2/7/2007 Hickory, NC staff www.hulliq.com A new computer-based technique could eliminate hours of manual adjustment associated with a popular cancer treatment. In a paper published in the Feb. 7 issue of Physics in Medicine and Biology, researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center describe an approach that has the potential to automatically determine acceptable radiation plans in a matter of minutes, without compromising the quality of treatment. "Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) has exploded in popularity, but the technique can require hours of manual tuning to determine an effective radiation treatment for a given patient," said Richard Radke, assistant professor of electrical, computer, and systems engineering at Rensselaer. Radke is leading a team of engineers and medical physicists to develop a "machine learning" algorithm that could cut hours from the process. A subfield of artificial intelligence, machine learning is based on the development of algorithms that allow computers to learn relationships in large datasets from examples. Radke and his coworkers have tested their algorithm on 10 prostate cancer patients at Memorial Sloan-Kettering. They found that for 70 percent of the cases, the algorithm automatically determined an appropriate radiation therapy plan in about 10 minutes. "The main goal of radiation therapy is to irradiate a tumor with a very high dose, while avoiding all of the healthy organs," Radke said. He described early versions of radiation therapy as a "fire hose" approach, applying a uniform stream of particles to overwhelm cancer cells with radiation. IMRT adds nuance and [...]

2/7/2007 Wilmington, DE Kelly Bothum DelawareOnline (www.delawareonline.com) To the untrained eye, the image on Denise Mahoney's computer screen might look like a geometry problem gone awry. It's a CT scan of a patient with cancer in his head and neck. More than a dozen lines of different colors crisscross the screen. The intersection of these lines cuts the skull into geometric shapes of varying sizes and angles. But to Mahoney's skilled eyes, the picture makes plenty of sense. Each line represents a radiation beam. When administered to the patient over a series of treatments, these beams will attack the tumors in the patient's head and neck while sparing sensitive areas like the eyes and mouth glands. For a dosimetrist like Mahoney, whose job is to figure out the best way to administer radiation treatments to a cancer patient, there's a delicate dance between killing cancer cells and protecting nearby organs and tissues. Because of the expertise of a dosimetrist, patients can fight their cancer while preserving as much quality of life as possible. In the multidisciplinary world of cancer care, dosimetrists play crucial roles on oncology teams. Their job is like that of a radiation pharmacist. Relying on a prescription from a radiation oncologist, dosimetrists develop an individual plan of radiation treatment for a cancer patient. They use special software as well as MRI, CT and PET scans to map out specially measured radiation doses. Unlike oncologists, who care for patients, or radiation therapists, who administer treatment over many days, [...]

2/5/2007 London, England K A A S Warnakulasuriya and R Ralhan J Oral Pathol Med, February 1, 2007; 36(2): 63-77 While carcinogenicity of smokeless tobacco (ST) to humans is well established the oral lesions that precede development of cancer are less well characterized. The clinical appearances of ST-associated lesions are variable. Epidemiological studies show a strong significant association of risk with chronic daily use but population differences are noted because of various commercial products in use. Morphological features observed are some what different to oral lesions caused by smoking and oral dysplasia in ST-associated lesions is less common. Effects of ST on oral keratinocytes observed in vitro include alterations in cell proliferation, apoptosis and activation of inflammatory markers. Genetic aberrations caused by ST include activation of ras, uncommon in smokers but mutational hot spots in p53 encountered are similar to those in smokers. Authors' affiliation: Department of Oral Medicine and Pathology, WHO Collaborating Centre for Oral Cancer and Precancer, King's College Dental Institute at Guy's, King's and St Thomas? Hospitals, King's College London, London, UK

2/5/2007 Wilmington, DE Eric Ruth Delaware Online (www.delawareonline.com) Lots of products out there claim they'll help people overcome smoking. Now comes one that aims to help them overcome smoking bans. Smokers who are finding themselves frazzled by today's increasingly tobacco-hostile world can now lotion up when they feel like lighting up, courtesy of a nicotine gel that is rubbed into their hands, purportedly giving hours of crave-free existence. Already marketed around the world, "Nicogel" recently made its U.S. debut at Delaware's Happy Harry's drugstores and other Walgreen locations. Unlike the pricey patches, lozenges and gums that now fill shelves, Nicogel makes no claim to being a "nicotine-replacement therapy" that helps smokers quit. Instead, the amber nicotine gel is specifically marketed with the idea of allowing smokers to get a fix when they're stuck in a smoke-free place -- which in Delaware includes just about every existing public building, and even a few grassy fields. Made from tobacco, each packet delivers enough nicotine to get users through four hours without a smoke, its makers claim. Nicogel arrives at a time when smoking bans are increasing, along with the potential for profit for makers of nicotine therapies and other products. Last year, the National Bureau of Economic Research Inc., a nonprofit economic research group, estimated that smoking-cessation ventures overall had retail sales of nearly $1 billion annually and were spending more than $100 million annually on advertising. Sales research company MarketResearch.com recently estimated that sales of over-the-counter smoking-cessation products will grow to [...]

2/2/2007 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada press release Genetic Engineering News (www.genengnews.com) LED Medical Diagnostics Inc., a Vancouver-based medical device company, recently closed a USD 6 million financing round through Integral Wealth Securities Limited. The company will use these funds to aggressively market and distribute its FDA (510k) cleared VELscope (Visually Enhanced Lesion Scope) oral mucosal examination device in the United States and Canadian dental markets through its wholly owned subsidiary, LED Dental Inc. VELscope is a clinically proven adjunctive screening device that utilizes a narrow band of blue light and specialized filtering technology to help dental professionals evaluate oral mucosa for abnormal areas of concern, such as potentially cancerous lesions that may not be apparent under white light. In addition, this round of funding will enable LED Medical to accelerate its efforts to integrate the use of VELscope into the oral hygiene and oral pathology curricula of leading dental schools throughout North America. According to Peter Whitehead, CEO and Director of LED Medical: "This oversubscribed round of financing was a resoundingly strong vote of confidence by the investment community for our proprietary Direct Tissue Fluorescence Visualization Technology and the potential it has to help save lives." VELscope was proven effective in clinical trials conducted by the British Columbia Cancer Agency (BCCA) and financed in part by over $50 million in grants from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, part of the National Institutes of Health, a U.S. government-funded agency. "VELscope's improved real-time visual detection capability can significantly enhance [...]

2/2/2007 web-based article M Pabiszczak et al. Otolaryngol Pol, January 1, 2006; 60(5): 691-5 Assesment of recurrences in the oral cavity and pharynx is a serious diagnostic challenge particularly in patient after surgery and irradiation. Observed visible local lesions like oedema, formation of postoperative scars and pain made the diagnostic procedure difficult. Sometimes it's impossible to distinguish recurrences and inflammatory reaction. The aim of this research was to evaluate the usefulness of toluidyne blue in monitoring of recurrences and second primary tumors in the patients with oral and pharyngeal cancer. It was performed by comparison of the three methods: physical examination, endoscopic ultrasound probe and toluidine blue staining in detection of early malignancy. A group of 80 patients with oral and pharyngeal squamous cell cancer was treated in the years between 2000-2003 in the Department of Otolaryngology in Pozna?. In 7 positive tested cases toluidine blue staining was confirmed in histological examination. 3 cases were false-positive staining (patients after reconstructive with infrahyoid and pectoral major flap). Conclusions: (1) toluidine blue staining is a cheap effective diagnostic procedure for monitoring recurrences in patients after surgery and irradiation; (2) procedure is limited in patients after reconstructive flap surgery; (3) ultrasound endoscopy is of value in assesment of advanced tumors of oral cavity and pharynx, but it's limited in flat and superficial mucosal infiltrations. Authors: M Pabiszczak, M Wierzbicka, E Wasniewska, and W Szyfter Authors' affiliation: Klinika Otolaryngologii i Onkologii Laryngologicznej w Poznaniu im. K. Marcinkowskiego

2/2/2007 web-based article staff CancerConsultants.com A phase II multicenter trial has demonstrated that Ethyol (amifostine) can be administered subcutaneously for the prevention of radiation induced xerostomia in patients receiving radiation therapy for head and neck cancer. The details of this study appeared in the February 2007 issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics. Radiation therapy is commonly used to treat patients with head and neck cancers, and xerostomia is a frequent side effect. The intravenous administration of Ethyol has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for prevention of radiation induced xerostomia. The necessity of administering Ethyol intravenously has severely limited its use. Thus, researchers have explored the subcutaneous route of administration. These researchers treated 54 patients with subcutaneous Ethyol followed by radiation therapy. The incidence of grade 2 or greater early Xerostomia was 56% and the incidence of late xerostomia was 45%. These incidences of early and late xerostomia are similar to that observed with the use of Ethyol intravenously in a previous randomized trial and lower than the control group of that trial. Nausea and vomiting were the most frequent side effects. Local control and survival rates were not inferior to those expected. These authors concluded that subcutaneous Ethyol could substitute for intravenous administration for the prevention of xerostomia. Comments: These are important observations that should increase the use of Ethyol in preventing xerostomia in patients with head and neck cancer. It is anticipated that the FDA will approve this route of administration. [...]

2/2/2007 New York, NY Megan Rauscher CancerPage.com In a retrospective case-control study, researchers observed a non-significant trend for better survival in head and neck cancer patients who used nonselective COX inhibitors (aspirin and/or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications) on a regular basis. "Although these results are intriguing, there is not sufficient evidence to recommend their use in patients with head and neck cancer unlike patients with colon polyps or colon cancer," Dr. M. Boyd Gillespie from the Medical University of South Carolina warned in comments to Reuters Health. For the study, reported in the January issue of the Archives of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery, Dr. Gillespie and colleagues identified 325 head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients. They compared the rate of COX inhibitor use among patients who had died or whose disease had recurred with that among survivors or those without recurrence. Medication data were available for 319 subjects, of whom 232 (73%) were COX inhibitor users and 87 (27%) were nonusers. There was no difference in COX inhibitor exposure between patients with and without disease recurrence (p = 0.42). "Although non-selective COX inhibitors are inexpensive, widely available, and relatively safe, they do not appear to have a strong effect at preventing recurrences of head and neck cancer," Dr. Gillespie said. There was also no significant difference in COX inhibitor use between survivors and nonsurvivors of head and neck cancer (p = 0.66). Nevertheless, there was a trend toward longer survival with regular COX inhibitor use. The median survival of COX [...]

1/31/2007 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada press release NewsWire (www.newswire.ca) Perceptronix Medical Inc. today announced its participation in a research project to detect early oral cancer lesions through a new initiative inside the BC Oral Cancer Prevention Program. This Program is bringing together a network of dentists, researchers and technology companies to develop early screening programs for oral cancer. Participation in this program is a result of a collaborative research agreement signed between Perceptronix and researchers with the BC Cancer Agency. "The problem with oral cancer," says Dr. Miriam Rosin, Director of the BC Cancer Agency's Oral Cancer Prevention Program and lead investigator in the study, "is that there are often no symptoms in the early stages. And because it is a challenge to identify during the early stages, it is typically not diagnosed until the cancer has advanced and it is less responsive to treatment." The National Cancer Institute of Canada estimates there were 3,000 new oral cancer cases and 1,100 deaths from the disease in 2006. "During a routine dental exam, there are few clear signs to tell a dentist whether a sore in the mouth is due to inflammation, infection or cancer. The tools developed by Perceptronix and LED Dental Inc. could assist dentists in making those distinctions," added Dr. Rosin. Patients volunteering for the screening program will be checked for early cancer using the VELscope(R) fluorescence device developed by LED Dental Inc. The VELscope will aid in identifying areas that require further investigation. The next step involves [...]

1/26/2007 Gaithersberg, MD press release BusinessWire (home.businesswire.com) GenVec, Inc. today announced that the first patient has been dosed in a Phase I/II trial with TNFerade™ for head and neck cancer at the University of Chicago Medical Center. GenVec is sponsoring two separate Phase I/II studies at the University of Chicago to explore the use of TNFerade as a second-line treatment for unresectable, recurrent tumors, and as a first-line treatment for elderly or frail patients. The trials are being funded by the National Cancer Institute. The two separate trials, which will be led by principal investigators Everett Vokes, M.D., and Tanguy Seiwert, M.D., could enroll up to 70 patients with unresectable, recurrent tumors and up to 60 elderly or frail patients with new onset, locally advanced disease. The investigators will first determine best dose in each indication, and will assess safety and locoregional control of the cancer following TNFerade treatment as a component of standard of care. “The start of these trials marks another milestone in our clinical progress with TNFerade,” stated Mark Thornton, M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D., GenVec’s senior vice-president of product development. “We know that local control is crucial for effective treatment of head and neck cancers, and is a respected regulatory endpoint. Since TNFerade is administered directly at the tumor site, it is ideally suited for these specific indications. TNFerade also has a well-established safety profile, so we believe it is a potentially appropriate treatment for elderly or frail cancer patients who cannot tolerate the cytotoxic effects of systemically [...]