2/2/2008 Helsinki, Finland staff International Herald Tribune (www.iht.com) Scientists in Finland said Friday that they had replaced a 65-year-old patient's upper jaw with a bone transplant cultivated from stem cells isolated from his own fatty tissue and grown inside his abdomen. The researchers said the breakthrough opened up new ways to treat severe tissue damage and made the prospect of custom-made living spares parts for humans a step closer to reality. "There have been a couple of similar-sounding procedures before, but these didn't use the patient's own stem cells that were first cultured and expanded in laboratory and differentiated into bone tissue," said Riitta Suuronen of the Regea Institute of Regenerative Medicine, part of the University of Tampere. She said at a news conference that the patient was recovering more quickly than he would have if he had received a bone graft from his leg. "From the outside nobody would be able to tell he has been through such a procedure," she said. The team used no materials from animals - preventing the risk of transmitting viruses than can be hidden in an animal's DNA, and followed European Union guidelines, she said. Stem cells are the body's master cells and they can be found throughout the blood and tissues. Researchers have recently found that fat contains stem cells which can be manipulated so that they form a variety of different tissues. Using a patient's own stem cells provides a tailor-made transplant that the body should not reject. Suuronen and her [...]

2/2/2008 web-based article Anil K. Chaturvedi et al. Journal of Clinical Oncology, Vol 26, No 4 (February 1), 2008: pp. 612-619 Purpose: To investigate the impact of human papillomavirus (HPV) on the epidemiology of oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCCs) in the United States, we assessed differences in patient characteristics, incidence, and survival between potentially HPV-related and HPV-unrelated OSCC sites. Patients and Methods: Data from nine Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program registries (1973 to 2004) were used to classify OSCCs by anatomic site as potentially HPV-related (n = 17,625) or HPV-unrelated (n = 28,144). Joinpoint regression and age-period-cohort models were used to assess incidence trends. Life-table analyses were used to compare 2-year overall survival for HPV-related and HPV-unrelated OSCCs. Results: HPV-related OSCCs were diagnosed at younger ages than HPV-unrelated OSCCs (mean ages at diagnosis, 61.0 and 63.8 years, respectively; P < .001). Incidence increased significantly for HPV-related OSCC from 1973 to 2004 (annual percentage change [APC] = 0.80; P < .001), particularly among white men and at younger ages. By contrast, incidence for HPV-unrelated OSCC was stable through 1982 (APC = 0.82; P = .186) and declined significantly during 1983 to 2004 (APC = –1.85; P < .001). When treated with radiation, improvements in 2-year survival across calendar periods were more pronounced for HPV-related OSCCs (absolute increase in survival from 1973 through 1982 to 1993 through 2004 for localized, regional, and distant stages = 9.9%, 23.1%, and 18.6%, respectively) than HPV-unrelated OSCCs (5.6%, 3.1%, and 9.9%, respectively). During 1993 to [...]

2/1/2008 Atlanta, GA Mike Stobbe news.myway.com The sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer in women is poised to become one of the leading causes of oral cancer in men, according to a new study. The HPV virus now causes as many cancers of the upper throat as tobacco and alcohol, probably due both to an increase in oral sex and the decline in smoking, researchers say. The only available vaccine against HPV, made by Merck & Co. (MRK) Inc., is currently given only to girls and young women. But Merck plans this year to ask government permission to offer the shot to boys. Experts say a primary reason for male vaccinations would be to prevent men from spreading the virus and help reduce the nearly 12,000 cases of cervical cancer diagnosed in U.S. women each year. But the new study should add to the argument that there may be a direct benefit for men, too. "We need to start having a discussion about those cancers other than cervical cancer that may be affected in a positive way by the vaccine," said study co-author Dr. Maura Gillison of Johns Hopkins University. The study was published Friday in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Human papillomavirus, or HPV, is the leading cause of cervical cancer in women. It also can cause genital warts, penile and anal cancer - risks for males that generally don't get the same attention as cervical cancer. Previous research by Gillison and others established HPV as a primary [...]

2/1/2008 web-based article Joe Blaes Dental Office Magazine (www.dentalofficemag.com) In 2008, I am committed to raising dentistry's awareness of oral cancer. All of my seminars now begin with a discussion of oral cancer. I have committed to an oral cancer article in every issue of DE® during 2008 to increase the awareness of the dental profession. When was the last time you read an article, saw a TV news report, or read an Internet report on oral cancer? Did you know that the death rate for oral cancer has not decreased in the last three decades, that in 2007 there will be 34,360 new cases of oral cancer and that it will kill 7,500 people? I bet you have heard about the great success in reducing the new cases of cervical cancer to 11,000 and the deaths to 3,670. Three times as many people get oral cancer and twice as many die! The five-year survival rate for oral cancer is only 52 percent, but when diagnosed early, it can be 80 to 90 percent. Unfortunately, only 35 percent of oral cancer is diagnosed early. Late diagnosis leads to a high death rate. There has been a nearly fivefold increase in oral cancer patients under the age of 40 with none of the traditional risk factors. Oral cancer is no longer limited to heavy smokers and drinkers over the age of 45. This trend underscores the need for a thorough cancer screening examination of all our patients and an increased awareness [...]

1/31/2008 web-based article staff FoxNews.com Screening for some cancers may one day be as easy as gargling. Scientists at Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center say a new mouth-rinse cancer test holds promise for screening people at high risk for head and neck cancers, including heavy tobacco and alcohol users. Lead investigator, Dr. Joseph Califano, said his research group at Johns Hopkins asked 211 head and neck cancer patients and 527 individuals without cancers of the mouth, larynx or pharynx to brush the inside of their mouths, then rinse and gargle with a salt solution. The researchers collected the rinsed saliva and filtered out cells thought to contain one or more of 21 bits of chemically altered genes common only to head and neck cancers. Tumor and blood samples also were collected. One panel correctly identified 66 out of 154 patients (42.9 percent) with the disease and accurately ruled out the disease in 203 of 248 healthy subjects (81.9 percent), according to the study published in the Jan. 1 issue of Clinical Cancer Research. Although the blood test was more accurate than the saliva test at detecting cancer in patients with the disease (34 out of 37), there was a trade-off in the number of healthy individuals it spotted (53 of 173), the authors say. "Few tests can be perfect 100 percent of the time in identifying both normal and cancerous cells," Califano said in a news release. "Because head and neck cancers are not widespread, it makes more sense to [...]

1/30/2008 Chicago, IL Regine Schlesinger WBBMNewsRadio (www.wbbn780.com) A renowned Chicago chef says he has many reasons to celebrate these days. WBBM's Regine Schlesinger explains. Just this week, Alinea, the Lincoln Park restaurant owned by chef Grant Achatz, once again won the coveted 5-star rating from Mobil Travel guide, one of only two chicago restaurants to get it. The other is Charlie Trotter's. But for Achatz an even bigger triumph is his victory over a form of cancer that threatened his life and his career. Just 6 months ago he was diagnosed with a stage 4 cancer of the tongue that could have cost him his taste buds. But, his doctors at the University of Chicago found another way to treat him using chemotherapy and radiation instead of surgery. Now, after completing his treatments in November, he's cancer free. Once again, cooking and supervising his kitchen staff. He says he's grateful and feels blessed. Cooking he says, is his life. In his words, "It's who I am."

1/29/2008 Ketchum, ID staff CancerConsultants.com According to an article recently published in the journal Cancer, the addition of radiation therapy following surgery improves survival in locally advanced head and neck cancer. Head and neck cancers originate in the oral cavity (lip, mouth, tongue), salivary glands, paranasal sinuses, nasal cavity, pharynx (upper back part of the throat), larynx (voice box), and lymph nodes in the upper part of the neck. Worldwide, head and neck cancer is diagnosed in approximately 640,000 people annually and is responsible for approximately 350,000 deaths each year. Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC) is the most common type of head and neck cancer. It originates in squamous cells, which are commonly part of the outermost layers of tissues. Locally advanced HNSCC refers to cancer that has spread from its site of origin to nearby lymph nodes or tissues. Standard treatment for this stage of disease typically consists of surgery and radiation therapy with or without chemotherapy. The impact of radiation therapy on survival, however, has not been clearly established. Researchers from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York recently conducted a clinical study to evaluate data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database to determine the effect that radiation therapy has on survival for patients with locally advanced HNSCC. This study included 8,795 patients whose cancer had spread to their lymph nodes. They were treated either with surgery alone or surgery plus radiation therapy. Patients had been diagnosed with cancer [...]

1/26/2008 United Kingdom press release MTB Europe (www.mtbeurope.info) UK optical imaging company Michelson Diagnostics Ltd (MDL) has announced successful initial results from clinical testing, on oral cancer tissue, of its groundbreaking optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging technology by partner University College Hospital, London (UCH). The tests, performed by UCH scientists on cancerous and suspected cancerous human oral issue, were designed to establish the potential for MDL’s optical imaging technology to revolutionise head and neck cancer diagnosis and treatment. The tests involved comparing images taken by the MDL scanner of the tissue samples, with histopathology images analyzed by trained pathologists. "We are very excited about the breakthrough in image quality that this system offers," said Mr Colin Hopper, Senior Maxillofacial Surgeon at UCH. "OCT could revolutionise the surveillance of pre-cancers in the mouth and eliminate the waiting time for biopsy results. It should also minimise surgery through improved disease mapping. This will provide cost- effective treatments with improved cure rates.” In the tests, 25 oral tissue samples were collected from 14 patients of the UCH National Medical Laser Centre. The samples were scanned with the MDL OCT imaging system and then prepared for analysis by Pathologist Dr Brendan Conn. Clinical Research Fellow Mr Waseem Jerjes said, “The histopathology results showed that it is possible to identify surface structures such as keratin and epithelial layers, the epidermal–dermal junction and areas of cellular crowding, as well as any pathological changes that occur at that level; this is very exciting, this method seems to [...]

1/26/2008 London, England Roger Highfield Telegraph.co.uk A "camera in a pill" that can be swallowed whole to check for warning signs of cancer is being tested by American doctors. The capsule measures one quarter of an inch by three quarters, small enough to be comfortably swallowed, and creates a high-resolution colour picture of a person's insides. Devised by a team at the University of Washington, Seattle, the pill records 15 colour images every second. It is attached to a tether which allows doctors to control more accurately what they view than with previous devices. Its first use will be to screen for signs of oesophageal cancer - cancer of the gullet. The disease is currently diagnosed in around 8,000 people annually in the UK. "This could be the foundation for the future of endoscopy," says lead author Dr Eric Seibel, whose findings will be described in the journal IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering. Oesophageal cancer is linked to smoking and drinking and often follows a condition called Barrett's oesophagus, a change in the gullet lining. This can be healed, avoiding the cancer that results in around 10 per cent of cases. But because internal scans are expensive, most people don't discover they are affected until it has progressed to cancer. By that stage the survival rate is less than 15 per cent. Even though the camera's single eye sees only one spot - pixel - of the image at a time, it combines all the information as it swings around [...]

1/25/2008 New Rochelle, NY staff Genetic Engineering News (www.genengnews.com) GenVec entered into a manufacturing development agreement with Cobra Biomanufacturing related to its anticancer agent, TNFerade™. The therapy is being evaluated as a treatment for pancreatic, head and neck, and rectal cancers as well as metastatic melanoma. The most advanced program is a Phase II/III trial in in the pancreatic indication. The agreement will cover technology transfer, scale-up, and validation of the manufacturing process for TNFerade through cGMP consistency lots. These will be produced at Cobra’s facility in Oxford, U.K. “Activities under this agreement will establish a clear path for the submission of the chemistry, manufacturing, and controls portion of a biological license application for TNFerade as GenVec works towards the completion of our current Phase III clinical trial,” says Bryan Butman, Ph.D., svp of vector operations at GenVec. The firm is developing TNFerade for use in combination with radiation and/or chemotherapy. The treatment is an adenovector, which contains the gene for tumor necrosis factor-alpha. After administration, TNFerade reportedly stimulates the production of TNFá in the tumor.