Charlotte Parker, Author at Oral Cancer News

Science: Beef Good, Bacon Not So Bad

Source: motherjones.comBy: Stephanie MencimerDate: March 18, 2013 Note from OCF: While this story is not directly about oral cancer, we included it in our feed to show how studies often do not produce results that are useful or even accurate, as they may contain a great deal if bias in the study design. Poorly designed studies are plentiful even in reputable journals, from institutions with good reputations. A new European study claims an increase in processed-meat consumption raises the risk of early death. But the real news? Red meat won't kill you. Earlier this month, researchers announced the results of a big new nutritional study in Europe that seemed to yield more evidence that processed meats like bacon and sausage can lead to an early grave. The media responded with the usual "Death by Salami" headlines. What news outlets downplayed about the study, though, is that despite their best efforts, the EU researchers couldn't find any evidence that red meat will kill you. In fact, the study shows that not eating red meat is a risk factor for an early demise. After correcting some measurement errors, the researchers in Europe had to conclude that not only was red meat intake "no longer associated with mortality" but "all-cause mortality was higher among participants with very low or no red meat consumption." The government, public health advocates, and the American Heart Association have long warned Americans that overconsumption of red meat can lead to heart disease and other ailments. Yet the scientific evidence supporting [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-03-22T13:01:11-07:00March, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

Targeted Drugs No Help in Head and Neck Cancer

Source: medpagetoday.comAuthor: Charles Bankhead, Staff Writer, MedPage TodayDate: March 05, 2013 The addition of targeted agents to standard chemotherapy failed to improve efficacy in two different trials of advanced head and neck cancer. In one trial, patients given gefitinib (Iressa) in addition to docetaxel lived about a month longer than those who received docetaxel plus placebo. In the other trial, adding erlotinib (Tarceva) to cisplatin-based chemoradiation did not improve response rate or progression-free survival. However, neither regimen was associated with increased toxicity compared with standard chemotherapy, investigators reported online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Noting the lack of useful biomarkers to guide the use of targeted agents, the authors of an accompanying editorial said that experience to date suggests current strategies amount to "skimming the surface of a problem that is exceedingly complex." "It is unlikely that genomic sequencing alone will represent a panacea to the therapeutic challenges in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck," said Aaron R. Hansen, MBBS, and Lillian L. Siu, MD, of Princess Margaret Cancer Center in Toronto. "Comprehensive characterization that encompasses a broader omics-based molecular evaluation, as well as immune function assessments, is urgently needed." The rationale for the gefitinib and erlotinib trials came from evidence that the drugs targeting epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR) have synergism with conventional chemotherapeutic agents, have radiosensitizing properties, and have demonstrated modest activity as monotherapy in some clinical studies. Cetuximab (Erbitux), another EGFR inhibitor, has been approved for use with radiation therapy or as monotherapy [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-03-07T14:25:20-07:00March, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

Facebook, Google and Amazon join fight against cancer

Date: 11:00AM GMT 01 Mar 2013Source: The Telegraph Facebook, Google and Amazon have teamed up with Cancer Research UK to design a mobile game that will allow members of the public to help the search for new cancer drugs. Researchers are working hard to identify the genetic faults that drive cancer Photo: ANDREW SHAW The project will allow smartphone users to play to investigate vital scientific data at the same time as playing a mobile game. The first step is for 40 computer programmers, gamers, graphic designers and other specialists to take part in a weekend "GameJam" to turn the charity's raw genetic data into a game format for future so-called "citizen scientists". "We're making great progress in understanding the genetic reasons cancer develops. But the clues to why some drugs will work and some won't are held in data which need to be analysed by the human eye - and this could take years," said Carlos Caldas at Cancer Research UK's Cambridge Institute. "By harnessing the collective power of citizen scientists we'll accelerate the discovery of new ways to diagnose and treat cancer much more precisely." After the GameJam, which runs in London from March 1-3, an agency will build the game concept into reality and the team plans to launch it in mid 2013. CRUK's scientists are working hard to identify the genetic faults that drive cancer to try to find new ways of diagnosing and treating patients in a more targeted way based on their genetic profile [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-03-01T14:22:23-07:00March, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

Painting for the Oral Cancer Foundation

With a desire to help in spreading awareness for oral cancer, Anita McGinn-Natali, a Fine Art Painter from Pennsylvania, donates her original framed and ready to hang oil paintings to Oral Cancer Awareness Walks. Funds collected will benefit the Oral Cancer Foundation. In October of 2007, Anita’s husband, Clark, was diagnosed with oral cancer. Anita was her husband’s caregiver during his treatments and recovery. Two years later,she found the Oral Cancer Foundation online and began to participate in the Forums, whose contributors include patients, caregivers, as well as family and friends of patients. “Discovering the Oral Cancer Foundation website during a challenging time in my husband’s recovery, was gratifying. The information available and the support I received were life savers for me. “I spent hours on the website educating myself about this disease. As a participant in the Forums, I had started out asking questions with others helping me,” Anita says. No long after she was offering support to other patients and caregivers. “It is a unique community of people from all over the world who have the unfortunate common denominator of oral cancer.” Since September 2011, Anita has donated her original oil paintings to three OCF Walks for Awareness: David Nasto in New Jersey (Susan Nasto Lauria); San Antonio (ElizabethSikon); and Colorado (Susan Cotten) Currently, there are 18 Walks for Awareness held throughout the United States. Participants can receive a free oral cancer screening, meet others whoselives have been touched by oral cancer, and be inspired by the work the Oral Cancer Foundation is doing to bring awareness to this debilitating and life changing disease. “I wanted to find a way to give back to this organization that has been such an important part [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-03-04T11:39:46-07:00February, 2013|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

HPV and oral cancer

Source: myfoxny.com Date: Feb 21, 2013 4:02 PM PST Updated: Feb 25, 2013 2:07 PM PST NEW YORK (MYFOXNY) - Oral cancer is being diagnosed at near epidemic proportions, and in many cases it strikes those people who would least suspect it. At 28, Jessica Tar appeared young and healthy. That is why she was floored to find out she had oral cancer; a small tumor was growing on her tongue. "It was just this raised area, and pain from time to time," Tar says. They are symptoms many of may have ignored, but thankfully Jessica did not. Her cancer was caught early and had not spread. She went to Memorial Sloan Kettering's Dr. Jatin Shah for treatment. He recommended a surgery to remove part of her tongue, an aggressive treatment that threatened her career as an actress and singer. "They tell you your mouth is going to be rearranged. The tip of your tongue, where you thought it once was, it won't be there anymore," Tar says. Jessica Tar was anxious to get back to work, so she underwent extensive speech therapy. The hardest thing for her to pronounce was the letter S. Jessica knew she want to work hard at it and she had the ultimate motivation, a specific name in mind for her daughter on the way. "I said to my speech therapist if I can't improve on these S's I don't think I'm going to name her Kalista, but I got better and the day she was born, [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-02-26T13:52:53-07:00February, 2013|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

‘Risk’ Varies in HPV-Positive Oropharyngeal Cancer: Study

Source: Medscape Medical News > OncologyAuthor: Kate JohnsonDate: February 21, 2013 Deintensification of chemotherapy might not be the best option for all patients with oropharyngeal cancer whose disease is associated with human papillomavirus (HPV). However, such an approach might be reasonable for patients with a low risk for distant recurrence; namely, those with less advanced disease and limited exposure to smoking, according to a large retrospective institutional study conducted by Brian O'Sullivan, MD, from the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and colleagues. The study was published in the February 10 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The findings "provocatively suggest there is a limit to the favorable biology of HPV-associated OPSCC [oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma]," write Harry Quon, MD, and Arlene Forastiere, MD, from the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, in an accompanying editorial. "It could be that today's treatment paradigms result in the overtreatment of many patients (and the consequent late effects on swallowing function) and undertreatment of a smaller subset," they add. There is growing concern among OPSCC experts about patients' risks for radiation-related morbidity, particularly severe late swallowing complications, Dr. Forastiere told Medscape Medical News. "The potential for this damage is increased when chemotherapy is added to the radiation," she explained. "One simple strategy is to drop the chemotherapy from the treatment of those with a low risk for recurrence of tumor in the oropharynx or the regional lymph nodes in the neck." However, she pointed out that Dr. O'Sullivan and colleagues [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-02-25T13:15:37-07:00February, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

Professor of dentistry told woman suffering from tumour in her jaw to chew sugar-free gum and misdiagnosed 32 others, tribunal hears

Source: mailonline.comAuthor: Steve RobsonDate: February 19, 2013 Blunders: Professor Philip Lamey is accused of misdiagnosing 33 patients at Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast A professor of dentistry misdiagnosed patients who had cancer - prescribing one with sugar-free chewing gum when she had a tumour in her jaw and another with iron supplements for skin cancer - a tribunal has heard. Philip Lamey allegedly misdiagnosed seven people with mouth cancer - four of whom later died - at the School of Dentistry in Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast. In total 135 patients were recalled after doubts were raised about their biopsy results, a hearing of the General Dental Council (GDC) in London was told today. Professor Lamey, who is being represented by lawyers at the hearing, faces 46 charges after concerns were raised about his diagnosis of 33 patients. David Bradly, counsel for the GDC, said on one occasion the dentist's blunders caused a patient to be rushed to hospital after a wrong diagnosis. The patient was told she had temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMD) - chronic jaw pain - when she in fact had a tumour in her jawbone. Mr Bradly said: 'Professor Lamey gave a diagnosis of TMD and prescribed sugar-free chewing gum for treatment and said he would see her in three months. 'She actually had a tumour in the mandible and was admitted to hospital. She had a squamous cell carcinoma - a type of skin cancer - and had radiotherapy following an operation.' On another occasion he diagnosed an elderly [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-02-25T12:38:47-07:00February, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

One Less Cancer to Worry About (If Only)

Posted: 02/07/2013 By: Joaquin M. Espinosa Source: Huffington Post Thankfully, there is one cancer that I no longer have to worry about. I just need to figure out when exactly my seven-year-old twin daughters will have sex for the first time. ... In 2013, around 12,000 American women will be diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer and more than 4,000 will die from it. Globally, cervical cancer is the third most common cancer in women worldwide, killing >275,000 every year. But these numbers will go down, must go down, because cervical cancer is now a fully preventable disease. Or isn't it? For us cancer researchers, good news is often not good enough and too spread apart. In this long war, we became weary of unfounded celebrations. When asked when exactly our discoveries will make a difference in the clinic, we balk and hesitate, as we have been scarred by the many times that our discoveries did not translate into a cure. Yet this time is different, this victory is unequivocal, scientific research has led to the development of vaccines that can make cervical cancer history. Now all there is left to do is to get people vaccinated. Startlingly, this seemingly simple objective is proving to be a monumental task. Cervical cancer originates in the lower portion of the uterus, and if not detected and treated early it will eventually metastasize and kill. Virtually all cervical cancers are caused by the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), which is present in about half [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-02-08T13:46:55-07:00February, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

Where Do the Millions of Cancer Research Dollars Go Every Year?

Posted: Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013, at 5:18 PM ET By: Quora Contributor Source: Slate.com This question originally appeared on Quora. Answer by David Chan, MD, Oncologist : I'll be the first to admit that despite all the billions put into cancer research, the end results of preventing cancer and treating advanced cancer have been disappointing. Unlike reducing deaths from heart attacks and stroke, progress in reducing deaths from cancer has been disappointingly slow. Sure, we've had our breakthrough drugs like Gleevec, the targeted drug for chronic myelogenous leukemia, and Herceptin for a certain type of breast cancer. But for a lot of other cancers, the treatments aren't giving us bang for the buck. Spending $100,000 to $200,000 a year to extend life for an additional three to six months may be very important to those individuals with cancer, but are a very poor return on investment for society. It's not sustainable, and that's why a lot of national health care programs won't pay for drugs like Avastin, Sutent, Yervoy, and Provenge. Dr. Margaret Cuomo (sister of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo) recently wrote about her perspective about this. On the amount spent on cancer research: "More than 40 years after the war on cancer was declared, we have spent billions fighting the good fight. The National Cancer Institute has spent some $90 billion on research and treatment during that time. Some 260 nonprofit organizations in the United States have dedicated themselves to cancer — more than the number established [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-02-08T13:35:57-07:00February, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

Throat Cancer and HPV – the researcher

6 February, 2013 12:26PM AEDT By Carol Duncan (ABC Local) Source: abc.net.au Assoc Prof Karen Canfell is a researcher with the Lowy Cancer Research Centre at the University of NSW. HPV is her area of expertise. What does she want us to know about HPV and the vaccination program? CAROL DUNCAN: Karen, your area of expertise is human papilloma virus and I understand there's not just one but 100 or more? ASSOC PROF KAREN CANFELL: That's right, there's a large number of types HPV that have been implicated in cancer but it's really two of those types that are responsible for the vast majority of cancers, HPV 16 & 18 and those types are the ones that are included in the vaccine that is now available to us. CAROL DUNCAN: I guess this is the point of this series this week is that we now have another cancer which is, in essence, preventable. ASSOC PROF KAREN CANFELL: Yes, I think what we're seeing with HPV is an incredible success story in cancer prevention. This started with the vaccination of girls and women in Australia. Because HPV has a very important role in cervical cancer and, in fact HPV is responsible for virtually all cervical cancers, the types we just mentioned (types 16 & 18) are responsible for about 70% of those cancers. Five years ago, in 2007, we had the implementation of the National HPV Vaccination Program in girls and women in Australia and that's really had incredible effects [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-02-06T13:02:21-07:00February, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

Oral Cancer News
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About Charlotte Parker