February 2023 – Oral Cancer News

Another setback for vapes? Using the devices can increase the risk of oral cancer as much as cigarettes do, study finds

Source: www.dailymail.co.uk Author: Cassidy Morrison, Senior Health Reporter DailyMail.com Using a vape causes cancer-linked DNA damage to the mouth at the same rate as using a cigarette does, study finds. The latest study from researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) further pokes holes in the notion that vaping e-cigarettes such as Juul and PuffBar devices are a healthier alternative to smoking. Vapers who regularly use e-cigarettes saw just as much damage to DNA in their mouths as smokers of regular tobacco cigarettes, raising the specter of chronic diseases including cancer. Flavor pods in particular were the most dangerous. Cancers are caused by such DNA damage, also referred to as gene mutations that, over time, may stop working normally or grow out of control and become cancerous. This is not the first study to come to this conclusion. Canadian researchers found that mice exposed to flavored vapes consistently suffered serious cellular and molecular damage to their lungs. Dr Ahmad Besaratinia, senior author of the study and public health experts at USC, said: ‘For the first time, we showed that the more vapers used e-cigarettes, and the longer they used them, the more DNA damage occurred in their oral cells.’ Smoking exposes the cells coating the inside of the mouth, the airways, and the lungs to dozens of powerful chemical carcinogens. The cells in parts of the body that are directly exposed to smoke are damaged most acutely, with 150 mutations found to occur in each lung cell within one [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2023-02-18T14:11:07-07:00February, 2023|Oral Cancer News|

FDA grants priority review to Avasopasem for radiotherapy-induced severe oral mucositis

Source: www.onclive.com/ Author: Chris Ryan The FDA has granted priority review to the new drug application (NDA) for avasopasem manganese (GC4419) as a treatment for radiotherapy-induced severe oral mucositis (SOM) in patients with head and neck cancer undergoing standard-of-care treatment.1 The NDA was supported by data from the phase 2b GT-201 (NCT02508389) and phase 3 ROMAN (NCT03689712) trials, which enrolled a total of 678 patients. Findings from GT-201 demonstrated that 90 mg avasopasem induced a significant reduction in median SOM duration compared with placebo (1.5 vs 19 days; P = .024).2 Additionally, 43% of patients treated with avasopasem experienced SOM compared with 65% of patients who received placebo (P = .009). Grade 4 instances of SOM occurred in 16% and 30% of patients in the avasopasem and placebo arms, respectively (P = .045). In the ROMAN confirmatory trial, avasopasem also significantly reduced incidence of SOM.3 Data presented during the 2022 ASCO Annual Meeting showed that through the course of intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), SOM was reported in 54% of patients administered avasopasem (n = 241) vs 64% of those given placebo (n = 166; relative risk [RR], 0.84; P = .045), meeting the trial’s primary end point. Additionally, when avasopasem was given prior to IMRT, patients experienced a 56% reduction in median duration of SOM compared with placebo (8 vs 18 days, respectively; P = .002). Compared with placebo, these patients also had a 27% reduction in incidence of grade 4 SOM (33% vs 24%; P = .052) and a [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2023-02-17T13:22:39-07:00February, 2023|Oral Cancer News|

Precision oncology inches into head and neck cancer paradigm

Source: www.targetedonc.com Author: Nichole Tucker In an interview with Targeted Oncology, to Everett E. Vokes, MD, discussed precision oncology for head and neck cancer and how the molecular biology of head and neck cancers is an opportunity for new investigations and treatment development. Treatment of head and neck cancer is moving away from invasive surgery and chemoradiotherapy and toward precision medicine, according to Everett E. Vokes, MD. But the field still has a long way to go, compared with other solid tumors.1 Patients with squamous cell cancers of the head and neck cancers are typically treated with chemoradiotherapy, said Vokes, the John E. Ultmann Distinguished Service professor of Medicine, professor of Radiation and Cellular Oncology, chair of the Department of Medicine, and physician-in-chief, at University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences, during a presentation at the Inaugural Miami Cancer Institute Precision Medicine Oncology Symposium. The only targeted therapy available is for HRAS-driven tumors. Although the farnesyltransferase inhibitor, tipifarnib (Zarnestra), has achieved anti-tumor activity in the HRAS-positive population, the activity is modest for patients with HRAS-mutated salivary gland cancer.2 Vokes explained that more therapies are needed for these patients, but other investigational strategies like de-escalation are promising.1 For thyroid cancers, the precision medicine landscape is vaster, Vokes said. In addition to immunotherapy, lenvatinib (Lenvima), a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, is FDA approved for multiple indications. Looking ahead, Vokes hopes research leans towards a multidisciplinary approach to get patients with all forms of head and neck cancer to remission. In an interview with [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2023-02-06T09:56:45-07:00February, 2023|Oral Cancer News|