Hookah smoke increases benzene exposure, risk for leukemia

Source: www.medicalnewstoday.com Author: staff Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of mortality worldwide and is responsible for the deaths of 6 million people annually. Hookah smoking, a form of tobacco use that employs a partially filled water jar, has come under scrutiny in a new study, which suggests hookah smokers and non-smokers exposed to the smoke have increased uptake of benzene, a substance linked to increased risk of leukemia. Hookah smokers The study is published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. According to the researchers - led by Nada Kassem, associate director at the Center for Behavioral Epidemiology and Community Health at San Diego State University in California - the World Health Organization (WHO) and the US National Toxicology Program have classified benzene as a Group 1 carcinogen. WHO further report that benzene is carcinogenic to humans, recommending that there is no safe level of exposure. Hookah smoke, however, is a source of benzene exposure and is, therefore, a risk factor for leukemia. The most popular kind of hookah tobacco is known as Moassel, which is sweetened and flavored tobacco that contains about 30% tobacco fermented with molasses and fruits mixed with glycerin and chemical flavors. Kassem and her colleagues note that in the US in 2013, it was reported that 26.6% of male and 23.2% of female college students have used hookah at some point in time. Alarmingly, 8.1% of male and 6.6% of female middle and high school [...]

2014-11-25T09:36:27-07:00November, 2014|Oral Cancer News|
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Study: smoking marijuana found non-carcinogenic

Source: americanlivewire.com Author: staff Smoking marijuana does not appear to increase the risk of lung cancer or head-and-neck malignancies, even among heavy users, researchers reported here. “We expected that we would find that a history of heavy marijuana use, more than 500 to 1,000 uses, would increase the risk of cancer from several years to decades after exposure to marijuana, said Donald Tashkin, M.D., of the University of California in Los Angeles. But in fact, they reported at the American Thoracic Society meeting here, marijuana use was associated with cancer risk ratios below 1.0, indicating that a history of pot smoking had no effect on the risk for respiratory cancers. Studies have shown that marijuana contains many compounds that when burned, produce about 50% higher concentrations of some carcinogenic chemicals than tobacco cigarettes. In addition, heavy, habitual marijuana use can produce accelerated malignant change in lung explants, and evidence on bronchial biopsies of pre-malignant histopathologic and molecular changes, Dr. Tashkin said. The investigators had also previously shown that smoking one marijuana cigarette leads to the deposition in the lungs of four times as much tar as smoking a tobacco cigarette containing the same amount of plant material. Marijuana cigarettes are not filtered and are more loosely packed than tobacco, so there’s less filtration of the tar. In addition, pot smokers hold the smoke in their lungs about four times longer than tobacco smokers do, Dr. Tashkin pointed out. For the population-based case-control study, they identified cancer cases among people from [...]

2014-11-25T09:01:35-07:00November, 2014|Oral Cancer News|
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ctDNA ‘Liquid Biopsy’ could revolutionize cancer care

Source: www.medscape.com Author: Janis C. Kelly Bits of tumor cell somatic DNA shed into the circulation or released when cells die can now be detected and counted, thanks to advances in gene sequencing. This circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is derived from somatic mutations that occur in the tumor during an individual's life, unlike hereditary mutations that are present in every cell in the body, so ctDNA is a specific cancer biomarker that can be detected, measured, and tracked. Monitoring ctDNA is expected to provide clinicians with faster, cheaper, less invasive ways to assess cancer patients' clinical status and response to therapy. ctDNA assay for multiple genes via next-generation sequencing (NGS) might become a "liquid biopsy" alternative to invasive tissue biopsy, experts told Medscape Medical News. However, they also cautioned that rigorous testing of this concept is needed before the test can be used in practice, saying: "for now, we would counsel clinicians not to jump the gun on this. Faster, Cheaper, More Accurate Tumor Tests Paul B. Chapman, MD, a medical oncologist with the Melanoma and Sarcoma Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City and Chair of the Medical Advisory Panel at the Melanoma Research Alliance in Washington, DC, said that ctDNA assay is less invasive than biopsy, requires no radiation exposure, is relatively inexpensive, uses fresh DNA not exposed to preservatives, and allows near real-time monitoring of response to treatment. "The beauty of ctDNA monitoring is the speed," Dr Chapman said. "If you are looking [...]

2014-11-19T09:42:11-07:00November, 2014|Oral Cancer News|
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Federal goal is set to increase the amount of boys and girls vaccinated against HPV by 2020

Source: www. wsj.com (Wall Street Journal.com)Author: Caitlin McCabe Public-health officials are pushing for higher HPV vaccination rates amid growing evidence that cancers linked to the virus are afflicting more men. The National Cancer Institute announced recently it is pouring nearly $2.7 million into 18 U.S. cancer centers to boost HPV vaccinations among boys and girls. The cancer centers will work with local health clinics to set recommendations for vaccinating against the sexually transmitted infection, which in some cases can cause cancers in men and women later in life. HPV, or human papillomavirus, was considered a women’s-only issue, after researchers discovered a link between it and cervical cancer in the 1980s.  Now, as cervical-cancer rates are falling and oral-cancer rates in men steadily rise, “the burden of HPV cancer is shifting to men,” said Maura Gillison, a professor in the College of Medicine at Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center. Vaccination rates remain stifled, despite the availability of two vaccines that experts say provide effective coverage against cancer.  The Department of Health and Human Services’ goal is to boost HPV-vaccination rates to 80% by 2020—which is far higher than the 38% of girls and 14% of boys who completed the three-dose HPV vaccine last year, according to data from the National Immunization Survey of teenagers. Pediatricians say boosting those rates can be difficult. Pediatricians may feel uneasy talking to parents of young children about sexually transmitted infections, health experts say, while parents may resist the vaccine because they believe their child isn’t [...]

2014-11-12T11:39:19-07:00November, 2014|Oral Cancer News|
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UK researchers improve comfort levels for cancer patients by 3D printing radiotherapy body molds

Source: 3dprint.com Author: Bridget Butler Millsaps Cancer patients undergoing brain or head and neck radiotherapy are required to be immobilized, which is certainly not always popular with those undergoing the procedure, who may already be suffering from anxiety. To make things worse, in order to be immobilized completely during the procedure, it is crucial that they are wearing a fitted mold to prevent motion. Having the mold made is a whole process in itself before the procedure can begin. In a recent study produced by the Journal of Radiotherapy in Practice, over half of the patients describe the process of having a mold made as ‘horrific.’ Many of them also described the process as ‘uncomfortable.’ Topping that off with molded shells that quite often do not fit appropriately, the anxiety levels are heightened for patients — enough so that researchers centered their study around the creation of molded shells through 3D printing that could be created from data conveniently already existing in the form of a CT scan. The process would increase the comfort level for the patient and save a great deal of time in preparing a molding. Radiotherapy is a type of cancer treatment which uses high-energy rays to zap cancer cells. The procedure has to be precisely aimed directly at specific areas to have effect, and it’s not a procedure anyone wants immediately repeated; therefore, It’s important to have the head shell or molding during radiotherapy because the patient must lie still. The mold or shell holds the [...]

2014-11-12T06:54:21-07:00November, 2014|Oral Cancer News|
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Smoking associated with elevated risk of developing a second smoking-related cancer

Source: medicalxpress.com Author: staff Results of a federally-funded pooled analysis of five prospective cohort studies indicate that cigarette smoking prior to the first diagnosis of lung (stage I), bladder, kidney or head and neck cancer increases risk of developing a second smoking-associated cancer. This is the largest study to date exploring risk of second cancers among current smokers. An analysis of five large, prospective cohort studies indicates that lung (stage I), bladder, kidney and head and neck cancer survivors who smoked 20 or more cigarettes a day prior to their cancer diagnoses have an up to five-fold higher risk of developing a second smoking-associated cancer compared to survivors of the same cancers who never smoked. The association between smoking and developing a second primary smoking-associated cancer was similar to the association between smoking and developing a first primary smoking-associated cancer (patients who smoked more than 20 cigarettes per day had a 5.41-fold higher risk of developing cancer than individuals who have never smoked). Notably, current smoking at any level increased the risk of overall mortality across all cancer disease sites. The study, published on November 10 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, affirms the 2014 Surgeon General report's conclusion that patients and survivors who smoke are at a higher risk of developing a second cancer. Clinicians term an individual's initial diagnosis a first primary cancer. A second primary cancer is one diagnosed at some point after the first diagnosis. Second primary cancers are not metastases of the first cancer but [...]

2014-11-12T06:41:24-07:00November, 2014|Oral Cancer News|
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