5/26/2005 Washington, D.C. Dr. J. Peter St. Clair Georgetown Record on (www2.townonline.com) About 30,000 Americans are diagnosed with oral and pharyngeal cancers each year. They account for 3 percent of all cancers diagnosed. More than a quarter of these patients will die from the disease. The percentage is high because many of these diagnoses are established at a late age. Those that see a dentist on a regular basis are more likely to get an early diagnosis because it is a routine part of the exam done by both hygienists and dentists. Tobacco factors into 75 percent of all cases. The concomitant use and/or abuse of alcohol seems to have a synergistic effect. It is thought that alcohol may increase the permeability of mucosal cells to the carcinogens in tobacco. Furthermore, alcohol may be metabolized into a known carcinogen. Most patients who are diagnosed are over age 45 years of age. There is an increasing group of patients who are younger, in the 20-30 year range. The male-female ratio is about 2:1 but the gap is narrowing. It has been found that individuals who have a diet rich in certain elements such as carotenoid compounds, selenium, folic acid, and vitamins A, C and E, as found in fresh fruits and vegetables, have a decreased incidence of oral cancers. Interestingly, smokers experience a diminished capacity to absorb these nutrients from their diet. Oral cancer occurs most frequently in the tongue, accounting for about 30 percent of all oral cancers. Cancers of [...]

5/26/2005 New York, NY press release U.S. Newswire (releases.usnewswire.com) Brian Hill, founder and executive director of the non-profit Oral Cancer Foundation has received the prestigious Strusser award from the New York University (NYU) College of Dentistry. The award was presented to him at the NYU graduation ceremonies at Madison Square Garden. This award is given annually, and recognizes an individual who has excelled in public service. In the audience, Eva Grayzel Cohen, an oral cancer survivor and an individual who has spoken on public service announcements for the American Dental Association related to oral cancer commented, "I was touched at the choice of Brian Hill, an oral cancer survivor, who has visible and audible repercussions from his treatments, to receive the Strusser award. Brian Hill's presence and honor was a powerful message to the graduating doctors, that it is imperative to give all patients an oral cancer screening, because the dental profession is the first line of discovery of this disease. Their active participation in the screening process, which results in early detection and treatment, can mean the difference of life or death to a patient. While his unscripted acceptance and comments to the audience were in his usual casual style, the message was serious. Choose to be involved, choose to make a difference". When asked about the presentation Hill commented, "Receiving an award like this from an institution the caliber of NYU, in a venue like the Garden, and having the opportunity to speak to this enormous crowd, is [...]

5/25/2005 Liverpool, England press release PR Newswire (www.prnewswire.com) Clinicians at the Clatterbridge Oncology Center, near Liverpool, today announced that they have commenced delivering a new and more precise form of radiotherapy called image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) using a new robotic imaging device from Varian Medical Systems. A 75-year-old female cancer patient became the first person to be treated in the UK with an On Board Imager(TM) device, a new accessory that is designed to improve the precision and effectiveness of cancer treatments by giving doctors the ability to track and adjust for changes in tumor positions more accurately at the moment of treatment. Up to now, doctors have had to account for tumor motion by using broader beams that expose a significant margin of healthy tissue in the treatment area. The On Board Imager at Clatterbridge is the first of seven such systems scheduled for delivery to UK hospitals in the coming year. Dr. Philip Mayles, head of medical physics at Clatterbridge Oncology Center, said, "We only have one chance to cure a tumor and giving it as big a dose as we can, while treating as little of the normal tissue as possible, is obviously the best thing we can do for the patient. Bigger treatment margins really compromise what you can do for the patient but the On-Board Imager will enable even more accurate radiotherapy delivery with much smaller margins." The fully automated Varian system makes it possible for clinical staff to complete the advanced IGRT treatments within [...]

5/24/2005 Andrea J. Cohen, MD et al. Integrative Cancer Therapies, Vol. 4, No. 2, 131-143 (2005) Abstract: In recent studies, patients have reported an increased use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Acupuncture is a popular complementary therapy for patients with cancer. This article will provide current cancer treatment providers with information on acupuncture as well as the research conducted on cancer symptoms and side effects of cancer treatments. Antiemetic studies are the most prevalent and contain the most promising results. Several studies have found that acupuncture significantly reduces the number of emesis (vomiting) episodes for patients receiving chemotherapy. While studies on pain control vary due to the heterogeneity of pain, there are few studies investigating pain caused from cancer and the removal of cancerous tumors. These studies, while promising, provide basic results that need further investigation for more definitive results. Although relatively few studies have been done on anxiety and depression, several researchers have found acupuncture to be just as effective as or more effective than antidepressants for patients without cancer. Studies on breathlessness, while small, have shown acupuncture to have a significant positive effect on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, breathlessness associated with end-stage cancer, and asthma. Researchers studying xerostomic individuals who have received salivary gland irradiation found significant positive results in salivary flow rates compared to baseline. Patients with hot flashes due to hormonal imbalance may benefit from the use of acupuncture. A recent pilot study showed improvement of chronic postchemotherapy fatigue following acupuncture treatments. Many individuals with [...]

5/22/2005 Los Angeles, CA Deepa Bharath Daily Breeeze (dailybreeze.com) Bad habits almost took Ginny Shoren out. She survived a battle with tongue cancer and now tells her cautionary story to students. Fifteen years ago, Ginny Shoren was as far away from becoming a triathlete as a "Star Wars" movie is from bombing at the box office. The Hermosa Beach resident and substitute teacher was addicted to alcohol and smoked two packs of cigarettes a day. The alcohol habit she managed to shake off, but not before the forces of life made her get on her knees and beg for help. Looking back, Shoren realizes that her tryst with alcoholism was not half as bad as her furious fight with tongue cancer, which forced her to stop smoking. Now she helps others who are in the predicament she was in not long ago. Shoren, 57, told a sixth-grade class at Manhattan Beach Middle School on Friday about her long journey, from addict to athlete. On June 5, Shoren will participate in the Danskin Women's Triathlon at Bonelli Park in San Dimas, which will include a half-mile swim, 13-mile bike ride and 3.1-mile run or walk. The event raises money for what is now Shoren's favorite cause -- cancer research. "Years ago, the only way I'd run was if someone chased me with a gun," she said, as some middle school students laughed and others smiled. Diagnosed in May 2001, Shoren lost part of her tongue, the floor of her mouth and [...]

5/22/2005 Boston, MA Z Wang Curr Pharm Des, January 1, 2005; 11(14): 1771-7 Oral cancer is challenging for clinicians due to its high mortality and increasing incidence rate. Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is extensively expressed in oral cancer and oral premalignant lesions and seems to be enhanced specifically in high-risk oral lesions. Mounting evidence suggests that these inhibitors may represent a promising approach for chemoprevention or treatment of oral cancer. This review reports on Medline and PubMed literature searches of published articles from 1995 to 2003. Our purpose is to provide a comprehensive examination and discussion of the potential role of COX-2 in oral cancer development and the use of COX-2 inhibitors for oral cancer chemoprevention or treatment. The data in the literature strongly indicate that COX-2 is significantly upregulated in oral cancer and premalignant lesions, and we believe that inhibition of COX-2 would suppress development of oral lesions by affecting several pathways of oral carcinogenesis. Therefore, the COX-2 inhibitors should be investigated as a new treatment, particularly new chemoprevention agents, for patients who are at high risk for developing oral cancer. Author's affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Boston Medical Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

5/21/2005 Washington, DC Greg Flakus Voice of America News (voanews.com) Doctors and researchers from 17 cancer organizations in 11 countries are in Houston for the first annual Sister Institution Conference at The University of Texas Medical Center's MD Anderson Cancer Center. The goal is to share knowledge and technology in an effort to fight the various forms of cancer worldwide. Dozens of doctors and cancer researchers from Asia, Latin America and Europe are seeing the future of cancer treatment firsthand while attending this conference. Among other things, they have been able to tour MD Anderson Cancer Center's new proton-therapy facility, which is still under construction and will not open until January of next year. Angel Francisco Campos, an oncologist from Spain, says he is very impressed. He says cancer therapy has advanced a lot and that MD Anderson is one of the great research centers. He is hoping to establish a formal sister-institution relationship between the Houston hospital and his institution in Madrid, the Spanish Central Defense Department Hospital. MD Anderson's Vice President for Extramural Programs, Doctor Thomas Brown, says the idea behind the sister-institution program is to promote more such collaboration with other research centers worldwide. "We have identified through a series of efforts like-minded institutions throughout the world that are the premier educational, research or patient-care facilities in their respective areas, engaged in cancer care and research, who are interested in pursuing a model of patient care that is driven by research," he said. One enthusiastic participant was [...]

5/20/2005 Ireland Deborah Condon Irish Health (irishhealth.com) More people die in Ireland every year as a result of oral and pharyngeal cancer (OPC), than malignant melanoma or cervical cancer. Yet the disease remains relatively unknown here, with most people failing to be diagnosed until they are at an advanced stage, new research has found. OPC is the sixth most common cancer worldwide, with 575,000 new cases and 200,000 deaths every year. It refers to cancer that originates in the mouth (oral cavity) or the pharynx, the part of the throat at the back of the mouth. Men are more likely to develop it than women and most cases occur in people over the age of 40. Two known causes of the disease are alcohol and tobacco use. In Ireland, around 300 new cases are diagnosed every year and 150 people die as a result. This death rate exceeds that of malignant melanoma, cervical cancer and Hodgkin's disease. Alcohol is one of the known causes of oral and pharyngeal cancer Despite this, OPC 'has a relatively low profile both among healthcare providers and patients', according to Dr Eleanor O'Sullivan of the Cork Dental School and Hospital in University College Cork. She analysed 370 cases of OPC in the south of Ireland and also looked at data from the International Agency for Research on Cancer, which is part of the World Health Organisation. Dr O'Sullivan found that while the outcome for OPC is extremely good if caught in the early stages, most [...]

5/18/2005 Orlando, FL & Darmstadt, Germany PharmaLive (www.medadnews.com) Merck KGaA of Darmstadt, Germany, today announced its continued investment in innovative therapies in oncology, supported by data presented at the 41st annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). Merck KGaA, known for the first-in-class EGFR-targeted monoclonal antibody, Erbitux® (cetuximab) that works by blocking the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) to inhibit tumor growth and spread, has ongoing active development programs with additional novel therapies that may offer new hope to people with cancer. “These are exciting times in oncology,” said Dr. Bernhard Ehmer, Vice President, Business Area Oncology, Merck KGaA. “With a better understanding of the growth and spread of tumors, we are able to develop treatments that target the cancer cells and give physicians and their patients additional options with which to fight cancer. We are particularly excited by Erbitux not only in the treatment of colorectal cancer but also in its potential in head and neck cancer and by BLP25 Liposome Vaccine (L-BLP25), which is showing impressive results in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer. Furthermore, our humanized EGFR-targeting monoclonal antibody matuzumab is showing potential in several types of cancer.” Erbitux Consistent findings in clinical trials supports the use of Erbitux in different treatment settings, and several presentations at ASCO focused on the results of studies of Erbitux in the treatment of various stages of colorectal cancer, squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Study results presented [...]

5/17/2005 Paris, France press release Business Wire (www.businesswire.com) BioAlliance Pharma, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the field of drug resistance, announced today that a randomized Phase III trial evaluating the Company's miconazole Lauriad(R) 50mg Bioadhesive Buccal Tablets in head and neck cancer patients suffering from oropharyngeal candidiasis following radiotherapy, demonstrated efficacy with 10 times less drug and on a more convenient schedule than the miconazole oral gel comparator. These results suggest definite potential for better compliance in treating oropharyngeal candidiasis in patients with altered mucosa and xerostomia. The study (Abstract #5527) of 306 patients conducted at 36 clinical sites in France and North Africa was presented at the 41st Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Orlando, Florida. "These results represent an important medical advance for the local treatment of oropharyngeal candidiasis," said Dominique Costantini, M.D., president and CEO of BioAlliance Pharma. "Our goal is to provide physicians with an effective option for local treatment of this fungal infection that obviates the need to prescribe systemic therapies due to its enhanced potential for improved patient compliance and avoidance of systemic drug-drug interaction and development of drug resistance." Study Objectives The main objective was to demonstrate that the efficacy of the miconazole Lauriad(R) 50mg Bioadhesive Buccal Tablet administered once daily for 14 days, was not inferior to that of miconazole oral gel 500mg delivered in 4 divided doses for 14 days. Secondary objectives were to compare other efficacy criteria at days 7 and 14, and the safety [...]