublic.com Author: Claire O'Connell Detecting cancer in its early stages could help to make treatment more effective. Claire O’Connell found out from Dr Fiona Lyng about Cervassist, an emerging technology that uses spectroscopy to analyse tissue samples and spot when cells are showing signs of abnormality. So far the technology has been focusing on assessing cervical smear samples, which are routinely collected as part of screening programmes for cervical cancer in many countries. Cervical cancer is the one of the most common female cancers in Europe, and women are encouraged to be screened every few years. Cells are removed from the neck of the womb, and they are examined by eye under a microscope. If there are abnormal or potentially cancerous cells in the sample, the person can be monitored or treated as appropriate. Cervassist, which is being developed at Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), could offer another view of those cells on the microscope slide. By shining laser light on the samples and collecting some of the scattered radiation, the technology can automatically analyse the biochemical content of the cells, explains Lyng, who is manager of the DIT Centre for Radiation and Environmental Science. "We use Raman spectroscopy to analyse the cervical samples – it's a vibrational spectroscopic technique that gives a biochemical fingerprint of a sample," she says. "If you shine laser light on a sample, light is scattered back and we collect the inelastic scatter, which contains information about the biochemical components in the sample, the [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2013-02-11T22:31:03-07:00February, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

One Less Cancer to Worry About (If Only)

Posted: 02/07/2013 By: Joaquin M. Espinosa Source: Huffington Post Thankfully, there is one cancer that I no longer have to worry about. I just need to figure out when exactly my seven-year-old twin daughters will have sex for the first time. ... In 2013, around 12,000 American women will be diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer and more than 4,000 will die from it. Globally, cervical cancer is the third most common cancer in women worldwide, killing >275,000 every year. But these numbers will go down, must go down, because cervical cancer is now a fully preventable disease. Or isn't it? For us cancer researchers, good news is often not good enough and too spread apart. In this long war, we became weary of unfounded celebrations. When asked when exactly our discoveries will make a difference in the clinic, we balk and hesitate, as we have been scarred by the many times that our discoveries did not translate into a cure. Yet this time is different, this victory is unequivocal, scientific research has led to the development of vaccines that can make cervical cancer history. Now all there is left to do is to get people vaccinated. Startlingly, this seemingly simple objective is proving to be a monumental task. Cervical cancer originates in the lower portion of the uterus, and if not detected and treated early it will eventually metastasize and kill. Virtually all cervical cancers are caused by the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), which is present in about half [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-02-08T13:46:55-07:00February, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

Where Do the Millions of Cancer Research Dollars Go Every Year?

Posted: Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013, at 5:18 PM ET By: Quora Contributor Source: Slate.com This question originally appeared on Quora. Answer by David Chan, MD, Oncologist : I'll be the first to admit that despite all the billions put into cancer research, the end results of preventing cancer and treating advanced cancer have been disappointing. Unlike reducing deaths from heart attacks and stroke, progress in reducing deaths from cancer has been disappointingly slow. Sure, we've had our breakthrough drugs like Gleevec, the targeted drug for chronic myelogenous leukemia, and Herceptin for a certain type of breast cancer. But for a lot of other cancers, the treatments aren't giving us bang for the buck. Spending $100,000 to $200,000 a year to extend life for an additional three to six months may be very important to those individuals with cancer, but are a very poor return on investment for society. It's not sustainable, and that's why a lot of national health care programs won't pay for drugs like Avastin, Sutent, Yervoy, and Provenge. Dr. Margaret Cuomo (sister of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo) recently wrote about her perspective about this. On the amount spent on cancer research: "More than 40 years after the war on cancer was declared, we have spent billions fighting the good fight. The National Cancer Institute has spent some $90 billion on research and treatment during that time. Some 260 nonprofit organizations in the United States have dedicated themselves to cancer — more than the number established [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-02-08T13:35:57-07:00February, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

Throat Cancer and HPV – the researcher

6 February, 2013 12:26PM AEDT By Carol Duncan (ABC Local) Source: abc.net.au Assoc Prof Karen Canfell is a researcher with the Lowy Cancer Research Centre at the University of NSW. HPV is her area of expertise. What does she want us to know about HPV and the vaccination program? CAROL DUNCAN: Karen, your area of expertise is human papilloma virus and I understand there's not just one but 100 or more? ASSOC PROF KAREN CANFELL: That's right, there's a large number of types HPV that have been implicated in cancer but it's really two of those types that are responsible for the vast majority of cancers, HPV 16 & 18 and those types are the ones that are included in the vaccine that is now available to us. CAROL DUNCAN: I guess this is the point of this series this week is that we now have another cancer which is, in essence, preventable. ASSOC PROF KAREN CANFELL: Yes, I think what we're seeing with HPV is an incredible success story in cancer prevention. This started with the vaccination of girls and women in Australia. Because HPV has a very important role in cervical cancer and, in fact HPV is responsible for virtually all cervical cancers, the types we just mentioned (types 16 & 18) are responsible for about 70% of those cancers. Five years ago, in 2007, we had the implementation of the National HPV Vaccination Program in girls and women in Australia and that's really had incredible effects [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-02-06T13:02:21-07:00February, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

Attitudes Toward HPV Vaccination For Boys

Source: Medical News Today Date: 01 Feb 2013 A new Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) study has found that low-income and minority parents/guardians were receptive toward vaccinating boys against Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). However, racial/ethnic differences emerged in attitudes regarding school-entry mandates. The findings appear online in the journal Clinical Pediatrics. Although low-income and minority men have higher rates of oral HPV infection and are more likely to suffer from HPV-related diseases including penile, anal and oral cancers, few studies have examined parental attitudes after the HPV vaccine was approved for males in 2009. This study aimed to provide an in-depth understanding of how low-income and minority parents view HPV vaccination for boys using open-ended interview questions. The analysis was based on the Health Belief Model which measures perceived severity, susceptibility, benefits and barriers. Researchers led by corresponding author, Rebecca Perkins, MD, MSc, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at BUSM, interviewed 120 parents and legal guardians of boys age 11 to 17 who accompanied them for physician visits between December 2011-2012. All subjects were read a short educational paragraph explaining HPV and HPV vaccination prior to answering questions. Perceiving the severe consequences of being exposed to HPV, most parents/guardians saw more benefits than barriers to vaccinating boys against HPV. Researchers found the most prominent barrier to vaccination was lack of information about the long-term efficacy and safety of the vaccine, specifically for males. "This study indicates that most parents would accept HPV vaccination for their sons just [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-02-04T11:56:10-07:00February, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

U.S. death rate from cancer is dropping

Source: www.webpronews.com Author: Sean Patterson Though cancer hasn’t been completely cured, it’s clear that treatments for the disease have improved over the past two decades. A yearly report from the American Cancer Society has shown that the death rate from cancer in the U.S. is declining among all Americans and for the most common types of cancer. The report, published recently in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, shows that the death rate from all cancers combined has been falling since the early 1990. From 2000 to 2009, combined cancer death rates have fallen an average of 1.8% among men and 1.4% among women. Black men and black women saw the largest declines in cancer deaths from 2000 to 2009, though their cancer death rates from 2005 to 2009 were still highest when compared to other racial groups. Though death rates for cancers such as lung cancer , breast cancer, and colon cancer are declining, the rate of diagnoses for some cancers is increasing. The rate of new cases of pancreas, kidney, thyroid, liver, melanoma, and myeloma cancers have all increased in men from 2000 to 2009. For women, rates of new cases of thyroid, melanoma, kidney, pancreas, liver, leukemia, and uterus cancers increased during the same period. The report points out that excess weight and lack of physical activity are risk factors for many of these cancers. “The continuing drop in cancer mortality over the past two decades is reason to cheer,” said John Seffrin, CEO of the [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2013-02-01T20:42:46-07:00January, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

Team approach improves oral cancer outcomes

Source: www.drbicuspid.com Author: Donna Domino, Features Editor Providence Cancer Center in Portland, OR, is one of a growing number of facilities that is working to improve care for patients with oral cancer and head and neck cancers through a multidisciplinary program that brings together a spectrum of treatment providers. To illustrate the challenges many oral cancer patients face, R. Bryan Bell, MD, DDS, medical director of the Oral, Head and Neck Cancer Program at Providence, described the extreme effects the illness and its treatment had on one of his patients. The woman had undergone surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation for her oral cavity cancer. "This was a beautiful 32-year-old woman who had lost all her teeth and couldn't chew," Dr. Bell told DrBicuspid.com. "She had aged about 40 years during treatment, and she just looked awful. But she had no means of affording needed dental rehabilitation, which would have cost about $60,000. People need to see what happens when you don't restore these patients." Dr. Bell used the woman's case to convince officials at Providence Health, which oversees the medical center, of the need for a multidisciplinary approach for these patients. The new cancer treatment center, which opened last month, is a unique collaboration between dental and medical oncology specialists. The center provides coordinated care for oral cancer patients who often need expensive and complex dental rehabilitation, regardless of their ability to pay, according to Dr. Bell. His team includes head and neck surgical oncologists, radiation oncologists, medical oncologists, otolaryngologists, neuro-otologists, [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2013-01-28T14:52:16-07:00January, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

Quitting smoking before cancer surgery best, study finds

Source: health.usnews.com Author: staff Cancer patients who smoked up until their surgery were more likely to take up the habit again compared to those who quit earlier, a new study finds. The study from the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., included lung cancer and head and neck cancer patients who quit smoking before or immediately after surgery. They were followed for a year after the surgery. "Sixty percent of patients who smoked during the week prior to surgery resumed smoking afterward, contrasted with a 13 percent relapse rate for those who had quit smoking prior to surgery," study corresponding author Vani Nath Simmons said in a Moffitt news release. The significantly lower smoking relapse rate for those who quit smoking before surgery shows the need to encourage patients to quit smoking when they're diagnosed with cancer, the researchers said. The investigators also noted that most of the patients who began smoking again did so shortly after surgery, which shows the importance of anti-smoking programs for patients both before and after surgery. The study also found that patients were more likely to resume smoking if they had a high amount of fear about cancer recurrence, had a higher risk for depression, and were less likely to believe in their ability to quit smoking. "Cancer patients need to know that it's never too late to quit," Simmons said. "Of course, it would be best if they quit smoking before getting cancer; but barring that, they should quit as soon as they [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2013-01-28T14:43:06-07:00January, 2013|Oral Cancer News|