Oral Cancer News

A New Treatment’s Tantalizing Promise Brings Heartbreaking Ups and Downs

Source: The New York Times Beth McDaniel’s oncologist, a bear of a man, hugged her and twirled her around. “Holy cow, Beth!” Dr. John J. Gohmann exclaimed. For the first time since a rare cancer appeared eight years before, her lymph nodes had shrunk to a normal size, her skin was no longer bright red and inflamed, and the itchiness that plagued her had subsided. Mrs. McDaniel, the 69-year-old wife of a retired corporate executive, had gambled on the ultimate in personalized medicine, an approach known as whole genome sequencing, and it seemed to be paying off. Scientists had compared the entire genetic sequences of the tumor cells invading her body with those in her healthy cells, searching for mutated tumor genes that could be thwarted by drugs approved for other cancers or even other diseases. That had led them to give her an expensive drug approved just a month earlier for melanoma patients. It had never been given to anyone with a blood cell cancer like hers. In theory, the drug should have killed her. Instead, it seemed to have halted or even reversed her cancer. But would it last? And what would it mean if it did not? In the end, Mrs. McDaniel’s journey to the edge of genetics research turned out to be a decidedly mixed experience. It was hard — much harder than anyone in her family had imagined — to get the sequencing and analysis done. It was breathtaking to see the results, which indicated [...]

Charlotte Parker2012-07-09T09:31:57-07:00July, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Viral Marketing: What’s Stopping Men From Getting the HPV Vaccine

Source: GOOD Mobile By: Jake Blumgart on July 6, 2012 at 3:00AM PDT In early 2011, my doctor informed me that a vaccine to protect against the human papillomavirus—HPV—was now available for men. I was relieved, then frustrated—my doctor didn’t actually offer the principal vaccine, Gardasil, to her male patients. After a couple days of hunting around town, I finally found the vaccine at the Mazzoni Center, a LGBT health clinic in downtown Philly. I received all three shots, and joined the less than 1 percent of American men who are vaccinated against the most dangerous strains of the virus. While I was exceedingly grateful to the Mazzoni Center inoculating me, I knew of only one other male friend who’d received his shots. So since I got my shots, I’ve made a point of discussing my experience with any friend, acquaintance, or bemused bystander who will listen. And I’ve learned two things about young, straight men and HPV: We all know it exists, and not much else. When I posted about my vaccinations on Facebook and Twitter, the response was largely positive—but the dozen or so likes and comments mainly came from my female friends. When I brought up the issue with a few straight guys, they seemed confused about my decision to air the information in public. Embarrassed, I let the conversation drop. But a couple weeks later, I received a Facebook message from an acquaintance in another city, freaking out about his own HPV scare, and asking me whether [...]

Charlotte Parker2012-07-09T09:04:05-07:00July, 2012|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

Demystifying the immortality of cancer cells

Source: http://medicalxpress.com/ Author: In cancer cells, normal mechanisms governing the cellular life cycle have gone haywire. Cancer cells continue to divide indefinitely, without ever dying off, thus creating rapidly growing tumors. Swiss scientists have discovered a protein complex involved this deregulated process, and hope to be able to exploit it to stop tumor formation in its tracks. All our cells come equipped with an automatic self-destruct mechanism; they are programmed to die after a certain number of divisions. This internal clock is of great interest to cancer researchers, because most forms of cancer exhibit a defect in this innate timing mechanism. Cancer cells continue to divide indefinitely, long past the moment at which a normal cell would self-destruct. A team of researchers from professor Joachim Lingner’s laboratory at EPFL has learned how this defect is regulated in a tumor. Post-doctoral researcher Liuh-Yow Chen led the team in publishing an article appearing in the journal Nature on the 4th of July 2012. Their hope is that the discovery will provide new targets for drug therapies to combat the deadly disease. Cellular immortality, which is responsible for cancer formation, hearkens back to a critical function of the cells of the developing embryo. At the ends of every chromosome there is a special sequence of DNA known as a telomere, whose length is governed by the telomerase enzyme. This sequence represents the lifespan of the cell. Every time the cell divides, it is shortened, and when the telomere finally runs out, [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-07-08T06:54:32-07:00July, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Test for KRAS mutations clarifies who will benefit from EGFR treatments

Medscape Oncology Written by, Zosia Chustecka (Barcelona, Spain) — A simpler, cheaper, more accurate test forKRAS mutations has been developed by a group of Italian researchers. Routine testing for KRAS mutations in the treatment of colorectal cancer is now recommended by many expert bodies. Testing identifies patients who carry this mutation and are unlikely to respond to treatment with the anti–epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) monoclonal antibodies cetuximab (Erbitux, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Lillly) and panitumumab (Vectibix, Amgen). Targeted therapies are indicated only for use in patients with KRAS wild-type disease. Details on the new test were presented in a poster exhibited here at the 14th World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer, which was organized in partnership with the European Society for Medical Oncology. "This new test is cheaper, quicker, and more sensitive, so the genotyping of patient[s] is more accurate," senior author Christiana Lo Nigro, PhD, from the Laboratory for Cancer Genetics and Translational Oncology at the S. Croce General Hospital, in Cuneo, Italy, toldMedscape Medical News. Currently, the gold standard for KRAS mutation testing is Sanger sequencing of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products. "Although this detects and identifies all mutations in an amplified sequence, it is time-consuming, cost-ineffective, and has a maximum sensitivity of around 15 to 20%," Dr. Lo Nigro stated. Another method — high-throughput pyrosequencing (PS) — is faster but still takes about a day. "It too is cost-ineffective," she said, because the equipment is expensive and is available in only a few centers. In addition, although PS has a detection limit of around 5%, about 5% [...]

Charlotte Parker2012-07-06T16:39:32-07:00July, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

People ignorant of cancers caused by smoking

Source: medicalxpress.com Author: CancerResearch UK Cancer Research UK today reveals the shocking level of ignorance about smoking and cancer among the UK public in a comprehensive new survey of more than 4000 people. When asked to select cancers linked to smoking, more than 80 per cent of people did not know there was a link between smoking and eight different cancers. At least two thirds of the 4,099 people surveyed knew smoking caused cancers of the lung, mouth (oral) and throat (larynx and oesophagus). But less than 20 per cent knew tobacco was linked to leukaemia and cancers of the liver, pancreas, bowel (colorectum), kidney, bladder, cervix, and ovary. And less than 40 per cent knew that stomach cancer is linked to smoking. Cigarette smoke contains a toxic cocktail of more than 70 cancer-causing chemicals. When a cigarette is smoked, these chemicals can enter the bloodstream and travel around the body, increasing the risk of cancer in more than a dozen different locations. Professor Robert West, Cancer Research UK’s quit smoking expert, said: “Nearly everyone knows that smoking causes lung cancer. And smokers may often gamble with their chance of developing the disease. The addiction can lead people to reason that they might avoid lung cancer. But the odds aren’t good. And these alarming results show what could be a fatal level of ignorance about the toxic hit list from tobacco. There are only two options to eliminate illness caused by smoking: help smokers to quit and stop young people from [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-07-04T10:40:48-07:00July, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

The danger in smokeless tobacco products

Source: www.observer.ug (Uganda, Africa) Author: Racheal Ninsiima Tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death among adults and is a significant factor for several mouth, throat, lung and heart diseases. It is also a major contributor to morbidity. Globally, the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that tobacco causes about 71% of lung cancer, 42% of chronic respiratory diseases, 20% of global tuberculosis incidence and nearly 10% of cardiovascular diseases. But the issue of smokeless products that contain tobacco has for long been ignored. According to Dr Sheila Ndyanabangi, the tobacco control focal point person at the ministry of Health, schoolchildren are also consuming the products. This is because sometimes the ingredients are written in foreign languages which may not be understood by the consumers. What is smokeless tobacco? There are two basic forms of smokeless tobacco: snuff and chewing tobacco. An article ‘smokeless tobacco and how to quit’ on the website www.cancer.org, says snuff is finely ground tobacco packaged in cans and is sold either dry or moist. The nicotine in the snuff is absorbed through the tissues of the mouth as it is placed between the cheek and gum. Snuff is designed to be both “Smoke-free” and “spit-free” and is marketed as a discreet way to use tobacco. Chewed tobacco comes along as long strands of tobacco leaves that are chewed by the user who thereafter spits out the brown liquid (saliva mixed with tobacco). Types of smokeless tobacco Mouth fresheners: The commonest is Kuber. It is [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-07-04T10:33:00-07:00July, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Protein could provide target for new mouth cancer drugs

Source: www.netdoctor.co.uk Author: staff A protein that is overactive in mouth cancer could provide a new target for the development of drugs against the disease, researchers say. Scientists at Cancer Research UK's Cambridge Research Institute have discovered that a protein called FRMD4A is permanently switched on in cancer. Furthermore, the higher the levels of this protein, the more likely the disease is to spread and come back following treatment. Tests carried out in mice have revealed that by blocking FRMD4A, it may be possible to prevent mouth cancer from growing and spreading. Dr Stephen Goldie, whose findings are published in the journal Cancer Research, said: 'What's really exciting about this research is that we already have potential drugs that can be used to target this protein or compensate for the effects that it is having. 'These drugs could offer new options to patients where surgery and chemotherapy hasn't worked or could be used alongside them.' The research team now plan to carry out clinical trials involving these drugs to see if they work in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma - a particularly aggressive form of mouth cancer. There are various types of mouth cancer which affect more than 5,300 people in the UK each year.

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-07-03T17:47:55-07:00July, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Facing the facts: HPV-associated head and neck cancers get a second look

Source: www.curetoday.com Author: Charlotte Huff Kevin Pruyne knew he didn’t fit the stereotype of a hard drinker or heavy smoker who one day develops an oral cancer. The 52-year-old mechanic had been working a three-week stint in a remote section of northern Alaska, repairing trucks on an oil field, when he noticed a hard lump beneath his jaw while shaving. For nearly three months, as Pruyne was prescribed antibiotics for a possible infection and then later shuttled between physician specialists, he kept hearing the same thing: the lump could not be cancer. Pruyne only occasionally consumed alcohol and had never smoked. His wife, Kathy, began researching her husband’s symptoms, which included repetitive throat clearing, a nagging sensation that something was lodged in his throat and ringing in his ears. And the lump, which looked like the top half of an egg, felt solid to the touch. This wasn’t some inflamed lymph node from a lingering head cold, Kathy Pruyne says. “He had every symptom [of cancer], but nobody would listen to me.” Pruyne received a diagnosis of stage 4 oral cancer, which started with a tumor at the base of his tongue. He had already begun chemotherapy when he learned that researchers had discovered an association between the human papillomavirus (HPV) and increasing rates of oropharyngeal cancers. He asked that his tissue be tested; the results came back positive. Pruyne says he wanted to know whether his cancer was caused by HPV because “the prognosis is considerably better with HPV-positive cancer.” [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-07-03T17:34:09-07:00July, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Perspectives on Coping Among Patients With Head and Neck Cancer Receiving Radiation

Source: MedScape News Today Abstract and Introduction Abstract Purpose/Objectives: To describe coping among patients with laryngeal and oropharyngeal cancer during definitive radiation with or without chemotherapy. Research Approach: Qualitative content analysis conducted within a larger study. Setting: Two radiation oncology outpatient clinics in Baltimore, MD. Participants: 21 patients with oropharyngeal or laryngeal cancer. Methodologic Approach: Interviews with open-ended questions were conducted during treatment. Questions covered topics such as coping during treatment, treatment-related issues, and resources. Main Research Variables: Coping, treatment, and coping resources. Findings: Patients' self-assessments suggested they were coping or that coping was rough or upsetting. Issues that required coping varied over four time points. Physical side effects were problematic during and one month after treatment completion. Patients used coping to manage the uncertainties of physical and psychological aspects of their experience. Family and friend support was a common coping strategy used by patients, with the intensity of side effects corresponding with the support provided across time points. Conclusions: Findings confirm previous research, but also provide new information about ways in which patients with head and neck cancer cope with their illness experience. Emergent themes provide insight into patients' feelings, issues, and assistance received with coping. Interpretation: Patients with head and neck cancer need education on the amount and severity of side effects and should be appraised of potential difficulties with scheduling, driving, and other logistic issues. Patients also should be informed of helpful types of support and coping strategies. Additional research is needed to expand the findings related [...]

Charlotte Parker2012-06-27T10:08:59-07:00June, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Study links gum disease, HPV-status of head and neck cancer

Source: www.buffalo.edu/ubreporter Author: Sara R. Saldi Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), once almost exclusively associated with cancer of the cervix, is now linked to head and neck cancer. Furthermore, according to a new UB study just published in the Archives of Otolaryngology—Head & Neck Surgery, a JAMA publication, gum disease is associated with increased odds of tumors being HPV-positive. Primary investigator Mine Tezal, assistant professor of oral biology in the School of Dental Medicine, and a team of scientists from UB evaluated data from 124 patients diagnosed with primary head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) between 1999 and 2007. “The aim of the study was to test the presence of periodontitis, a persistent inflammatory process and HPV-status of HNSCC,” Tezal says. Of the 124 tumor samples Tezal and her team studied, 50 were positive for HPV-16 DNA and that subjects with HPV-positive tumors had a significantly higher severity of periodontitis when compared to subjects with HPV-negative tumors. According to the National Cancer Institute, there has been a steady increase in the prevalence of oropharyngeal cancers in the U.S. since 1973. This is despite the significant decline in tobacco use since 1965, a year after the U.S. Surgeon General issued the landmark Report on Smoking and Health. Tezal notes that this increase has mainly been attributed to oral HPV infection. Understanding the natural history of the oral HPV infection and targeting factors associated not only with its acquisition but also with its persistence, says Tezal, will lead to more effective strategies, [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-06-22T21:24:45-07:00June, 2012|Oral Cancer News|