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|

Decoding the oral leukoplakia/oral cancer link

Source: www.drbicuspid.com Author: DrBicuspid Staff Is there a direct relationship between oral leukoplakia and tobacco and alcohol consumption? Do all oral leukoplakias lead to oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC)? Is it possible to detect premalignant oral leukoplakia? These are some of the questions a recent literature review in Oral Diseases attempted to answer (January 11, 2013). A team of researchers from Italy, Spain, the U.K., and the U.S. did a literary search of Medline/PubMed, Embase, and Best Evidence from January 1966 to June 2012. Search terms included leukoplakia, oral leukoplakia, preneoplastic oral, precancerous oral, oral precancerous, oral dysplasia, oral mucosal lesion, proliferative verrucous leukoplakia, multifocal leukoplakias, tobacco, and alcohol. The searches were designed to help the study authors address four key questions: 1.Do tobacco and alcohol cause oral leukoplakias? 2.What percentage of oral leukoplakias evolve into OSCC? 3.Can practitioners distinguish between premalignant and innocent oral leukoplakias? 4.Is proliferative verrucous leukoplakia (PVL) a specific entity or just a form of multifocal leukoplakia? For the purposes of this study, the term oral leukoplakia was used to recognize "predominantly white plaques of questionable risk, having excluded (other) known diseases or disorders that carry no increased risk of cancer." Tobacco, alcohol, and oral leukoplakia Although oral leukoplakia is generally considered one of the primary clinical precursors of OSCC, "the role of alcohol and smoking in this disorder has never been thoroughly assessed," the researchers wrote. "Existing evidence suggests that tobacco and alcohol could be associated with at least a subset of [oral leukoplakia]." It [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2013-03-18T11:47:44-07:00March, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

Researchers document molecular tumor subtypes of head and neck cancer

Source: www.oncologynurseadvisor.com Author: Kathy Boltz, PhD Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the seventh most common form of cancer in the United States. However, other than an association with the human papillomavirus (HPV), no validated molecular profile of the disease has been established. By analyzing data from DNA microarrays, a study has confirmed the presence of four molecular classes of the disease. Also, previous results have been extended by suggesting an underlying connection between the molecular classes and observed genomic events, some of which affect cancer genes. This study also demonstrated the clinical relevance of the classes and certain genomic events, paving the way for further studies and possible targeted therapies. "Cancer is a disease caused by alteration in the DNA and RNA molecules of tumors. A cancer results when broken molecules initiate a cascade of abnormal signals that ultimately results in abnormal growth and spread of tissues that should be under tight control within the body,” said Neil Hayes, MD, MPH, of the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and of The Cancer Genome Atlas. "However, most common tumors, including head and neck cancer, have relatively little information in the public record as to how these signals coordinate to create different patterns of abnormalities. This study is among the largest ever published to document reproducible molecular tumor subtypes. Subtypes, such as those we describe, represent attractive models to understand and attack cancers for treatment and prognosis." The team analyzed a set of nearly 140 HNSCC [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2013-03-12T07:08:52-07:00March, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

Are combination therapies effective for advanced SCCHN?

Source: Author: DrBicuspid Staff In a recent study, researchers from the University of North Carolina (UNC) Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center examined whether the addition of multiple drugs to radiation therapy is superior to the current standard of care therapy with one drug and radiation for locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN). Their data, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, suggests that it does not (March 4, 2013). Standard therapy for SCCHN is a combination of the drug cisplatin and radiotherapy. This clinical trial compared this combination to the combination with the addition of a small-molecule inhibitor of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) erlotinib. For the study, 204 patients with locally advanced SCCHN were recruited between December 2006 and October 2011. Participants were assigned to receive either cisplatin and radiotherapy or the same chemoradiotherapy with erlotinab. EGFR is a therapeutic target for this type of cancer, and at least one other EGFR is approved for multiple uses in treating head and neck cancer, including in combination with radiation. To date, no data have been published on the use of EGFR inhibitors in combination with chemotherapy and radiation. The goal of the current study was to determine if adding EGRF inhibition improved efficacy when combined with standard of care radiation. Unfortunately, the researchers found that the addition of EGRF did not improve clinical response rate or progression-free survival. "There has been great enthusiasm and some confusion about the combinations of chemotherapy and biologic therapy such [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2013-03-12T07:00:53-07:00March, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

Regular dental checkups key to early detection of oral cancer

Source: www.dentistryiq.com Author: Mark Newman, News Staff Julie DiNardo knew something wasn't right. The long-time Mountain registered dental hygienist was chatting with Pino, her husband of 23 years, at the breakfast table back in April 2011 when she became concerned about a lack of symmetry on Pino's face. "He looked a little off on one side of his throat," said Julie, who has been screening people for oral cancer for more than a quarter-century. As she has been trained to do, Julie began to feel her husband's neck, her fingers pushing down gently, but firmly in a number of places. Little did she know, her many years of encouraging the public to get annual oral check-ups was about to hit home. Under Pino's right ear, along the jaw line, Julie discovered something she described as feeling like a fish. Her heart skipped a beat. "When you've felt thousands of necks and you've felt thousands of normals, when an abnormal comes up, you know it," Julie said. While dozens of worrisome thoughts raced through her mind at the time, the mother of four told her husband to get the lump checked out at their family doctor right away. The family doctor couldn't find anything and sent Pino home with antibiotics in case there was some inflammation. Julie said she insisted her husband see a specialist and Pino was examined by an ear, nose and throat doctor who was also unable to find anything. The specialist did send Pino for an ultrasound [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2013-03-12T06:55:37-07:00March, 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|

Five genetic subgroups revealed in head and neck tumor analysis

Source: www.onclive.com Author: Ben Leach Oncologists who treat patients with head and neck cancer are aware that those whose disease has been caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) have significantly better outcomes than those whose disease is caused by other factors such as smoking. However, new research suggests that there may be five distinct subgroups in which specific genetic profiles may be utilized to guide treatment decisions in patients. “Currently, we treat all patients with head and neck cancer in essentially the same way,” said Ezra E. W. Cohen, MD, co-director of the Head and Neck Cancer Program at the University of Chicago Medical Center. “But we do know that the prognosis for patients who are HPV-positive is much better.” To determine whether patients’ genetic profiles differed, Cohen and his colleagues at the University of Chicago, led by researcher Tanguy Seiwert, MD, took approximately 130 tumor samples from patients with stage IV squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck and performed gene expression (mRNA) analysis. The samples were gathered before patients received therapy, and all of the participants subsequently were treated with a 5-fluorouracil, hydroxyurea, and concurrent radiation (FHX)-based regimen. This way, the researchers could determine the outcome as a function of gene expression in the groups identified through the analysis, since patients received the same treatment across all the subgroups eventually identified. Cohen said that patients were enrolled regardless of whether they were HPV-positive or HPV-negative. Based on these findings, the University of Chicago team was able to classify [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2013-03-01T15:37:52-07:00March, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

Alcohol consumption ups oral cancer risk in men

Source: www.drbicuspid.com/ Author: Donna Domino, Features Editor Alcohol consumption causes approximately 20,000 cancer deaths in the U.S. annually, especially oral cavity cancer in men and breast cancer in women, according to a new study in the American Journal of Public Health (February 14, 2013). It is the first comprehensive analysis of alcohol-attributable cancer deaths in the U.S. in more than 30 years, the study authors noted. Notably, even moderate drinkers who consume 1.5 drinks daily or fewer accounted for 30% of alcohol-caused cancer deaths, according to researchers from the Boston University School of Medicine and the School of Public Health. Cancers of the mouth, throat, and esophagus were common causes of alcohol-related cancer deaths among men, resulting in a total of about 6,000 annual deaths, they noted. Breast cancer was the most common cause of alcohol-caused cancer deaths in women, resulting in about 6,000 deaths annually, or about 15% of all breast cancer mortality. In addition, alcohol was cited as a prominent cause in the premature loss of life, resulting in the loss of about 18 years among people who died of cancers attributed to alcohol, the study found. Previous research consistently shows that alcohol increases the risk for cancers of the oral cavity and pharynx, larynx, esophagus, and liver. And recent studies show that alcohol also increases the risk of cancers of the colon, rectum, and women's breasts. While estimates have shown that alcohol accounts for about 4% of all cancer-related deaths worldwide, there is a lack of attention [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2013-03-01T15:32:12-07:00March, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

‘Where you’re treated matters’ in terms of cancer survival

Source: www.eurekalert.org A study of older patients with advanced head and neck cancers has found that where they were treated significantly influenced their survival. The study, led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and published in the March 1 online edition of Cancer, found that patients who were treated at hospitals that saw a high number of head and neck cancers were 15 percent less likely to die of their disease as compared to patients who were treated at hospitals that saw a relatively low number of such cancers. The study also found that such patients were 12 percent less likely to die of their disease when treated at a National Cancer Institute -designated cancer center. "Where you're treated matters," said corresponding author Eduardo Méndez, M.D., an assistant member of the Clinical Research Division at Fred Hutch. Méndez and colleagues also hypothesized that patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) who were treated at high-volume hospitals would be more likely to receive therapy that complies with National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines due to the complexity of managing these cancers. Surprisingly, this was not the case, the researchers found. According to an American Cancer Society estimate, 52,610 Americans were newly diagnosed with head and neck cancer in 2012. Many patients are diagnosed with locally advanced disease that has spread to the lymph nodes, which carries a much poorer prognosis compared to early stage disease. Patients with advanced disease require multidisciplinary management by a collaborative team comprised of [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2013-03-01T15:26:17-07:00March, 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|