Oral Cancer News – Page 167

Berry Nutrition

Source: www.foodproductdesign.com Author: Marie Spano, M.S., R.D., Contributing Editor Nutritionally speaking, good things come in sweet—and tart—little packages. Research is discovering berries pack a nutritional punch due to their vitamin, fiber and antioxidant content. Botanically speaking, berries are indehiscent fruits (they don’t need to be opened to release their seeds) that ripen through the ovary wall. However, any small, edible fruit with multiple seeds is typically considered a berry. In addition to lending flavor and brilliant colors to a wide variety of dishes, all berries are packed with an array of antioxidants, nutrients and potential health benefits. Berries that are especially antioxidant-rich include fresh crowberries, bilberries, black currants, wild strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, goji berries, sea buckthorn, blueberries and cranberries. However, the antioxidant content of berries varies based on the geographical growing condition. And, while fresh berries are an excellent source of antioxidants, total phenol content drops during processing. In fact, processed berry jams and syrup contain approximately half the antioxidant capacity of fresh berries, and juices show the greatest loss of anthocyanins and tannins due to the removal of seeds and skin (Nutrition Journal, 2010; 9:3; Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Jan 13, 2012). Botanical berries Shiny, scarlet-colored cranberries are rich in vitamin C, loaded with antioxidants, including flavonoids, and score higher in their ORAC score than many other fruits ("Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) of Selected Foods—2007", USDA ARS). Cranberries are perhaps best known for the role their juice plays in the prevention of urinary tract infections (UTI) [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-02-19T10:53:06-07:00February, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Use of carbon nanoparticles paves way to customized cancer therapy

Source: www.azonano.com Author: Cameron Chai A research study by Jeffrey Myers from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and James Tour from the Rice University has reported that a combination of carbon nanoparticles and existing drugs has the capability to improve head-and-neck cancer treatment, particularly when coupled with radiation therapy. The novel technique encapsulates chemotherapeutic drugs using carbon nanoparticles, which sequester the drugs until their delivery into the targeted cancer cells, opening the door to develop customized therapies based on the requirements of individual patients. The researchers have developed a simple technique to mix Cetuximab, a targeting agent, and paclitaxel, a hydrophobic active chemotherapy agent marketed as Taxol, with hydrophilic carbon clusters that are functionalized with polyethylene glycol or PEG-HCC. According to the researchers, Cetuximab, paclitaxel and PEG-HCC ingredients combine easily and form a water-soluble compound that targets tumors more effectively than Taxol, while eliminating the toxic effects of Cremophor EL and paclitaxel on neighboring healthy cells. Cremophor EL is a carrier based on castor oil that makes the hydrophobic paclitaxel into a water-soluble compound and delivers it to patients intravenously. Tour commented that the novel technique utilizes a very small quantity of chemotherapy drug. Myers informed that tests involving the use of Cetuximab, paclitaxel and PEG-HCC ingredients and radiation therapy on mice demonstrated a substantial increase in destroying tumors. The researchers’ hypothesis is paclitaxel detects the tumor cells to the radiation effects and Cetuximab and PEG-HCC augment the delivery of paclitaxel into the cancer cells, Myers [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-02-19T10:42:23-07:00February, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

HPV and on HPV oral cancers need to be treated differently to reduce toxicity and improve out comes in each type

The National Cancer Institute In a large randomized European clinical trial, accelerated radiation therapy for locally advanced, inoperable head and neck cancer—given either with or without chemotherapy—did not prolong the time to disease progression compared with standard radiation therapy plus concurrent chemotherapy, which has been the standard of care in Europe and the United States. Results from the study were published online January 18 in Lancet Oncology. Another trial published in 2010, by the U.S. Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG), showed similar results, but the two research teams have drawn different conclusions, which will affect ongoing clinical trials and, potentially, future research collaborations. The researchers, from the European Groupe d'Oncologie Radiothérapie Tête et Cou (GORTEC), compared two experimental regimens with standard chemoradiotherapy in the trial, called GORTEC 99-02. All participating patients had stage III or stage IV head and neck squamous-cell carcinoma that had not metastasized but that could not be removed surgically. The 244 patients in the conventional chemoradiotherapy arm received three cycles of chemotherapy with the drugs carboplatin and fluorouracil plus 70 Gy of radiation given over the standard 7 weeks. In one experimental arm, 245 patients received "accelerated chemoradiotherapy," which consisted of two cycles of the same chemotherapy drugs plus radiation therapy accelerated by 1 week. In the second experimental arm, 242 patients received only "very accelerated" radiation therapy, which consisted of a total dose of 64.8 Gy given over 3.5 weeks. The GORTEC trial results are somewhat difficult to interpret because the trial "didn't change just one variable, it changed two—in addition to the radiation regimen, it also changed the chemotherapy," explained Dr. Bhadrasain [...]

Charlotte Parker2012-02-16T15:19:01-07:00February, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Baseball Great Blames Smokeless Tobacco for Cancer

Source: Dr.Bicuspid.com February 14, 2012 -- Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder Tony Gwynn underwent surgery today in San Diego to remove a cancerous lesion in his mouth, according to an article on ESPN.com. This is the second time in two years that Gwynn has developed a malignant growth in his right cheek. He blames smokeless tobacco for the cancer; he dipped during his entire 20-year career with the San Diego Padres and for 10 years after that as well. Since the 2010 operation, however, Gwynn has not used smokeless tobacco, instead opting for a doctor-approved synthetic dip that he said "tasted awful." But last month, the cancer returned, according to ESPN. Doctors do not believe the cancer has spread outside of Gwynn's salivary gland, Gwynn's wife told ESPN. During the operation, doctors will conduct further biopsies of Gywnn's parotid gland, she said. Gwynn is currently the baseball coach at San Diego State. This news story was resourced by the Oral Cancer Foundation, and vetted for appropriateness and accuracy.

Charlotte Parker2012-02-15T17:22:02-07:00February, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

“Through With Chew 2012”

Source: LeaderAdvisor.com “Through With Chew 2012” is designed to raise awareness about the variety of new smokeless tobacco products (SLT), dangerous especially to young people, not only because the amount of nicotine absorbed from these products is substantially higher than the amount absorbed from a cigarette, but also because of the aggressive marketing of these new products by the tobacco companies. Some of the latest tobacco industry innovations include tobacco dispensed in oral pouches, dissolvable tobacco (orbs) and the electronic cigarette. Aggressive marketing includes the fact that the five largest tobacco manufacturers spent $547.9 million on SLT advertising and promotions in 2008, up from the previous year by 34 percent (www.cdc.gov). A goal of the education campaign this year is to educate parents, teachers, administrators and coaches about these new products, that the packaging often resembles candy packaging, and that they are actually tobacco-containing products. Tobacco industry documents themselves indicate that SLT products are aggressively marketed toward youth, and that the industry has a strategy to progressively move youth from candy or fruit flavored products to more robust varieties for the nicotine dependent user (www.tobaccofreekids.org). Because so many people die per year due to tobacco-related illness, the tobacco companies need to find replacement users for their products. Tobacco use, no matter what form, remains the leading cause of death in this country annually. Just as in cigarettes, the leading cancer-causing agents in SLT are the tobacco-specific nitrosamines, which are formed during the growing, curing, fermenting and aging of tobacco leaves. [...]

Charlotte Parker2012-02-15T10:49:15-07:00February, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

HPV Connected to Oral Cancers Too

Source: Chicago Tribune It's common knowledge that HPV — or human papillomavirus — is linked with cervical cancer, thanks to the controversy over the vaccine. But far fewer people know that this same sexually transmitted viral strain is connected to oral cancers, according to a new study, recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. For years, clinicians thought these kinds of cancer — affecting the tongue and tonsil areas — were almost exclusively caused by tobacco use, since they mostly struck heavy smokers and drinkers. But according to Dr. Maura Gillison, an oncologist and researcher at Ohio State University, it's not cigarettes that are the culprit, but oral sex. The good news: Most people with oral HPV will never develop cancer. Dr. Ezra Cohen, a specialist in head, neck, thyroid and salivary gland cancers at the University of Chicago, helped explain what it all means: Q. In general, mouth cancers are increasing? A. Oropharynx cancer is on the rise dramatically. It's gone up 3 percent a year for the last three decades and will surpass all other sites for head and neck cancers. Q. And HPV-positive oral cancers? A. They will surpass cervical cancers within the next three years. It's only relatively recently that we've come to realize the scope of HPV-related cancers. Q. What have we learned from this study? A. Quite a lot, actually. It told us about prevalence — that about 7 percent of adults in the U.S. are infected with oral HPV... and [...]

Charlotte Parker2012-02-15T10:45:22-07:00February, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

HPV a gender-neutral killer

Source: DailyPress.com Socially conservative lawmakers will likely repeal Virginia's requirement that schoolgirls get vaccinated against a sexually transmitted virus called HPV that can, and now will, kill many of them. They're repealing it in the name of sexual abstinence, family values and apple pie. In the name of keeping government out of private health-care decisions — and, yes, they say that with a straight face. A body count doesn't bother them. Virtually all cervical cancer is caused by the human papillomavirus, which infects about 80 percent of sexually active adults by age 40. Most don't even know they have it. But, in some women, the virus mutates cells lining the cervix, turning them into cancerous lesions. About 12,000 women each year are diagnosed with cervical cancer, and 4,000 of them will die of it, according to the National Cancer Institute. This vaccine would prevent nearly all that cancer. All that death. Yet for moral reasons, not medical, the GOP-controlled House voted last month to eliminate the state's 2007 requirement that girls receive the vaccine before enrolling in sixth grade. (The vaccine is most effective before the onset of sexual activity.) The bill now goes to the GOP-controlled Senate, where it's also expected to pass. Lawmakers in Richmond weren't swayed by appeals to conscience, to logic or to medicine. They didn't care that the law already allows parents to decline the vaccine for their child for any reason whatsoever. They even rejected an amendment by a socially conservative colleague, Del. Chris [...]

Charlotte Parker2012-02-15T10:16:31-07:00February, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Alcohol withdrawal syndrome worsens cancer surgery outcomes

Source: www.oncologyreport.com/ Author: Damian McNamara Patients with head and neck cancers who develop alcohol withdrawal syndrome perioperatively experience significantly more complications after undergoing surgery, a large database analysis indicates. The presence of withdrawal symptoms was associated with a 25% incidence of postoperative complications, compared with 14% among patients who abused alcohol and 7% among those without alcohol abuse, Dr. Dane J. Genther said at the Triological Society’s Combined Sections Meeting. The risk for wound complications was nearly double in this population (odds ratio, 1.9). Dr. Genther, a resident in otolaryngologyhead and neck surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, and his associates used ICD-9 codes in the Nationwide Inpatient Sample discharge database to identify more than 92,000 patients who underwent an ablative procedure for head and neck cancer in 2003-2008. The retrospective, cross-sectional study included patients with malignant oral cavity, laryngeal, hypopharyngeal, and oropharyngeal neoplasms. In a multivariate analysis, alcohol withdrawal syndrome was significantly more likely for patients undergoing a major procedure (OR, 2.0) and was significantly associated with Medicare payer status and a need for additional health care following discharge, Dr. Genther said. The researchers found no significant association between alcohol withdrawal syndrome and increased risk for postoperative infections or in-hospital mortality, but there was a significant increase in hospital stay and related costs associated with the syndrome. Having a major procedure and experiencing alcohol withdrawal contributed approximately $15,000 per admission in 2011 U.S. dollars, Dr. Genther said. The findings point to a need for alternatives to current alcohol [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-02-14T22:35:07-07:00February, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

IMRT provides better QOL in head and neck cancers

Source: www.oncologyreport.com/ AUthor: Miriam E. Tucker Intensity-modulated radiotherapy is more expensive than 3-D–conformal radiotherapy is and has not been shown to improve standard outcomes in patients with head and neck cancer. But it results in better quality of life. These findings from two studies presented at the Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium raise the question: Does improved quality of life justify the greater expense of intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), which has been rapidly adopted for the treatment of head and neck cancer? Because IMRT spares surrounding tissues, it reduces the likelihood of developing xerostomia, noted Dr. Nathan C. Sheets, who presented data on billing charges associated with IMRT, compared with 3-D–conformal radiotherapy (CRT). IMRT is reimbursed at a substantially higher level than CRT, however, and it is unclear how to assess this cost relative to other aspects of care in this population, said Dr. Sheets, a radiation oncology resident at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. A separate study presented by Dr. Allen M. Chen compared quality of life in patients who received IMRT vs. CRT. "There’s very little data to suggest IMRT is better than non-IMRT using traditional end points. But the question is: How do you define ‘better’?" said Dr. Chen, director of the radiation oncology residency training program at the University of California, Davis in Sacramento. "IMRT might not particularly involve better cure rates, but it could make a difference in terms of other end points, such as quality of life, which we all know [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-02-12T09:20:40-07:00February, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Head and neck cancer in Canada: trends 1992 to 2007

Source: oto.sagepub.com/ Authors: Johnson-Obaseki et al. Objectives: The objective of this study was to investigate the changes in the epidemiology (incidence, age at diagnosis, and survival) of head and neck cancers (HNCs) in Canada in the past decade. Study Design: Analysis of a national cancer data registry. Setting: All Canadian hospital institutions treating head and neck cancer. Subjects and Methods. Using Canadian Cancer Registry data (1992-2007), the authors categorized HNCs into 3 groups according to their possible association with human papillomavirus (HPV): oropharynx (highly associated), oral cavity (moderate association), and “other” (hypopharynx, larynx, and nasopharynx), which are not HPV related. They calculated age-adjusted incidence, median age at diagnosis, and survival for each category. Results: Oropharynx tumors increased in incidence over the study time period (annual percent change: 1.50% men, 0.8% women), whereas oral cavity tumors decreased (2.10% men, 0.4% women), as did other HNCs (decreased by 3.0% for men and 1.9% for women). The median age at diagnosis for oropharynx cancer decreased by an average of 0.23 years/y. There was no change for oral cavity tumors but an increase for other HNCs of 0.12 years/y. Survival for patients with oropharynx cancer increased by 1.5%/y but was significant for men only. Survival for patients with oral cavity and other HNCs also increased in men only by 0.9%/y and 0.25%/y, respectively. Conclusion: Oropharynx cancer, which is highly correlated with HPV infection, is increasing in incidence in Canada, with a decreasing age at diagnosis and an improvement in survival. This could have implications [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-02-12T09:09:35-07:00February, 2012|Oral Cancer News|