11/27/2007 Napa Valley, CA Betty Rhodes Napa Valley Register (www.napavalleyregister.com) I have a fascinating article within an article for you today, but before we go there, let’s stop for a moment and give thanks for our many blessings especially at this time of the year. Carrying that thought a step further; we have wonderful opportunities to help give others a bit of our time to help make their lives a little better. Thanksgiving and Christmas just bring home to all of us the fact that, if possible, we really should step in and help make someone else’s life a little happier. Check the Register’s Sunday Community Bulletin Board for many volunteer opportunities. Recently, my dentist, Dr. Quinn, was telling me some of the serious consequences that can happen if you exercise careless dental hygiene. I asked him if he would be willing to write down a few things for our column and he graciously agreed to do so. So, here is Dr. Quinn’s article within an article. “Dentists often hear the comment, ‘If I had known I was going to live this long, I’d have taken better care of my teeth.’ Even though tooth loss has declined in recent years, still, in the U.S., 26 percent of people 65-69 have lost all of their teeth. Furthermore, 47 percent of the over 65 group have only 20 or fewer teeth remaining. The value of a healthy mouth goes far beyond a nice smile. The condition of the teeth, gums and bone [...]

11/26/2007 web-based article Rosanne Skirble Voice of America (www.voanews.com) Exercise and a well-balanced diet far outweigh any health advantage from vitamin supplements. Writing in the November issue of the Harvard University Men's Health Watch, Harvard Professor Harvey Simon argues against taking pills or powders to promote better health. "There have been careful studies done of many of these supplements, particularly of the antioxidant vitamins and B vitamins which have shown no benefit." While it was once hoped that supplements of folic acid could help reduce colon cancer, new research has shown that taking more than the minimum daily requirement would be harmful. Simon says other studies underscore the downside to dietary supplements, which are unregulated in the United States. "The most striking example is beta carotene which we used to be very hopeful about, but actually increases the risk of lung cancer in smokers. Vitamin E increases the risk of second head-neck cancers in people who have been successfully treated for a first malignancy." Simon says that in the quest for a shortcut to better health, the natural function of the body is too often overlooked. Regular exercise can reduce the incidence of breast cancer by 20-30 percent and colon cancer in women by 30-40 percent. Simon notes that the risk of heart disease also dramatically declines with exercise. "There are hundreds of studies that show that people who exercise regularly reduce their risk of coronary artery disease by about 40 percent, (and) also reduce the risk of stroke, hypertension [...]

11/26/2007 web-based article K Nelson, S Heberer, and C Glatzer J Prosthet Dent, November 1, 2007; 98(5): 405-10 Statement of Problem: Dental implants have been increasingly used for prosthodontic rehabilitation of patients following oral tumor resection and postsurgical radiotherapy. However, only a few long-term studies have examined the implant survival rate and other factors related to prosthodontic treatment in oral tumor resection patients. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the long-term survival of dental implants and implant-retained prostheses in oral cancer resection patients. Material and Methods: Ninety-three patients (63 men, 30 women) with a mean age of 59 years (range of 26-89 years) received 435 implants after the resection of a head and neck tumor. Twenty-nine patients received postsurgical radiotherapy prior to implant placement. The factors related to implant survival or failure were monitored over a mean observation period of 10.3 years (range of 5 to 161 months). Prosthodontic rehabilitation was evaluated with respect to the rates of technical failures and complications. Data were analyzed using a Kaplan-Meier curve and comparisons were made with the log-rank test or the Wilcoxon test (a=.05). Results: Of the 435 implants, 43 implants were lost; the cumulative survival rate was 92%, 84%, and 69% after 3.5, 8.5, and 13 years, respectively. Twenty-eight implants in 6 patients were counted as lost since the patients had died. Twenty-nine irradiated patients received 124 implants, of which 6 implants were lost prior to prosthodontic rehabilitation. In 68 patients with 78 rigid bar-retained dentures, only minor [...]

11/26/2007 web-based article Lachlan M Carter and Graham R Ogden BMC Med Educ, November 15, 2007; 7(1): 44 Background: The incidence of oral cancer is increasing in the United Kingdom. Early detection of oral cancers makes them more amenable to treatment and allows the greatest chance of cure. Delay in presentation and/or referral has a significant effect on the associated morbidity and mortality. Lack of general medical practitioner and general dental practitioner oral cancer knowledge has been shown to contribute to delays in referral and treatment. The aim of this study was to investigate the oral cancer awareness of future general medical and general dental practitioners by assessing undergraduate medical and dental students' knowledge of prevention and early detection of oral cancer. Method: Questionnaires were delivered to undergraduate medical and dental students at the University of Dundee, assessing oral examination habits, delivery of advice on oral cancer risk factors, knowledge of oral cancer risk factors and clinical appearance, preferred point of referral and requests for further information. Reswults: Undergraduate medical students were less likely to examine patients' oral mucosa routinely and less likely to advise patients about risk factors for oral cancer. Medical students identified fewer oral cancer risk factors. In particular alcohol use was identified poorly. Medical students also identified fewer oral changes associated with oral cancer. Erythroplakia and erythroleukoplakia were identified poorly. Medical students felt less well informed regarding oral cancer. 86% and 92% of undergraduate medical and dental students respectively requested further information about oral cancer. Conclusion: [...]

11/25/2007 web-based article Samuel J. Hooper et al. J Med Microbiol 56 (2007), 1651-1659 In order to characterize the bacterial microbiota present within oral cancerous lesions, tumorous and non-tumorous mucosal tissue specimens (approx. 1 cm3) were harvested from ten oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) patients at the time of surgery. Any microbial contamination on the surface of the specimens was eliminated by immersion in Betadine and washing with PBS. Bacteria were visualized within sections of the OSCC by performing fluorescent in situ hybridization with the universal oligonucleotide probe, EUB338. DNA was extracted from each aseptically macerated tissue specimen using a commercial kit. This was then used as template for PCR with three sets of primers, targeting the 16S rRNA genes of Spirochaetes, Bacteroidetes and the domain Bacteria. PCR products were differentiated by TA cloning and bacterial species were identified by partial sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene fragments. A total of 70 distinct taxa was detected: 52 different phylotypes isolated from the tumorous tissues, and 37 taxa from within the non-tumorous specimens. Differences between the composition of the microbiotas within the tumorous and non-tumorous mucosae were apparent, possibly indicating selective growth of bacteria within carcinoma tissue. Most taxa isolated from within the tumour tissue represented saccharolytic and aciduric species. Whether the presence of these bacteria within the mucosa has any bearing on the carcinogenic process is a concept worthy of further investigation. Authors: Samuel J. Hooper1, St-John Crean1, Michael J. Fardy1, Michael A. O. Lewis1, David A. Spratt2, William G. [...]

11/21/2007 Newport Beach, CA press release prnewsire.com The Oral Cancer Foundation announced today that three researchers working in areas of early oral cancer detection would be the foundation's first grant recipients. The grants, which were made as an ongoing commitment to each researcher, were awarded to Dr. Maura Gillison of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Dr. David Wong of the University of California at Los Angeles, and Dr. Ann Gillenwater of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. "We are supporting research that moves our early discovery agenda forward," the foundation's executive director Brian Hill said. "Early detection is our first front in reducing the death rate from oral cancer, and we believe these research programs all will have a huge impact on how and when people are diagnosed with the disease. Early detection and staging is directly correlated to better long-term outcomes for patients." The disease affects more than 34,000 Americans each year, and more than 8,000 will die from it annually. At the present time two-thirds of cases are caught in the cancer's later stages when prognosis is poor. At 5 years from diagnosis survival for all stages combined is approximately 50%. While other cancers have seen a decline in incidence and death, occurrence of oral and oropharyngeal cancers have increased in recent years, 11% in 2007 alone. "Public awareness of the disease is low, and screening models used incorrectly or inconsistently are largely to blame for the high death rate," Hill said. "We could be doing [...]

11/30/2007 Newport Beach, CA press release Compendium (www.compendiumlive.com) Two time Emmy nominated actress Colleen Zenk Pinter, best known for her long running role as Barbara Ryan on CBS's As the World Turns, has teamed up with the Oral Cancer Foundation to share the story of her battle against oral cancer, and raise public awareness of a disease which kills more Americans each year than more commonly known cancers. Zenk Pinter's first stop was CBS's The Early Show. In an interview with co-anchor Hannah Storm, Zenk Pinter revealed how a seemingly stubborn canker sore turned out to be a stage-two malignant oral cancer, requiring several surgeries to reconstruct her tongue, and months of radiation treatments. Zenk Pinter explained to Storm that she believes that her cancer was caused by the human papillomavirus. "I had absolutely none of the historic risk factors for this cancer, I never used tobacco and only drank socially," she said, referring to the two other common causes of the disease. "In fact, young Americans who have none of the historic risk factors are the fastest growing segment of oral cancer patients in the country," Brian Hill, executive director of the Oral Cancer Foundation says, "and we believe the culprit behind the surge in cases is HPV16, the same virus that causes cervical cancer." Dr. Mark Lingen, Professor of Pathology at the University of Chicago School of Medicine says, "Colleen was very typical of most Americans in their lack of knowledge of oral cancer. Awareness and routine screening [...]

11/20/2007 web-based arfticle staff www.medicalnewstoday.com Researchers from Loyola University Medical Center have recently reported on the safety and efficacy of two treatment options commonly recommended to patients with early larynx cancer. The largest and only study of its kind examined a total of 3898 patients from a NCI sponsored national database who underwent either surgery or radiation. The lead investigator, Dr. Gopal Sachdeva concluded that long term cure rates were equivalent with both of these options. In addition, there was no increased risk of second cancers among patients who received radiation compared to the surgical control. More importantly, surgical management of these patients resulted in a long term statistically significant increased risk of developing a second laryngeal cancer which radiation appears to protect against. This, according to Dr. Sachdeva, "can be explained by a concept called 'field cancerization.'" "Whatever the etiological factor, cigarette smoking or alcohol, genetic changes can occur in different areas of the aerodigestive resulting in precancerous and cancerous changes." According to Dr. Sachdeva, "In the case of larynx cancer, radiation treats a larger area, essentially the entire voice box. Surgery however usually just addresses the site of the tumor." "Thus," Dr. Sachdeva concludes, "radiation likely eliminates microscopic areas of precancerous changes in the field that if left untreated can progress to new second cancers - a new concept he has coined as 'field sterilization'" The authors concluded that because of equivalent long term survival, when deciding on a treatment for patients with early laryngeal cancer these finding [...]

11/19/2007 London, England staff www.dentistry.co.uk The winners of the first annual Mouth Cancer Voice Awards have been announced following a live performance in London. Kirsty Nichol, 17, from Hampshire won the performance for the Best Singer and James Quaife, 22 from London won the performance for the Best Comedian in front of a star-studded audience at the Jerwood Vanbrugh Theatre. The Mouth Cancer Voice Awards is the idea of the Mouth Cancer Foundation, and is aimed at young people and students, encouraging them not to take their voices for granted. Every three hours someone will die from mouth cancer. The cancer can occur in any part of the mouth, tongue, lips, throat, salivary glands, pharynx, larynx, sinus, and other sites located in the head and neck area. In its very early stages, mouth cancer can be almost invisible making it easy to ignore. The Voice Awards celebrated the most talented, brightest young singing and comedy stars in the country. Students entered into two categories – singers and comedians – and were then voted for by the public. Twelve finalists performed live at the Jerwood Vanbrugh Theatre in front of a live studio audience and a celebrity-packed panel of judges. The standard in the singing competition was extremely high. Kirsty, from Farnborough, said: ‘My ambition for the future is to become a singer. I am absolutely ecstatic that I won'. Kirsty has won a day's studio recording to record one song, courtesy of Insomnia Music Ltd. James won a 10-minute spot, [...]

11/19/2007 Swarthmore, PA Dougal Sutherland The Daily Gazette (www.sccs.swarthmore.edu) Ron Krall, a senior vice president in worldwide development at GlaxoSmithKline, spoke Friday about pharmaceutical ethics, particularly giving patients access to experimental medication outside of clinical trials. Krall, who was a math major in the class of 1969, did not use a traditional lecture format; instead, he led a discussion, even putting his personal email up on the board for "those of you who aren't satisfied" by the necessarily brief discussion. The lecture was based on a case study, in which a father requests an experimental medication for his 21-year-old daughter Amanda, who has terminal head-and-neck cancer. The medicine is currently in testing for lung cancer treatments; it seems likely, however, that it would work well for head-and-neck cancer. The drug works by suppressing epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFRs), which present in both lung cancer and head-and-neck cancer. It would seem only natural to give Amanda the drug: if it did something bad to her, so what? She was going to die soon anyway. Indeed, when polled before the discussion most of the students were relatively sure that Amanda should be given the drug. On the other hand, if something bad did happen, then it would almost certainly interfere with the approval process for the drug, which — if all goes well — would otherwise be available to regular patients within about three years. Even if the treatment works well, though, word will spread about how this medicine helped Amanda; other [...]