Charlotte Parker, Author at Oral Cancer News

(S)-N′-Nitrosonornicotine, a constituent of smokeless tobacco, is a powerful oral cavity carcinogen in rats

Source: Oxford Journals Abstract Currently, smokeless tobacco products are being proposed as an alternative mode of tobacco use associated with less harm. All of these products contain the tobacco-specific carcinogen N′-nitrosonornicotine (NNN). The major form of NNN in tobacco products is (S)-NNN, shown in this study to induce a total of 89 benign and malignant oral cavity tumors in a group of 20 male F-344 rats treated chronically with 14 p.p.m. in the drinking water. The opposite enantiomer (R)-NNN was weakly active, but synergistically enhanced the carcinogenicity of (S)-NNN. Thus, (S)-NNN is identified for the first time as a strong oral cavity carcinogen in smokeless tobacco products and should be significantly reduced or removed from these products without delay in order to prevent debilitating and deadly oral cavity cancer in people who use them. Abbreviations: HPLC = high-performance liquid chromatography NNK = 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone NNN = N′-nitrosonornicotine POB = pyridyloxobutyl * This news story was resourced by the Oral Cancer Foundation, and vetted for appropriateness and accuracy.

Charlotte Parker2013-09-09T11:37:03-07:00September, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

Swallowing Exercises Preserve Function in Head and Neck Cancer Patients Receiving Radiation

Source: Science DailyDate: Aug. 29, 2013 A study from UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center (JCCC) has found that head and neck cancer patients receiving radiation as part of their treatment were less likely to suffer unwanted side effects such as worsening of diet, need for a feeding tube, or narrowing of the throat passage if they complied with a set of prescribed swallowing exercises called a swallow preservation protocol (SPP) during therapy. The five-year study was led by Dr. Marilene Wang, JCCC member, professor-in-residence in the department of head and neck surgery, UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine. The study was published online ahead of print in the journal Otolaryngology -- Head and Neck Surgery on August 27, 2013. Surgery and radiation (RT) have been the traditional treatments for head and neck cancer but with the advent of improved and targeted chemotherapy many types of this disease are treated with chemotherapy and radiation (chemoradiation or CRT) in the hope of preserving the tissue and structure. Despite the sparing of critical tissue, preservation does not always translate to normal, natural swallowing ability. Most patients who receive CRT have significant side effects during treatment and for a long time after recovery. Difficulty swallowing (dysphagia) is one of the most common unwanted side effects of RT and CRT, and is one of the main predictors of decreased patient quality of life after treatment. Wang's study was designed to evaluate the SPP, in which patients had swallow therapy before, during and after radiation treatment. The effectiveness [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-09-03T14:27:18-07:00September, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

Concerned About HPV-Related Cancer Rise, Researchers Advocate Boosting HPV Vaccination Rates

By: Anna AzvolinskySource: JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute Advance AccessPublished: August 29, 2013 Deaths from the major cancers—lung, colorectal, breast, and prostate—continue to decline, a trend that started in the early 1990s. Cancer incidence is also declining, if slightly, for both sexes. That’s the good news from the annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, a joint research effort by the American Cancer Society, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Cancer Institute, and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (J Natl. Cancer Inst. 2013;105:175–201). But the study also shows an uptick in rates of anal and oropharyngeal cancer, a type of head and neck cancer related to infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV), in the 10-year period ending in 2009. Cancer of the oropharynx increased among white men and women (3.9% and 1.7%, respectively). Anal cancer also increased in both sexes, with the greatest increase among black men (5.6%) and white women (3.7%). Rates of vulvar cancer, another HPV-related cancer, also increased among women despite continued lower rates of cervical cancer. Researchers attribute this rise in HPV related cancers to more HPV infections. “We think that increases in oral–genital sexual practices and increasing number of sexual partners that occurred some 30 years ago as part of the sexual revolution may be implicated in part of the increase in cancer rates we are seeing today,” said Edgar P. Simard, Ph.D., M.P.H., senior epidemiologist of surveillance research. Although rates of HPV infection from three decades ago were not available in the joint report, a trend exists of men and women now in their 50s and 60s having the highest rates of both oropharyngeal and anal cancers. To directly relate HPV infection [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-09-03T14:10:57-07:00September, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

Walk/Run will raise money for oral cancer research

Published Aug 12, 2013 at 2:06 pm (Updated Aug 12, 2013)Source: The Sparta Independent ANDOVER — On Saturday, Sept. 21 , the sixth annual Oral Cancer Foundation Walk/Run for Awareness in Memory Of David Nasto will take place at Perona Farms in Andover. The annual event is held in honor of a local, young man who lost his life to oral cancer seven years ago. Susan Lauria, David’s sister, hosts the walk each year and is excited to announce the special features of the 2013 event. Participants will have access to free oral cancer screenings by local dentists and oral surgeons as well as free blood pressure screenings. All participants will enjoy live music and raffles, as well as the complimentary breakfast and barbecue, facepainting for kids and more. Stage IV Oral Cancer Survivor Michael White will speak about his battle with the disease and how he is thriving today. In person registration will begin at 8 am. The first 150 walkers/runners to arrive will receive free goody bags! To date, hundreds of participants in David’s Memorial Walk have helped raise over $80,000 for the Oral Cancer Foundation, for awareness initiatives and to conduct life-saving research. Fundraising efforts have started for 2013 and community members are encouraged to form teams or fundraise individually to aid in the fight against oral cancer. An iPad3 will be given to the person who raises the most donations over $2,000 on their personal fundraising page. Any dental office team who raises the most donations [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-08-15T10:27:38-07:00August, 2013|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

UCLA Dentistry receives $5 million to study extracellular RNA in saliva

Research could yield new method for detecting stomach cancer and other diseases By Brianna Deane Source: UCLA NewsroomDate: August 13, 2013 Imagine having a sample of your saliva taken at the dentist's office, and then learning within minutes whether your risk for stomach cancer is higher than normal. That futuristic-sounding scenario may actually not be too far from reality. The UCLA School of Dentistry received $5 million in funding from the National Institutes for Health to study biological markers in saliva to attempt to develop a tool for detecting stomach cancer. The study has the potential to create a new paradigm in the field of salivary diagnostics, and it could supply concrete evidence that saliva can be used in the detection of life-threatening diseases, including diabetes and cancers of the pancreas, breasts, ovaries and stomach. The award comes from the NIH Common Fund, a program established to overcome obstacles in biomedical research that have hindered scientific discovery and its translation into improved human health. The funding awarded to the School of Dentistry comes from the Common Fund's Extracellular RNA Communication initiative, which has awarded leading research institutes around the world a total of $160 million to address the transformative potential of the emerging field of salivary diagnostics. Leading UCLA's five-year project is Dr. David Wong, a pioneer in the field of salivary diagnostics, the dentistry school's associate dean of research, and the Felix and Mildred Yip Endowed Professor in Dentistry. His team will develop and definitively validate salivary extracellular ribonucleic [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-08-14T15:05:23-07:00August, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

Most youth who use smokeless tobacco are smokers, too

By Anne HardingNEW YORK | Thu Aug 8, 2013 5:17pm EDTSOURCE: bit.ly/13INoAt Pediatrics, online August 5, 2013. (Reuters Health) - Most young people in the U.S. who use newer smokeless tobacco products are smoking cigarettes too, according to new research. "These findings are troubling, but not surprising, as tobacco companies spend huge sums to market smokeless tobacco in ways that entice kids to start and encourage dual use of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco," Vince Willmore, vice president of communications at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy organization, told Reuters Health in an email. "From 1998 to 2011, total marketing expenditures for smokeless tobacco increased by 210 percent - from $145.5 million to $451.7 million a year, according to the Federal Trade Commission," he added. Swedish-style "snus," introduced to the U.S. in 2006, and dissolvable tobacco products, introduced in 2008, are arguably less harmful than conventional chewing tobacco because they contain fewer nitrosamines, and have been promoted as safer alternatives. But public health experts have been concerned that these products could serve as a "gateway drug" to use of conventional smokeless tobacco and to cigarette smoking. To better understand the prevalence of smokeless tobacco use among young people, Dr. Gregory Connolly of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston and his colleagues looked at data from the 2011 National Youth Tobacco Survey, which included nearly 19,000 sixth- to 12th-graders from across the country. Overall, the researchers found, 5.6 percent of young people reported using any type of [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-08-09T12:33:36-07:00August, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

R.J. Reynolds Not Expanding Distribution of Dissolvables

Source: CSP Daily NewsDate: August 5, 2013 Camel Orbs, Sticks, Strips will remain available in current test markets WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. is limiting the marketing of its trio of dissolvable tobacco products: Camel Orbs, Camel Sticks and Camel Strips, reported The Winston-Salem Journal. The company has been testing the products in five markets for more than four-and-a-half years. Reynolds began testing the dissolvable products in early 2009. By comparison, it took only two-and-a-half years--from April 2006 to Oct. 2008--to take its Camel Snus products from test markets to national distribution. Reynolds spokesperson Richard Smith said the products will remain in limited distribution in Charlotte, N.C., and Denver at point-of-sale (POS) sites. "At this time there are no plans for any marketing beyond these channels," Smith told the newspaper. "We've found in our conversations with adult tobacco consumers that while there's strong interest in the category, a different product form may present a better option over the long term. Though for now, Camel Sticks, Strips and Orbs will remain available while we continue to gather learnings." Reynolds has carved out an important and profitable niche as the industry's leading manufacturer of innovative smokeless products, said the report. The dissolvable products are made of finely milled tobacco and come in flavor styles of fresh and mellow. The products last from two to three minutes for the strips, 10 to 15 minutes for the orbs and 20 to 30 minutes for the sticks. They [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-08-07T11:22:45-07:00August, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

Enhanced Radiation Sensitivity in HPV-Positive Head and Neck Cancer

Source: American Association for Cancer Research Received February 28, 2013.Revision received April 9, 2013.Accepted April 26, 2013. Abstract Patients with human papillomavirus (HPV+)–associated head and neck cancer (HNC) show significantly improved survival outcome compared with those with HPV-negative (HPV−) tumors. Published data examining this difference offers conflicting results to date. We systematically investigated the radiation sensitivity of all available validated HPV+ HNC cell lines and a series of HPV− HNC cell lines using in vitro and in vivo techniques. HPV+ HNCs exhibited greater intrinsic radiation sensitivity (average SF2 HPV−: 0.59 vs. HPV+: 0.22; P < 0.0001), corresponding with a prolonged G2–M cell-cycle arrest and increased apoptosis following radiation exposure (percent change 0% vs. 85%; P = 0.002). A genome-wide microarray was used to compare gene expression 24 hours following radiation between HPV+ and HPV− cell lines. Multiple genes in TP53 pathway were upregulated in HPV+ cells (Z score 4.90), including a 4.6-fold increase in TP53 (P < 0.0001). Using immortalized human tonsillar epithelial (HTE) cells, increased radiation sensitivity was seen in cell expressing HPV-16 E6 despite the effect of E6 to degrade p53. This suggested that low levels of normally functioning p53 in HPV+ HNC cells could be activated by radiation, leading to cell death. Consistent with this, more complete knockdown of TP53 by siRNA resulted in radiation resistance. These results provide clear evidence, and a supporting mechanism, for increased radiation sensitivity in HPV+ HNC relative to HPV− HNC. This issue is under active investigation in a series of clinical trials attempting [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-08-01T13:59:40-07:00August, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

Cancer survivor advocating for men’s HPV awareness

Source: The Tampa Tribune (tbo.com)By Mary Shedden | Tribune Staff Published: July 28, 2013 LUKE JOHNSON/STAFF David Hastings, the co-owner of Gulport's Habana Café, has testified in front of Florida legislators and officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, since becoming a volunteer patient advocate with the Oral Cancer Foundation. Seven years ago, David Hastings got the worst news of his life. He had oral cancer, and a grueling series of radiation and chemotherapy treatments would be necessary if he wanted to survive. Undergoing months of the "barbaric" treatment was awful, he said, but so was the knowledge that five different doctors couldn't explain how a 56-year-old with no history of smoking or heavy drinking ended up with such an aggressive cancer. "If something is trying to kill you, don't you want to find out what it is?" the Gulfport accountant and business owner asked over and over. It took months, but Hastings learned his cancer was linked to HPV, the sexually transmitted virus long known for its connection to deadly cervical cancers. The answer was elusive because few scientists at that time were looking at the virus and male cancers, he said. Today, doctors know that about 5,600 cases of oral cancer diagnosed each year are tied to the human papillomavirus, a number increasing at a rate faster than that of tobacco- or alcohol-related oral cancers. That's likely because more hospitals and cancer centers, including Moffitt Cancer Center, are able to test for the male [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-07-30T15:44:15-07:00July, 2013|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

News on cancer breakthroughs: Curb your enthusiasm

By: Christopher Johnson, MDSource: KevinMD.comDate: July 20, 2013 Hardly a day goes by when some news outlet does not report, often breathlessly, some new breakthrough in cancer research. We need to turn a skeptical eye on most of these reports, particularly those that contain information about very preliminary research findings. The always astute Gary Schweitzer gives a good perspective on this in his HealthNewsReview.org; it’s a good site to bookmark if you follow the medical news. The key thing to remember is that many, many substances have been found to attack and kill cancer cells in the laboratory. The cartoon above, from the wonderful site xkcd, illustrates the problem. This is generally how promising anti-cancer agents are first identified: we test them against cancer cells growing in a dish. These are called in vitro (“in glass”) studies. But once a potential cancer treatment is found there is a long way to go. First of all, can the concentrations of the agent that showed cancer-killing activity in the dish be safely achieved in the body? And, if they can, does the agent still show that ability in the incredibly complex system of the body? Often such in vivo (“in life”) studies are first done in experimental animals before they are tried in humans. The testing process in humans is long and complicated. By convention it is divided into several phases. These are worth knowing about because the media will often enthusiastically report results from phase I trials, which represent very preliminary [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-07-22T12:19:54-07:00July, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

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