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VELscope System Called the World’s Leading Oral Cancer Screening System

Source: LED Dental Inc Writer: John Pohl WHITE ROCK, British Columbia—February 27, 2009—LED Dental Inc. claimed today that its VELscope system is used for more oral cancer examinations than any other adjunctive technology in the world. Impressive Milestones Passed According to Dr. Ralph Green, president and CEO of LED Dental's parent, LED Medical Diagnostics, "Since our mid-2006 launch, we have sold over 4,000 VELscope systems worldwide. Based on an independent survey of VELscope users, we estimate that these devices have been used to conduct over 4 million VELscope exams to date." Dr. Green added, "What's more, we estimate that over 3 million additional VELscope exams will be conducted in 2009 alone. Based on sales information reported by our leading competitor, it is clear that their product is currently being used for a much lower number of exams." Powerful Supporting Research The tissue fluorescence visualization technology platform on which the VELscope system is based is the culmination of over $50 million in research funded by the National Institutes of Health and other respected institutions and conducted by such leading organizations as the British Columbia Cancer Agency and the University of Texas's M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Translating this highly sophisticated, breakthrough technology for use in an efficacious device to examine the oral mucosa was the brainchild of LED Dental and the British Columbia Cancer Agency. Launched in 2006 as the first tissue fluorescence device made commercially available to the dental community, the VELscope system revolutionized the dental practitioner's ability to visualize the oral mucosal [...]

Webmaster2009-02-27T20:19:09-07:00February, 2009|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

Drink a day increases cancer risk

Source: BBC News A glass of wine each evening is enough to increase your risk of developing cancer, women are being warned. Consuming just one drink a day causes an extra 7,000 cancer cases - mostly breast cancer - in UK women each year, Cancer Research UK scientists say. The risk goes up the more you drink, whether spirits, wine or beer, the data on over a million women suggests. Overall, alcohol is to blame for about 13% of breast, liver, rectum, mouth and throat cancers, the researchers say. They estimate that about 5,000 cases of breast cancer in the UK - 11% of the 45,000 cases diagnosed each year - can be attributed to women's consumption of alcohol. The study looked specifically at women who consumed low to moderate levels of alcohol - defined as three drinks a day or fewer. Over the seven years of the study, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, a quarter of the 1.3 million women reported drinking no alcohol. Of those who did drink, virtually all consumed fewer than 21 drinks per week, and an average of 10g of alcohol per day, which is equivalent to just over one unit of alcohol found in half a pint of lager, a 125ml glass of wine or a single measure of spirits. Nearly 70,000 of the middle-aged women developed cancer and a pattern emerged with alcohol consumption. One too many? Consuming one drink a day increased the risk of all types of [...]

Webmaster2009-02-26T15:40:18-07:00February, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Students hear ‘wake-up call’ about tobacco

Source: Star-Tribune Writer: ALLISON RUPP Gruen Von Behrens' story brought some middle-schoolers to tears. If it didn't bring tears, it at least had them asking questions and thinking about the negative effects of tobacco. During the question and answer part of Von Behrens' presentation, one girl's voice trembled as she asked, "How long does it take someone to die from tobacco?" Von Behrens doesn't care if he scares students. In fact, that's what he wants. "Some of the things may scare you," he said in the beginning. "If scaring you is what keeps you from using tobacco products, then I am going to scare the pants off you." Von Behrens didn't even need to open his mouth for some fear to set in. He has undergone 34 surgeries and hundreds of procedures to remove oral cancer from his mouth and repair what was left over. His face prominently shows what chewing tobacco can do. The 31-year-old lost all his teeth, most of his tongue and his jaw, although part of a leg bone was used to replace the jaw. Layers of skin from his thigh were used to try to rebuild his chin. Von Behrens began chewing tobacco at 13. Students and teachers called the presentation "powerful." "My parents don't smoke, do drugs or really drink alcohol so I always knew I didn't really want to do that stuff," said Levi Shade, an eighth-grader at Poison Spider School. "But now it's a sure thing -- I will never ever do it." Von [...]

Webmaster2009-02-17T12:35:17-07:00February, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Row erupts over oral cancer paper authorship

Source:The Australian Writer: Gay Healy AN international expert on oral cancer withdrew from joint authorship of a paper that drew a link between the disease and theListerine mouthwash made by his university laboratory's corporate sponsors, it has been claimed. The research paper's co-authors say Newell Johnson, whose Griffith University laboratory was funded by pharmaceutical firm Pfizer, Listerine's recent owner, decided not to put his name to the research paper, which made headlines across the world with its finding that alcohol-based mouthwashes were implicated in oral cancer. Professor Johnson says he was never an author. The claim about his involvement and withdrawal, made by Australian co-authors Michael McCullough of the University of Melbourne and Camile Farah of the University of Queensland, adds a new dimension to the controversy ignited by the paper, published in the Australian Dental Journal last December. In January UQ's head of dentistry Laurence Walsh came to the defence of mouthwashes, arguing they might prevent oral cancer, but later conceded that Listerine's present owner, Johnson & Johnson, had sponsored some of his workshops. The paper found the risk of oral cancer was increased by prolonged use of alcohol-based mouthwashes and highlighted six Listerine products. Professor McCullough said the research paper or literature review sprang from a 2007 meeting of the three researchers at a conference in Amsterdam. "After a session on the role of alcohol in oral cancer, we ended up deciding that we would formally write this article and review it between the three of us," hesaid. [...]

Webmaster2009-02-17T12:18:31-07:00February, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Dental Calamities That Can Truly Hurt

Source: New York Times Writer: Nicholas Bakalar DENTAL cavities are not good news, but when it comes to preventive oral health, they may be among the smaller problems. The advice is familiar: brush and floss regularly, use fluoride mouthwash, limit snacks and sweet drinks, visit the dentist twice a year. Good suggestions, even if not everyone follows them: by age 12, 50 percent of children have cavities. But there are two much more serious problems, common dental diseases that can lead not only to loss of teeth but also to loss of life: periodontal disease and oral cancer. Periodontal disease — a chronic bacterial infection of the gums that destroys the bone and tissues that hold the teeth — is the leading cause of tooth loss in adults. Some people are genetically susceptible, and the problem can be aggravated by smoking, taking certain medications, stress and other factors. Several studies have found that gum disease is associated with an increased risk for heart attack. “It isn’t nailed down yet,” said Dr. Martin J. Davis, professor of clinical dentistryat the College of Dental Medicine at Columbia, “but there seems to be a link between the inflammation of gums and the inflammatory markers of heart disease.” It may be that oral bacteria enter the bloodstream, attach to fatty plaques in the coronary arteries and cause clots to form. Or maybe inflammation itself increases plaque buildup. A 2007 study showed that periodontal disease increased the risk of heart disease in men by one third and doubled it in women, even [...]

Webmaster2009-02-17T09:56:09-07:00February, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Visual Screening for Oral Cancer is Cost Effective in Low-Income Countries

Source: Carolina News Wire Writer: Lisa Bistreich, Patrick Gibbons RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — Using visual inspection to screen for oral cancer is a cost-effective approach to earlier diagnosis in low- and middle-income countries, according to a study conducted by researchers at RTI International. The study, published in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization, looked at health care workers in Southern India, where oral cancer is a major health problem, and found that visual oral screening, particularly among high-risk individuals is cost-effective. "Our results show that screening for oral cancers by visual inspection is comparable or less expensive than the more widely accepted practice of screening for cervical cancers," said lead author Sujha Subramanian, a senior health economist at RTI. "We hope that the findings of this study will increase screening for oral cancers and help reduce the devastating impact of this cancer on families." More than 160,000 people participated in the study, and the researchers found that targeted screening of the high-risk group of alcohol and tobacco users is the most cost-effective approach. They determined that visual inspection for oral cancer targeted to high-risk people could be performed for under $6 per person over the course of a nine-year screening program. According to GLOBOCAN, the Indian subcontinent alone accounts for one-third of the world burden and oral cancer is the most common form of cancer and cancer-related death among men in India. Two-thirds of all deaths from oral cancers occur in low income countries. Worldwide, 270,000 new cases and 145,000 [...]

Webmaster2009-02-12T16:14:33-07:00February, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Gwyneth Paltrow: Charity Chick

Source: Gossipgirls.com She’s always been interested in using her celebrity for the benefit of others, and last night Gwyneth Paltrow was spotted at the Women’s Cancer Research Fund’s ‘Unforgettable Evening.’ The “Shakespeare in Love” hottie was looking absolutely gorgeous as she arrived at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, sporting a white dress with a matching blazer and a pair of pink and yellow feathered heels as she mingled with guests including Courtney Cox and Rita Wilson. And Gwyn was more than just another attendee at the event - she also received the 2009 Courage Award for her dedication to cancer research. Gwyneth, along with her mother Blythe Danner and brother Jake Paltrow founded the Bruce Paltrow Oral Cancer Fund in memory of her father who suffered for years with mouth cancer, and finally lost his battle in 2002. The fund is part of the National non-profit Oral Cancer Foundation, (http://www.oralcancer.org)

Webmaster2009-02-13T00:43:23-07:00February, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Gwyneth Paltrow & More At Cancer Benefit Tuesday In LA

Source: LA News Reporter: Access Hollywood Tonight in LA for a cancer benefit, honorees Gwyneth Paltrow and Courteney Cox will join Jennifer Aniston, David Arquette, Sheryl Crow, Lisa Kudrow, Laura Dern, Jennifer Meyer and Tobey Maguire, Angie Harmon and Jason Sehorn, Josh Groban, Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin, Kirk and Anne Douglas, Jessica Capshaw, along with the Entertainment Industry Foundation’s (EIF’s) Women’s Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) honorary chairs Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks, and Kate Capshaw and Steven Spielberg. Also attending are EIF’s WCRF co-founders Kelly Chapman Meyer, Jamie Tisch, Anne Douglas, Quinn Ezralow, Marion Laurie, and Saks Fifth Avenue Beverly Hills’ Vice President & General Manager Larry Bruce. The event, at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, will feature a performance by Beyonce. The 14th Annual Saks Fifth Avenue’s Unforgettable Evening benefiting the Entertainment Industry Foundation’s Women’s Cancer Research Fund (EIF’s WCRF), raises much needed funds each year for innovative cancer research, and recognizes one remarkable individual for his or her unwavering commitment to the cause. Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow will receive the 2009 Courage Award. She, along with her mother, Blythe Danner, and brother, Jake Paltrow, established the Bruce Paltrow Fund in memory of her father who lived with oral cancer for several years. The Bruce Paltrow Fund, set up through The Oral Cancer Foundation and with support from the EIF, works to prevent oral cancer through public education, early detection and patient support. In 2008, Paltrow served as ambassador for EIF and Saks Fifth Avenue’s KEY TO THE CURE Initiative, appearing in a [...]

Webmaster2009-02-11T14:09:48-07:00February, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Smokeless tobacco ups oral cancer risk 80 pct – WHO

Source: in.reuters.com Author: staff Chewing tobacco and snuff are less dangerous than cigarettes but the smokeless products still raise the risk of oral cancer by 80 percent, the World Health Organisation's cancer agency said on Tuesday. The review of 11 studies worldwide showed people who chewed tobacco and used snuff also had a 60 percent higher risk of oesophagus and pancreatic cancer. The researchers sought to quantify the risk of smokeless tobacco after a number of studies differed on just how dangerous the products were, said Paolo Boffetta, an epidemiologist at the WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer. "What we did was try to quantify the burden of smokeless cancer," he said in a telephone interview. "This has never been attempted in such a systematic way before." The researchers, who published their findings in Lancet Oncology, did this by looking at population-wide studies and trials of both humans and animals. They found frequency of use varies greatly both across and within countries, depending on sex, age, ethnic origin and economic background, and were highest in the United States, Sweden and India. They also found that while snuff and chew were less dangerous than smoking because they were not linked to lung cancer, getting cigarette users to switch was not good public policy. "If all smokers did this there would be a net benefit," Boffetta said. "The point is we don't know whether this would happen and there is no data to suggest these smokers would stop or switch."

Webmaster2009-01-28T15:29:47-07:00January, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Nicorette launches 25g nicotine patch to help people stop smoking

Source: Nursing Times Nicorette has launched a new nicotine replacement therapy programme that includes a 25mg nicotine patch to help people trying to stop smoking Nicorette recommends that smokers begin a stop smoking attempt using a 25mg nicotine patch for eight weeks, then step down to a 15mg patch for two weeks, followed by 10mg patch for a further two weeks. They cite evidence from a European multi-centre trialinvolving 3,575 smokers to support the introduction of a higher strength 25mg patch. This study found that one in two smokers who used the 25mg patch and abstained from smoking during the first week of a quit attempt remained smoke free at 12 weeks. Read full study here

Webmaster2009-01-26T13:21:16-07:00January, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

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