Charlotte Parker, Author at Oral Cancer News

Snus increases miscarriage risk drastically

Source: The Swedish Wire Author: Johan Nylander Women who use snuff tobacco face 60% higher miscarriage risk. A Swedish study by the Karolinska Institute and Uppsala University warned that women who uses snus are 60 percent more likely to misscarry than average. “Stillbirth is probably one of the worst things that can happen to parents who are expecting a baby. That also snus increases the risk of this underlines the importance of being complete tobacco-free when you are pregnant”, Anna-Karin Wikström at the Uppsala University Hospital Women's clinic told newspaper Upsala Nya Tidning. Snus, a moist powder tobacco product that you consume by placing it under the lip, is said to be much less dangerous than smoking. But to take up snus in order to quit smoking may be contra productive. A woman who smokes just a few cigarettes a day has 40 percent higher risk of miscarriage. "Taking the help of snus to quit smoking is a bad option to protect children", said Anna-Karin Wikström. The study, that was launched more than ten years ago, involved almost 570,000 women. The small, teabag-like pouches, also called moist snuff, are used by nearly one million Swedes. Placed under the user's lip, they quickly deliver a nicotine rush to the blood and a strong salt and herbs flavour in the mouth. While cigarette sales have tumbled by 50 percent in Sweden over the past 30 years, snus is on the up, with sales rising from some 2,500 tonnes a year in the 1970s to [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-09-07T10:08:20-07:00September, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Decreases in adolescent tobacco use leveling off

Source: HemOncToday.com Declines in rates of adolescent tobacco use have stagnated in the past few years, prompting the CDC to call for better prevention efforts, according to a recent report. “Smoking continues to be the leading preventable cause of death and disability in the United States; and among adult established smokers in the United States, more than 80% began smoking before age 18 years,” CDC researchers wrote. To evaluate behaviors and attitudes toward tobacco use during the critical period of adolescence, the researchers used National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) data collected from 2000 to 2009. The NYTS, which presents school-based survey responses from a cross-sectional, nationally representative sample of middle school and high school students, gleans information on youth tobacco use; smoking cessation; tobacco-related knowledge and attitudes; access to tobacco; media and advertising and secondhand smoke exposure. The study has been conducted every 2 years since 2000. From the 205 participating schools, 22,679 students responded. They were polled about any use of, current use of and experimentation with certain tobacco products, including cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, pipes, bidis and kreteks. Survey questions also investigated students’ willingness to initiate tobacco use. Results indicated that 8.2% of middle school students and 23.9% of high school students reported current tobacco use in 2009, the researchers said, with 5.2% of middle school and 17.2% of high school students reporting current cigarette use. The researchers also noted that 21.2% of middle school and 24% of high school students were willing to start smoking cigarettes. Data [...]

Charlotte Parker2017-10-29T20:14:13-07:00August, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

New cancer drug gets dramatic results

Source: Technology Review Author: Emily Singer Researchers call the experimental drug a major success for targeted cancer therapies. An experimental drug designed to block the effects of a genetic mutation often found in patients with malignant melanoma, a deadly cancer with few existing treatments, significantly shrank tumors in about 80 percent of those who carried the mutation. The findings, published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, signal a major success for so-called targeted cancer therapies, which are designed to block the effects of genetic mutations that drive the growth of cancer cells. "This study is a major breakthrough in cancer treatment, and for metastatic melanoma," saysMatthew Meyerson, an oncologist and researcher at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Meyerson was not involved in the study. "It's a spectacular example of how genome-targeted therapies are beginning to help cancer patients." The drug in the current study inhibits activity of a protein called BRAF, which is overactive in 50 to 60 percent of malignant melanomas. Advances in genetic technologies over the last decade have allowed scientists to study the genetic mutations that underlie cancer in much greater detail. The result has been a new approach to drug design. Unlike chemotherapy, which can affect both healthy and cancerous cells and often triggers serious side effects, genetically targeted drugs act selectively on cancer cells that carry the mutation. Only a handful of such drugs have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and most target rare mutations. The BRAF mutation, [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-08-29T07:37:09-07:00August, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

How secondhand cigarette smoke changes your genes

Source: Time Magazine Author: Alice Park As if the growing number of smoking bans in restaurants, airplanes and other public places isn't sending a strong enough message, researchers now have the first biological data confirming the health hazards of secondhand smoke. Scientists led by Dr. Ronald Crystal at Weill Cornell Medical College documented changes in genetic activity among nonsmokers triggered by exposure to secondhand cigarette smoke. Public-health bans on smoking have been fueled by strong population-based data that links exposure to secondhand cigarette smoke and a higher incidence of lung diseases such as emphysema and even lung cancer, but do not establish a biological cause for the correlation. Now, for the first time, researchers can point to one possible cause: the passive recipient's genes are actually being affected. Crystal's team devised a study in which 121 volunteers — some of whom smoked and some of whom had never smoked — agreed to have samples of their airway cells studied for genetic activity. The subjects also provided urine so the researchers could measure the amount of nicotine and its metabolites, like cotinine, for an objective record of their exposure to cigarette smoke. Airway cells that line the bronchus, from the trachea all the way to the tiny alveoli deep in the lungs, are the first cells that confront cigarette smoke, whether it is inhaled directly from a cigarette or secondhand from the environment. Crystal's group hypothesized that any deterioration in lung function associated with cancer or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, including [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-08-29T07:36:37-07:00August, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Baker serves great desserts despite not tasting them

Source: Livingston Daily Author: Frank Konkel The Argentine Township woman loves the way chaotic mountains of ingredients meld together to form a singular creation. In the sugary-sweet science of baking desserts, she is a master, wielding her two chief weapons, chocolate and peanut butter, like a wizard waves a wand. At family functions, people fight over whichever dish she brings to pass. Her nephew, committed to play college football this year for the University of Indiana, isn't worried about taking hits from 300-pound linemen. He's worried about how his aunt is going to ship him care packages full of cupcakes across state lines. Dave Johnson, her husband of six years, recalls thinking, "Oh, my God, can she ever cook," after the couple's first dinner date back in 2002. He's fought a losing battle with his waistline ever since. "I've been told by many people that they're the best thing they've ever eaten," Tami Johnson said, without a hint of boasting in her voice. Thing is, she can't taste the delectable desserts she makes. At least not her cupcakes. Not anymore. Last July, the 43-year-old had her tongue removed by doctors in an effort to rid her of the oral cancer she was diagnosed with June 19, 2009. For the following three months, she underwent two rounds of chemotherapy and 35 rounds of radiation treatment. Doctors were forced to remove 112 lymph nodes from her head and neck, two of which tested positive for cancer. The oral cancer and subsequent treatments taxed [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-08-22T21:01:57-07:00August, 2010|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

Despite risks, an addictive treat fuels a Chinese city

Source: The New York Times Author: Dan Levin XIANGTAN, China — If the residents of this city seem a bit lively on even the hottest days or most frigid nights, check their mouths. That minty scent and cracking sound come from a fragrant pick-me-up that men, women and even children chew from breakfast until bedtime. The source of their euphoria is “binglang,” the dried fruit of the areca palm, sometimes referred to as betel nut, which sets the nervous system buzzing and warms the body, especially after a large banquet. “It helps with digestion and sobers you up,” said Xie Shuo, a cellphone repairman who added he consumed 100 pods a day. He smiled to reveal blackened gums and stained teeth, one of the less attractive side effects of chewing the fruit. “I’m addicted to binglang, but I really love it so it’s not a problem,” he said. That is a sentiment shared by many of Xiangtan’s one million residents, whose fondness for the treat has fueled the city’s prosperity. The city, in Hunan Province, is China’s leading commercial producer of binglang. Its manufacturers import the fresh ingredients, mostly from the island province of Hainan, and sell the dried husks across Hunan — and to a lesser extent elsewhere. The $1.18 billion industry employs more than 100,000 people in Xiangtan County. No wonder the city government has asked for the area’s seven factories and nearly 50 workshops to increase production to keep the local economy humming through the global financial [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-08-22T12:37:31-07:00August, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Oral cancer rates up 280%; betel nut key driver: study

Source: The China Post Author: Staff TAIPEI -- Taiwan's rate of oral cancer — one of the island's top 10 causes of death — has nearly quadrupled in the past 40 years, health experts warned recently, blaming among others the habit of chewing betel nut. A study published by Dr. Liao Yung-po, associate professor of public health at Chung Shan Medical University, showed an increase of 280 percent in oral cancer deaths, with men four times as likely to die of the disease as women. “The death toll for oral cancer in males has been increasing at such an alarming rate that relevant authorities must take note of this situation,” Liao said of his study report, citing statistics compiled by the Department of Health over the past four decades. From 2001 to 2009, the death toll in males was 13.31 per annum for every 100,000 men, up from 3.08 per annum in the period 1971 to 1980, an increase of 330 percent. The overall figures for women were lower, but showed a similar increase, reaching 3.08 per 100,000 women between 2001 and 2009, up from 1.18 in the earlier period, an increase of 160 percent. According to Liao's study, more than 95 percent of oral cavity cancers are squamous cell carcinoma, a type of cancer for which “the possible causes include betel nut chewing, cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption,” he said. “Approximately 85 percent of the patients with oral cancer in Taiwan are regular users of betel nuts,” he added.

Charlotte Parker2010-08-20T11:29:17-07:00August, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Michael Douglas diagnosed with throat cancer

Source: USA Today Author: Staff Michael Douglas has throat cancer. His spokesperson tells People.com that the actor, 65, has discovered a tumor and will under go eight weeks of radiation and chemotherapy, and his doctors expect the Wall Street star to make a full recovery. "I am very optimistic," Douglas said in a statement. When we tried to find out more about the diagnosis or about Douglas' history of smoking, the actor's publicist, Allen Burry, declined to comment. In 2006, Michael and wife Catherine Zeta-Jones, who is 40 now, were both trying to quit their half-pack a day cigarette habit, reported the Daily Mail. Although Douglas, whose voice does the introduction on NBC's Nightly News, released few details about his tumor, including its exact location, it sounds like of two kinds of tumors: the larynx, or voice box; or the oropharynx, near the tonsils, Robert Haddad, acting head of the head and neck cancer program at Boston's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute tells USA TODAY's Liz Szabo. The rigorous treatment regimen suggests the cancer is "advanced," Haddad says, and has spread beyond the throat to the lymph nodes. Although the treatment is very tough, it can cure 50% of 80% of patients, depending on the location and other details of the tumor, says Haddad, who has no direct knowledge of the case. Larynx cancers are usually related to smoking and heavy drinking, Haddad says. Cancers around the tonsils are often caused by a virus called HPV, which also causes cervical cancers. Doctors [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-08-16T16:00:31-07:00August, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Oral Cancer Foundation Combines Guerilla Marketing With Tech Savvy for Public Good

Source: The Oral Cancer Foundation Author: Staff HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif., Aug. 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- This past weekend the US Open of Surfing, sponsored by action sports industry giant Hurley International was held in "Surf City" attracting over 500,000 visitors during the three-day event. The crowd of sun and surf lovers was dominated by teens and 20 somethings that besides their love of the beach also shared their connectivity to social networking environments, often with multi-functional smart phones. For the Oral Cancer Foundation who needs to spread important medical information about risk factors for the disease they represent, to a group of individuals that are increasingly becoming part of the "at risk" population, this was a mix of ingredients too rich to miss. (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100816/DC51095 ) (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100816/DC51095 ) Oral cancer itself is off the radar of most Americans, let alone the fact that the fastest growing segment of the oral cancer population are young, non-smoking, and predominantly white. Historically this has not been the case. Individuals with several decades of tobacco use, in their fifth to seventh decade of life, two-to-one black over white, and 3-1 males over females have been the relatively stable high-risk population for decades. But today, a very common virus is changing all that. Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) has around 130 versions, 9 are known causes of cancer, and another 6 are often found in association with those. The most commonly known cancer associated with HPV is cervical cancer. But to most Americans the other cancers that HPV [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-08-22T21:00:30-07:00August, 2010|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

New cancer radiation technology improves accuracy, drops treatment time in select patients

Source: Medical News Today Author: Staff The Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Comprehensive Cancer Center is among the world's first to begin using radiation technology that dramatically reduces treatment times. UAB's Hazelrig-Salter Radiation Oncology Center is the third U.S. site to acquire TrueBeam technology. TrueBeam, by Varian Medical Systems Inc., can complete a standard 40-minute radiation therapy in less than a minute for select patients. The precision of the instrument, measured in increments of less than a millimeter, comes from real-time patient imaging, positioning, beam shaping and many other data points synchronized continually as treatment progresses. "This technology gives us the tools we need to shrink the number of treatment visits for some patients from weeks to days," says James A. Bonner, M.D., chair of UAB's Department of Radiation Oncology and a senior advisor at the Cancer Center. "Patients coming to UAB can expect leading-edge care with more options for fightingcancer and, hopefully, improved chances for survival." TrueBeam made its debut in the United States earlier in 2010 at Stanford University in Stanford, Calif., and at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. TrueBeam can be used to treat tumors anywhere in the body where radiation treatment is indicated. The technology opens the door to new treatment plans and improved quality of life in patients who have challenging cancers such as in the lung, breast, abdomen and head and neck, as well as cancers that are treated with radiotherapy. However, the technology is still [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-08-22T12:38:34-07:00August, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

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