Research to examine possible links between periodontal disease and oral cancer

Source: eu.dental-tribune.com Author: Dental Tribune International staff As worldwide oral cancer rates continue to climb, our understanding of what causes the disease to occur, thankfully, also continues to grow. Tobacco use and excessive alcohol consumption have been established as primary risk factors, and researchers are now investigating another potential source for this condition: the bacteria that cause periodontal disease. The research is being led by Dr Louise Belfield, a lecturer in biomedical science at the University of Plymouth’s Peninsula Dental School, in collaboration with the university’s Institute of Translational and Stratified Medicine. Since cancer requires blood vessels to grow and metastasise, the research team is planning to build on existing evidence that shows how certain bacteria that cause periodontal disease are linked to angiogenesis. To do so, the research team will develop miniature tumours and blood vessels in a laboratory setting, adding the bacteria with the aim of clarifying how they function and what effect they have on the blood vessels. According to a press release from the university, if the research ascertains that the bacteria make the blood vessels grow more rapidly and similarly to those associated with tumours and identifies the process by which this is achieved, the results could form the basis of a new screening programme to detect oral cancer risk earlier. This would make it possible to begin treatment in a more timely manner. “We know that tumours in the mouth, unlike many other tumours, are in constant contact with bacteria, but we don’t know [...]

2019-11-06T09:45:25-07:00November, 2019|Oral Cancer News|

Oral sex blamed for rise of mouth cancer in UK

Source: www.medicaldaily.com Author: Darwin Malicdem The number of people diagnosed with mouth cancer has significantly increased by 135 percent over the past 20 years in the United Kingdom. Experts believe the increase comes amid the growing number of Brits engaging in oral sex. Nonprofit Oral Health Foundation (OHF) issued a report showing oral cancer rates “have more than doubled in a generation” across the U.K. In 2018 alone, seven people died every day from the disease in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. “While most cancers are on the decrease, cases of mouth cancer continue to rise at an alarming rate,” Nigel Carter, chief executive of the OHF, told the Daily Mail. “It changes how somebody speaks, it makes eating and drinking more difficult, and often changes a person’s physical appearance.” The foundation said the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV) caused 73 percent of the oropharyngeal mouth cancers. But drinking alcohol also contributed to the higher rates of the disease in the U.K. OHF said 33 percent of mouth cancer diagnoses over the past decades were linked to consumption of alcoholic beverages. Smoking was associated with 17 percent of the cases. The foundation launched Mouth Cancer Action Month in early November that aims to spread awareness of mouth cancer and its signs and symptoms. “We want everyone to be more mouth aware during this year’s campaign,” Carter said in a press release. “This means being able to identify the signs and symptoms of mouth cancer, understand what is more likely to [...]

2019-11-05T09:21:13-07:00November, 2019|Oral Cancer News|

Study shows checkpoint inhibitor prolongs survival in patients with certain head and neck cancers

Source: medicalxpress.com Author: Anne Doerr, Yale University The checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab (Keytruda) increases the survival time of patients with advanced head and neck cancers, according to a new global study led by Yale Cancer Center (YCC). The data was published today in the journal The Lancet. The findings of the phase 3 study show that, compared to the standard therapy, overall survival was significantly improved for participants with previously untreated recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancers. "This research demonstrates that this checkpoint inhibitor, with or without chemotherapy, should be the first drug used for these types of cancers," said the study's lead investigator, Barbara Burtness, M.D., a professor of medicine (medical oncology) and co-leader of developmental therapeutics at YCC. "This is a very positive advance in treatment for our patients." Burtness added that early results from this clinical trial, KEYNOTE-048, led to FDA approval earlier this year of pembrolizumab as first-line therapy in untreated recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous-cell carcinoma, which include cancers of the oral cavity, oropharynx, hypopharynx and larynx. While the median survival benefit was calculated in months, some patients treated with pembrolizumab lived much longer and did significantly better than patients who were not treated with the checkpoint inhibitor, Burtness noted. The study looked at 882 participants enrolled in 200 medical centers in 37 countries, who were randomly assigned to one of three different groups: those receiving pembrolizumab, those treated with pembrolizumab and chemotherapy, and those getting the standard therapy with cetuximab and chemotherapy. [...]

2019-11-05T04:25:49-07:00November, 2019|Oral Cancer News|

Tiny cancer tracers could boost survival rates

Source: www.bignewsnetwork.com/ Author: PanArmenian.Net staff Nanoparticles that can detect complex cancer cells and potentially improve five-year survival rates are headed for human trials. South Australian company Ferronova has developed the nanoparticles that are designed to identify early stage tumor and related cancer cells, Medical Xpress says. Ferronova Chief Executive Stewart Bartlett said the tiny cancer tracers were expected to be trialled on oral cancer patients at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in April 2020, pending key approvals. Bartlett said once Ferronova's polymer-coated iron oxide nanoparticles were injected into patients they would show up on an MRI within about 15 minutes. 'The way they work in cancer is they're designed to be detected around a solid tumor' he said. 'They'll actually be picked up by your lymphatic system as a foreign body and follow the same pathway as any cancer spread from a primary tumor would follow. 'If you can actually know where those particles are going you can also determine where the cancer would have gone.' Ferronova was spun out of a nanoparticles research collaboration between the University of South Australia and New Zealand's Victoria University, with backing from IP investors Powerhouse Ventures and UniSA Ventures. Bartlett said preclinical trials at the Mawson Lakes lab had given the company confidence to use the particles on humans. He said the treatment was expected to be 90 percent accurate. 'We've added a molecule to the particles so they go to the first lymph node and they are retained in the first lymph node, [...]

2019-11-03T10:29:59-07:00November, 2019|Oral Cancer News|

Oral mucositis: preventing the side effect before undergoing cancer treatment

Source: www.curetoday.com/ Author: Katie Kosko Oral mucositis can be painful and, in some cases, require hospitalization of patients being treated for cancer with chemotherapy and other radiation therapies. However, along with your care team, you can take steps to prevent this uncomfortable side effect. In an interview CURE®, Dr. Alessandro Villa, assistant professor in oral medicine and dentistry at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, spotlighted the number of patients with cancer who are affected by oral mucositis, explained the benefits of two agents approved by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) for intervention and explored how patients can control the side effect from the comfort of their homes. CURE®: Can you explain what types of cancer treatment cause oral mucositis? Villa: Oral mucositis is an iconic toxicity of cancer therapy and remains one of the most painful and disrupting side effects of radiation therapy and chemotherapy. When I talk about radiation therapy, I talk about patients with head and neck cancer. In these patients, usually 100% receiving radiation therapy develop oral mucositis. We also see mucositis in approximately 60% to 80% of patients who undergo bone marrow transplants. And finally, we see it in 20% to 40% of patients who receive conventional chemotherapy for any cancer. What are the consequences of oral mucositis? Oral mucositis is one of the most painful toxicities in patients receiving radiation therapy to the head and neck. It’s the number one cause of hospitalization in these patients. It can [...]

2019-11-03T10:21:56-07:00November, 2019|Oral Cancer News|
Go to Top