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New technique to synthesize boron-nitride nanotubes

Source: www.azom.com Author: Cameron Chai Researchers at the Institute of Life Sciences, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna in Pisa, Italy have used boron-nitride nanotubes (BNNT) to improve the effectiveness of the cancer treatment. Irreversible Electroporation involves putting holes in tumor cell walls. It is used to treat soft tissue tumors in cancers that are difficult to treat, such as head and neck, prostate, pancreas, kidney, lung and liver. The treatment is being offered and studied for effectiveness at many centers in the USA. Researchers belonging to the Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, the National Institute of Aerospace and NASA's Langley Research Center provided the BNNTs. A hole of an appropriate size in a cancer cell wall may cause the cell to commit suicide. The chief scientist at BNNT, Michael W. Smith, offered BNNTs to the researchers in Italy. These high-quality BNNTs are flexible, long, and have a small diameter. They are crystalline and have minimal defects. The BNNTs were suspended in glycol-chitosan and then chopped into bits with sound waves. These bits were then put on human epithelial carcinoma (HeLa) cells. The amount of BNNTs that had the capacity to kill around 25% of the cancerous cells within a period of 24 hours was determined. Through an electroporation device, the researchers supplied electricity of 160 V to a solution which contained the particular amount of BNNTs. The HeLa cells were exposed to the solution. Further, unexposed cancer cells were also treated with the same amount of voltage. When the [...]

2012-04-30T12:24:11-07:00April, 2012|Oral Cancer News|
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Survey reveals most are unaware of the causes and symptoms of mouth cancer

Source: www.cosmeticdentistryguide.co.uk Author: staff A survey has revealed that most people are unaware of the major risk factors and symptoms of oral cancer. The SimplyHealth Annual Dental Health Survey revealed that of the 11,785 adults surveyed, 70 percent were unaware of the symptoms of mouth cancer while only 3 percent knew that kissing could increase your risk of moth cancer as a result of exposure to the human papilloma virus (HPV). A spokesperson for SimplyHealth said that most were aware that smoking and drinking increased the risk of oral cancer, but very few people were aware of the link between oral cancer and the HPV, a virus which is also responsible for some cases of cervical cancer. According to Cancer Research UK, some strains of HPV increase the risk of mouth cancer, which could explain why the disease is becoming more common in young people, as the virus is spread through physical contact. Dentist Michael Thomas said that it was important for people to be aware of the symptoms of mouth cancer, as well as the causes. As with most forms of cancer, the earlier mouth cancer is diagnosed, the higher the chance of survival. Only 28 percent of adults surveyed had discussed mouth cancer with their dentist and this is worrying, as dentists are in a prime position to spot the early warning signs and arrange further tests and treatment. The most common symptoms of mouth cancer include lumps or swellings in the mouth or throat, sores or ulcers [...]

2012-04-30T12:19:01-07:00April, 2012|Oral Cancer News|
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Handheld probe shows promise for oral cancer detection

Source: phys.org Author: staff A team of American researchers have created a portable, miniature microscope in the hope of reducing the time taken to diagnose oral cancer. The probe, which is around 20 cm long and 1 cm wide at its tip, could be used by doctors to diagnose oral cancer in real-time or as a surgical guidance tool; dentists could also use it to screen for early-stage cancer cells. The probe has been presented today in IOP Publishing's Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering, and has shown good agreement with images of oral cancers obtained using conventional, much slower techniques at the University of Texas Health Science Centre at San Antonio, TX. Historically, the death rate associated with oral cancer is particularly high; not because it is hard to discover or diagnose, but due to the cancer being routinely discovered late in its development. Lead author of the study Dr John X J Zhang at the University of Texas at Austin said: "Today, that statement is still true, as there isn't a comprehensive programme in the US to opportunistically screen for the disease; without that, late stage discovery is more common." The probe uses a laser to illuminate areas of the sample and can view beneath the surface of tissue, creating full 3D images. It can also take a series of images and layer them on top of each other, much like the tiling of a mosaic, giving a large overall field-of-view. The key component of the probe is [...]

2012-04-27T13:56:25-07:00April, 2012|Oral Cancer News|
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Canadian Dental Hygienists call for stronger tobacco control

Source: www.baytoday.ca Author: Kate Adams Canada’s Federal Tobacco Control Strategy (FTCS) has resulted in significant reductions in the levels of tobacco use in Canada. This has led to our nation being recognized as a world leader in tobacco control. The Smoking Cessation Quitline is just one of many highly successful programs the federal government has supported to this end. Unfortunately, significant financial cuts are being made to the FTCS. The Canadian Dental Hygienists Association (CDHA) supports ongoing, stable funding for the FTCS in order to further reduce tobacco use levels in Canada. With the anticipated reduction in Health Canada’s tobacco control funding, Canada is at risk of reversing the downward trend in tobacco use. Elimination of the grants and contributions program will result in reduced involvement with non-profit partners who have made tobacco cessation a high priority. These partnerships are successful because partner organizations are uniquely equipped to meet the specialized health needs of different communities and priority populations across Canada. On a daily basis, dental hygienists see first-hand, the harmful impact of tobacco use on the mouth. CDHA’s president Arlynn Brodie says, “dental hygienists are committed to encouraging tobacco free lifestyles and to promoting cessation.” In many cases dental hygienists are the first to recognize signs of oral cancer from tobacco use, as well as tooth decay and abrasion caused by chewing tobacco. “All types of tobacco use have a negative impact on oral health,” adds Brodie, “dental hygienists focus on prevention and strongly believe continued investment in the [...]

2012-04-25T06:51:22-07:00April, 2012|Oral Cancer News|
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Head and neck cancer protein identified

Source: www.dailyrx.com Author: Travis Giddings Different kinds of cancer have different characteristics on a cellular level, and these unique proteins can be used to monitor the cancer's progress or serve as a target for the pharmaceutical version of a smart bomb. The protein Aurora-A is known to be involved in several cancers and clinical trials are currently underway that target Aurora-A as a way to specifically attack cancer cells without any collateral damage. A recent study began initially as an investigation into whether Aurora-A was a suitable drug target in head and neck cancer, but the results were more ominous. Researchers from the Fox Chase Cancer Center presenting at the American Association for Cancer Research's annual meeting announced the results of their investigation into the Aurora-A protein. They found that not only is the protein found in cancers of the head and neck, but higher levels of the protein were correlated with a much worse prognosis than cancer patients with normal levels. Patients with high levels of the protein survived less than 36 months on average, while patients with levels closer to normal had a longer timeframe, closer to 92 months. "This finding suggests Aurora A does play a role in the development of head and neck cancers," said Christian J. Fidler, MD, the study author. "Consequently, Aurora-A represents another potential target for additional therapies." Given the poor prognosis of high Aurora-A cancer patients, researchers now hope to begin a clinical trial combining Aurora-A inhibitors with other cancer drugs such [...]

2012-04-25T06:46:03-07:00April, 2012|Oral Cancer News|
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CDC report releases updated information on HPV-associated cancers

Source: www.dentistryiq.com Author: staff The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released on April 24, 2012, an updated statistical count on the prevalence of HPV-associated cancers in the United States. Oropharyngeal cancers, primarily the base of the tongue and tonsils, were the second most common after cervical cancer. Published in the April 20 edition of CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), the report, titled, ”Human Papillomavirus-Associated Cancers — United States, 2004–2008,” provides updated information from an analysis of data for all 50 states and the District of Columbia from the National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR) and the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program. An average of 33,369 HPV-associated cancers were diagnosed annually (rate = 10.8 per 100,000 population), including 11,726 cases of oropharyngeal cancers. CDC estimates that about 7,400—63%—of the cases of oropharyngeal cancer each year were attributable to HPV infection. These cancers were found three times more frequently among men. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released on April 24, 2012, an updated statistical count on the prevalence of HPV-associated cancers in the United States. Oropharyngeal cancers, primarily the base of the tongue and tonsils, were the second most common after cervical cancer. Published in the April 20 edition of CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), the report, titled, ”Human Papillomavirus-Associated Cancers — United States, 2004–2008,” provides updated information from an analysis of data for all 50 states and the District of Columbia from the National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR) and the Surveillance, Epidemiology and [...]

2012-04-25T06:40:59-07:00April, 2012|Oral Cancer News|
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The Band legend Levon Helm dies aged 71 after throat cancer fight

Source: Author: Music legend Levon Helm died in a New York hospital yesterday aged 71 after a long battle with throat cancer. Helm was drummer in The Band, who backed Bob Dylan when he “went electric” and made one of the most influential albums of the 60s, Music from Big Pink. He sang on many classic Band songs, including The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down and The Weight. Martin Scorsese’s film of The Band’s 1976 farewell show, The Last Waltz, is rated by many as the greatest concert film of all time. Arkansas-born Helm had a successful solo career, winning two Grammys, after The Band split. He is survived by wife Sandy, daughter Amy and a grandchild.

2012-04-22T08:59:48-07:00April, 2012|Oral Cancer News|
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Cold comfort in quest for cancer cure

Source: www.theage.com.au Author: Rachel Browne Can the common cold cure cancer? It's a tempting idea and one on the cutting edge of a new medical research field called oncolytic virotherapy.  Common viruses have become the latest weapon against cancer with a small Australian biotechnology group one of the leaders in the field. The idea has been around for some time. The classical Greek physician Hippocrates is often credited with the saying, "Give me the power to create a fever, and I shall cure any disease." More than 2500 years later,  scientists, including a team from the University of Newcastle, are proving that the theory has merit. Not only did the classical Greeks make the observation, but there have been some instances of cancer patients entering spontaneous remission after exposure to certain viruses in the past century. There is the case of the eight-year-old African boy diagnosed with Burkitt's lymphoma at a Ugandan health clinic. He was exposed to the measles virus and over the next few weeks his tumour regressed completely and he entered remission. An incident documented by the British medical journal <em>The Lancet</em> in 1971 described the example of a Hungarian chicken farmer who  had  advanced colorectal cancer. An outbreak of the avian virus Newcastle disease hit the farm, the man became infected and went into remission. But only relatively recently have scientists clinically examined the interaction between viruses and cancers in the growing area of oncolytic virotherapy. Associate Professor Darren Shafren   of the University of Newcastle  has [...]

2012-04-22T08:56:20-07:00April, 2012|Oral Cancer News|
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Smartphone app could help diagnose oral cancer

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com Author: staff The newest tool for diagnosing oral cancer? It might be your smartphone. Researchers from Stanford University have developed a smartphone app and attachable scanner that its creators hope can improve early diagnoses of oral cancers in places where dental checkups aren't easily accessible. OScan is a pack-of-gum-sized device that attaches onto a smartphone camera, that includes a mouth positioner, two rows of light diodes and a circuit board. The tool can take a panoramic photo of the inside of someone's mouth. The image is detailed enough that a dental professional would be able to screen for oral lesions, the researchers said. The device is still being tested, but it has won two awards from the Vodaphone Americas Foundation this week. The creator, Manu Prakash, Ph.D., an assistant bioengineering professor at Stanford, said that he came up with the idea for the device when he was in India at a rural clinic, and saw photos of people with oral lesions -- but the lesions were so bad, many were inoperable. "Sometimes I see a problem and it just sticks in my head. This was one of those moments for me," Prakash said in a statement. "I just could not walk away from that chance meeting. I knew friends at high school who used to chew tobacco constantly. Nobody talked about the dire consequences." The Atlantic explained why this sort of screening tool has the potential to be valuable in countries such as India: "Like many forms of [...]

2012-04-22T08:42:52-07:00April, 2012|Oral Cancer News|
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“Lab on a chip” technique may be able to detect oral cancer

Source: http://www.dental-tribune.com/ Author: Dental Tribune International staff Researchers from British University of Sheffield, and Rice University in Houston, Texas, are conducting a clinical trial on a revolutionary technique for diagnosing oral cancer more quickly and effectively. The “lab on a chip” device could be used by a dentist to determine whether a patient has oral cancer or other abnormalities in less than 20 minutes. Over the past 18 months, 275 patients have taken part in a trial of the device in order to detect oral cancer in suspicious lesions. The traditional procedure involves using a scalpel to perform a biopsy and off-site laboratory tests that can be time-consuming. The new procedure involves removing cells with a brush, placing them on a chip and inserting the chip into an analyser, which yields a result in a matter of minutes. This offers a number of benefits, including reduced waiting times and patient visits. Patients are currently being tested with the new device, which is being compared to the standard biopsy procedure to test its accuracy and reliability. Martin Thornhill, Professor of Oral Medicine at the University of Sheffield and Honorary Consultant in Oral Medicine at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “This new technology is an exciting development in the search for quicker and more effective diagnosis of oral cancer. The current procedure we have for making a diagnosis—taking a biopsy—can take a week or more to produce results and can involve extra visits from patients. With our new [...]

2012-04-18T20:14:30-07:00April, 2012|Oral Cancer News|
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