October 2018 – Page 2 – Oral Cancer News

As HPV-related cancer rates climb, experts scrutinize barriers to HPV vaccination

Source: www.cancertherapyadvisor.com Author: Bryant Furlow Oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) are now the most commonly diagnosed human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated cancers in the United States, with 15,479 men and 3438 women diagnosed in 2015, according to an analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).1 Between 1999 and 2015, cervical cancer and vaginal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) rates declined, by 1.6% and 0.6% per year, respectively. But rates for vulvar SCC increased by 1.3% annually during the same period. Anal SCC rates also climbed by approximately 2% a year among men and 3% among women.1 Rates of oropharyngeal SCC — cancers of the throat and tongue — climbed as well, particularly among men (2.7% a year vs 0.8% in women). All told, more than 43,000 Americans were newly diagnosed with HPV-related cancers in 2015, the analysis showed, up from 30,115 in 1999.1 Most people diagnosed with HPV-associated malignancies are older than 49 years.1 Most women diagnosed with cervical cancer are older than 30 years.1 “We don't actually know what caused the increase in HPV infections but we know now that we have a safe and effective vaccine that can prevent infections,” said Lois Ramondetta, MD, professor of gynecologic oncology and reproductive medicine at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston. “We're seeing people who were infected decades ago developing these cancers,” Dr Ramondetta said. “We'll see rates continue to rise over the coming years because the vaccine wasn't available before 2006.” HPV vaccination rates are improving, Dr [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2018-10-16T12:00:04-07:00October, 2018|Oral Cancer News|

Adam Kay picks the best books about living with cancer

Source: www.theguardian.com Author: Adam Kay As Orson Welles so cheerily put it, we are born alone, we live alone and we die alone. But none of us has to struggle through cancer alone, thanks to a vast pool of literature, non-fiction and poetry that tackles the subject. In C: Because Cowards Get Cancer Too, columnist and self-confessed hypochondriac John Diamond writes with almost unbearable honesty about his fears as he is diagnosed with throat cancer. As he puts it, this is his “attempt to write the book I was looking for the night I got the bad news”, and it explains “what it’s like to be a person with cancer, to deal with the pain and the fear and the anger”. While his feelings vacillate between hope and despair, his dark humour sings through. Taking the reader on a gripping and emotional journey, this account captures the unpalatable but essential truth that not all those living with cancer are “bravely battling” – some are just plain scared. Diamond is one of a handful of writers who can make me snort out loud in public through the magic of their words, and is much missed. The true story beautifully told by Rebecca Skloot in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is astonishing. Henrietta was a penniless black tobacco farmer who died in 1951, but whose cervical cells changed the shape of medicine. Taken without permission, cells from her tumour have since been multiplied and shared around the world to advance our [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2018-10-16T07:19:55-07:00October, 2018|Oral Cancer News|

AN E-CIGARETTE COMPANY PUT VIAGRA AND CIALIS IN ITS VAPING LIQUIDS, AND THE FDA IS NOT PLEASED

Source: newsweek.com Date: 10/13/18 Author: Kelly Wynne A vape company, HelloCig Electronic Technology Co., has included Viagra and Cialis in its liquids, and has raised the ire of the Food and Drug Administration. One liquid was called e-Cialis, a popular erectile dysfunction drug, and was displayed with photos of the real product, according to Ars Technica. A weight loss drug, whose brand was banned in Europe, was allegedly adapted into the liquid form as well, though FDA testing proved it instead contained the erectile dysfunction medication found in Viagra. The FDA sent a warning letter to HelloCig on Thursday. It urged the company to make the necessary changes to properly market their products and asked they comply with FDA regulations to continue selling any type of drug. HelloCig alleged they responded to the FDA in a statement sent to USA Today Saturday. “Our aim is to fully comply with all FDA regulations, both in letter and spirit," the statement read. The FDA also released a statement, written by FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, on the illegal sale of these liquids on Thursday. “There are no e-liquid products approved to contain prescription drugs or any other medications that require a doctor’s supervision,” the statement read. “Prescription drugs are carefully evaluated and labeled to reflect the risks of the medications and their potential interactions with other medicines, and vaping active drug ingredients is an ineffective route of delivery and can be dangerous.” Gottlieb considers the e-cigarette usage among teenagers an epidemic, he clarified in a statement last [...]

Charlotte Parker2018-10-15T14:38:04-07:00October, 2018|Oral Cancer News|

Oral treatment may not be far off for head and neck cancer patients

Source: app.secure.griffith.edu.au Author: staff, Griffith University A highly promising approach to treating HPV-driven head and neck cancer is on the way, and it could be in the shape of a simple oral medication. This is according to new breakthrough research led by Griffith University, which has conducted trials showing that the drug, Alisertib, tested in trials to treat other cancers such as lung and kidney, can also successfully destroy the cancer cells associated with head and neck cancer. Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is the main culprit in head, neck and oral cancers. The virus is thought to be the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the world, and most people are infected with HPV at some time in their lives. The latest trials – which have taken place over the past three years at Griffith’s Gold Coast campus – have shown a particular enzyme inhibitor in the drug, has the ability to prevent proliferation of HPV cancer cells in advanced head and neck cancers. A 100 per cent success rate Led by Professor Nigel McMillan, program director from Griffith’s Menzies Health Institute Queensland, the trials have shown a 100 per cent success rate in the drug eradicating the cancerous tumours in animals. “Head and neck cancers can unfortunately be very difficult to treat, just by the very nature of where they are located in and around the throat, tongue and mouth,” says Professor McMillan. “This part of the body contains some delicate areas such as the vocal chords and [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2018-10-15T07:33:42-07:00October, 2018|Oral Cancer News|

New risk factor for mouth cancer uncovered

Source: www.medicalnewstoday.com Author: Tim Newman, fact checked by Paula Field In some regions, mouth cancer incidence has risen. A recent study investigates a new risk factor for mouth cancer. In certain parts of the world, over the past couple of decades, mouth cancer rates have soared. For instance, in the United Kingdom, rates of mouth cancer have increased by 68 percent. They rose from eight cases per 100,0000 in 1992–1995 to 13 cases per 100,000 in 2012–2014. In the United States, mouth cancer and mortality rates have declined overall. However, when examined at a state level, the data reveal a more complex picture. For instance, mouth cancer deaths have risen significantly in Nevada, North Carolina, Iowa, Ohio, Maine, Idaho, North Dakota, and Wyoming. Some known risk factors for mouth cancer include smoking tobacco, drinking alcohol, human papillomavirus (HPV), and chewing betel quid, which is a mix of natural ingredients wrapped in a betel leaf that is popular in some parts of Southeast Asia. In India, mouth cancers are the most common cause of cancer-related deaths in men aged 30–69 years old. Scientists think that chewing betel quid could be responsible for many of these deaths. New risk factor for mouth cancer Although scientists have confirmed some risk factors, there is still much to learn about how and why mouth cancer affects certain individuals and not others. Recently, scientists set out to investigate another potential risk factor: air pollution. The researchers, funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology in Taiwan, [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2018-10-12T12:20:45-07:00October, 2018|Oral Cancer News|

FDA approves expanded use of Gardasil 9 to include individuals 27 through 45 years old

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved a supplemental application for Gardasil 9 (Human Papillomavirus (HPV) 9-valent Vaccine, Recombinant) expanding the approved use of the vaccine to include women and men aged 27 through 45 years. Gardasil 9 prevents certain cancers and diseases caused by the nine HPV types covered by the vaccine. “Today’s approval represents an important opportunity to help prevent HPV-related diseases and cancers in a broader age range,” said Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. ”The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has stated that HPV vaccination prior to becoming infected with the HPV types covered by the vaccine has the potential to prevent more than 90 percent of these cancers, or 31,200 cases every year, from ever developing.” According to the CDC, every year about 14 million Americans become infected with HPV; about 12,000 women are diagnosed with and about 4,000 women die from cervical cancer caused by certain HPV viruses. Additionally, HPV viruses are associated with several other forms of cancer affecting men and women. Gardasil, a vaccine approved by the FDA in 2006 to prevent certain cancers and diseases caused by four HPV types, is no longer distributed in the U.S. In 2014, the FDA approved Gardasil 9, which covers the same four HPV types as Gardasil, as well as an additional five HPV types. Gardasil 9 was approved for use in males and females aged 9 through 26 years. The effectiveness of Gardasil is [...]

Charlotte Parker2018-10-08T09:23:24-07:00October, 2018|Oral Cancer News|

HPV vaccine expanded for people ages 27 to 45

Source: www.nytimes.com Authors: Denise Grady and Jan Hoffman About 14 million women and men become infected with the human papillomavirus each year in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CreditCreditKeith Bedford/The Boston Globe, via Getty Images The HPV vaccine, which prevents cervical cancer and other malignancies, is now approved for men and women from 27 to 45-years-old, the Food and Drug Administration said on Friday. The vaccine is Gardasil 9, made by Merck, and had been previously approved for minors and people up to age 26. It works against the human papillomavirus, HPV, which can also cause genital warts and cancers of the vulva, anus, penis and parts of the throat. The virus has many strains. It is sexually transmitted, and most adults encounter at least one strain at some point in their lives. The vaccine protects against nine strains, including those most likely to cause cancers and genital warts. “Today’s approval represents an important opportunity to help prevent HPV-related diseases and cancers in a broader age range,” Dr. Peter Marks, director of the F.D.A.’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in a statement. The approval was based on a study in women ages 27 to 45, showing that an earlier version of the vaccine was highly effective in preventing persistent HPV infection, genital warts, vulvar and vaginal precancers, cervical precancers and cervical cancers related to the virus types covered by the vaccine. The vaccine’s effectiveness in men ages 27 to [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2018-10-07T18:38:18-07:00October, 2018|Oral Cancer News|

HPV16 vaccine yields added benefit in recurrent throat cancer

Source: www.medpagetoday.com Author: Ian Ingram, Deputy Managing Editor, MedPage Today Adding a tumor-specific vaccine to PD-1 checkpoint inhibition was safe and effective in HPV16-positive patients with recurrent or metastatic oropharyngeal cancer, a small phase II trial found. Among 24 patients treated with nivolumab (Opdivo) and the ISA101 long peptide vaccine, 22 of whom had oropharyngeal cancer, 33% responded and median overall survival was 17.5 months, Cornelis Melief, PhD, of ISA Pharmaceuticals in the Netherlands, reported here at the 4th annual Cancer Immunotherapy Conference. All eight of the responders had oropharyngeal cancer (36%), with two complete and six partial responses. The median duration of response among these patients was 10.3 months, and responses were seen in both platin- and cetuximab-refractory patients, and those refractory to both. Melief noted that one of the partial responders had total clearance of the primary tumor, but a solitary lung metastasis remained, but was stable at 2.5 years. Rate of overall survival at 6 and 12 months was 75% and 70%, respectively. The combination was well tolerated and safe, said Melief, with no increase in the rate of serious adverse events. A randomized trial is planned to confirm the findings. "The results of our trial are among the first clinical data to support the general concept of combining cancer vaccination with immune checkpoint blockade to enhance efficacy of vaccine-activated T cells in the immunosuppressive tumor environment," Melief's group wrote in JAMA Oncology, where the findings were also published. The findings compare favorably to outcomes in a [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2018-10-04T09:03:12-07:00October, 2018|Oral Cancer News|

Oral sex and ‘deep kissing’ linked to increase in HPV-positive head and neck cancer

Source: www.sbs.com.au Author: Amelia Dunn Jake Simpson was 22 when he started to get painful toothaches. Trips back and forth to the dentist couldn’t seem to fix the growing lump at the back of his mouth It came as a total surprise to Jake, his partner Carly, and their newborn son Noah, when oncologists in Brisbane told him he had stage four head and neck cancer, and would need to start treatment immediately. “We didn’t know what any of it meant. He was so young and healthy, we couldn’t believe it,” Carly said. Despite rigorous treatment and surgery that removed more than two-thirds of his tongue, Jake’s cancer was too aggressive and spread to his lungs. He died within eight months of his diagnosis. These cancers, known as oropharyngeal cancers in the back of the tongue and tonsils, are on the rise in young men, and are caused by the sexually transmitted disease HPV – human papillomavirus. While doctors believe it is most commonly passed on through oral sex, some argue it’s now as easy as ‘deep kissing’. “Jake wasn't tested for HPV because it was too aggressive from the day one, but that age bracket that he fell in, more than likely, the cause was HPV,” Carly said. HPV has been dubbed the ‘common cold’ of STDs. Over 80 per cent of Australian adults will get HPV at one point in their lives, and most will clear it without even knowing. But two particular strains, P16 and P18 are [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2018-10-02T07:41:21-07:00October, 2018|Oral Cancer News|