Oral Cancer News

The one thing Rick Perry did right: A shot that stops cancer, the politics of sex and HPV prevention

Source: CultureMap.com I don’t like Rick Perry — I never voted for him and worked actively to try to oust him — but in 2006 he tried to do something good for young girls in Texas. He tried to mandate vaccinations for sixth grade girls with a drug that prevented HPV (Human Papilloma Virus), the devil behind cervical cancer. This virus is responsible for the deaths of 4,000 young women each year in the United States. When Perry announced his mandate, the shit hit the fan and his conservative base (which is most of the state) went ballistic. The social conservatives objected to the vaccine as an infringement on parental rights, and small government conservatives were alarmed at Perry’s aggressive use of executive power. Needless to say, Perry backed off, and the vaccine was off to a miserable start. Six years later, fewer than 33 percent of girls ages 11 to 26 have received all three doses of the HPV vaccine, and Perry is still paying a political price for it. Not just for girls Well, it now appears that boys aren’t “immune” from HPV’s effects. After all, girls have to get infected from somewhere, right? Doctors have observed that young men were getting throat cancers that were usually seen in older, tobacco-using men. Also, there was an increase in anal cancers. Who do you think the culprit behind this was? HPV. It turns out that HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease: between 75 and 80 percent of [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-12-02T12:39:52-07:00December, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

HPV vaccine myths put health, lives at risk, say health leaders: Airing the facts

Source: TheNationsHealth.org Vaccination rates for human papillomavirus are lagging for teens, and a complicated web of confusion and misinformation may be to blame, according to public health leaders. Several strains of HPV can cause cervical cancer, and two vaccines, Gardasil and Cervarix, have been shown conclusively to defend against those strains. The Food and Drug Administration recommended in 2006 that girls receive the vaccine before they become sexually active so that they are protected at the outset. In 2009, FDA approved the use of the vaccine for boys as well. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 6 million people in the U.S. become infected with HPV each year and each year about 12,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer, leading to about 4,000 deaths. Studies have shown the vaccine to be overwhelmingly safe, CDC said. As of June 2011, about 35 million doses of Gardasil had been distributed in the United States. CDC’s adverse event tracking mechanisms reported about 18,000 adverse events, 92 percent of which were nonserious events, such as fainting, swelling at the injection site and headache. Sixty-eight deaths were reported, but there is “no unusual pattern or clustering to the deaths that would suggest that they were caused by the vaccine, and some reports indicated a cause of death unrelated to vaccination,” CDC said. And yet, fed perhaps by misinformation or squeamishness about the idea of their children becoming sexually active, some parents are opting not to vaccinate, and the vaccination rates are [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-12-01T12:41:51-07:00December, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

NephRx Licenses Patent for Oral Mucositis Treatment

Source: Dr.Bicuspid.com November 30, 2011 -- NephRx has gained rights to a U.S. patent related to the company's novel peptide NX002, which is being developed for the treatment of oral mucositis and diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Rights to U.S. patent No. 8,017,576, "Methods and compositions to treat mucositis" -- which protects NX002 and related compounds -- have been exclusively licensed to NephRx by the University of Chicago, where the drug was discovered in the laboratory of Dr. F. Gary Toback. Previously, NephRx reported that NX002 had demonstrated significant efficacy when tested in well-validated animal models of oral mucositis. Animals treated with NX002 had reduced levels of oral ulceration and a more rapid recovery, with no evidence of toxicity. The company is preparing to conduct detailed toxicity studies necessary to move forward with the NX002 clinical program, according to NephRx President and CEO James Koziarz NX002 is a peptide derived from the naturally occurring growth factor AMP-18, which has been shown to stimulate the growth of epithelial cells and promote mucosal wound healing after injury. This news story was resourced by the Oral Cancer Foundation, and vetted for appropriateness and accuracy.

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-12-01T12:31:52-07:00December, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Europe Bans X-Ray Body Scanners

Source: AVWeb.com The European Commission decided in November to ban airport body scanning X-ray backscatter machines after studies found a small number of cancer cases linked to use of the devices. The decision affects all airports in Europe, with an exception for U.K. airports that will be allowed to test them, but not deploy them permanently. According to the European Commission, "only security scanners which do not use X-ray technology are added to the list of authorized methods for passenger screening at EU airports." The commission does approve of full non-X-ray body scanners (radio wave scanners are among those used in the U.S.) when operated under specific guidelines and restrictions. In the U.S., the TSA uses more than 250 backscatter machines at the nation's 100 busiest airports and is unmoved by Europe's position. The degree of cancer risk varies somewhat depending on the source ... as does the degree of usefulness of the machines themselves. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, backscatter machines bring a cancer risk of one in 400 million. Research reported by PBS Newshour/ProPublica states that the risk of developing cancer from the machines is "anywhere from six to 100" passengers per year. In a detailed paper submitted to the White House, University of California researchers said that because backscatter X-ray energy is absorbed mainly by the skin and underlying tissue, the skin dosage may be dangerously high in localized areas. The TSA says the amount of radiation emitted by a backscatter machine is similar [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-12-01T12:22:27-07:00December, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

New Report: States Slash Tobacco Prevention Funding by 36%, Spend Less than 2 Cents of Every Tobacco Dollar to Fight Tobacco Use

Source: TobaccoFreeKids.org WASHINGTON, DC – States have slashed funding for programs to reduce tobacco use by 12 percent in the past year and by 36 percent over the past four years, threatening the nation’s progress against tobacco, according to a report released today by a coalition of public health organizations. The states this year (Fiscal Year 2012) will collect a near-record $25.6 billion in revenue from the 1998 state tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, but will spend only 1.8 percent of it – $456.7 million – on programs to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit. This means the states are spending less than two cents of every dollar in tobacco revenue to fight tobacco use. Both the total amounts states are spending on tobacco prevention programs and the percentage of tobacco revenue spent on these programs are the lowest since 1999, when the states first received significant tobacco settlement funds. With nearly 20 percent of Americans still smoking, the report warns that continued progress against tobacco use – the nation’s number one cause of preventable death – is at risk unless states increase funding for tobacco prevention and cessation programs. The report also calls on states to increase tobacco taxes and, for states that have yet to do so, to enact strong smoke-free laws that apply to all workplaces, restaurants and bars. The report further calls on the federal government to launch a national tobacco prevention and cessation campaign, including a mass-media campaign and support for telephone quitlines, [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-12-01T12:15:26-07:00December, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Use and Acceptance of HPV Vaccine Still a Work in Progress

Source: National Cancer Institute A bellwether moment in the history of cancer prevention came in 2006 when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first vaccine to prevent cervical cancer. The vaccine, Gardasil, protects against the two primary cancer-causing, or oncogenic, types of the human papillomavirus (HPV)—HPV-16 and HPV-18. These types are responsible for more than 70 percent of cervical cancer cases worldwide. In 2009, the FDA approved a second HPV vaccine, Cervarix, which also targets HPV-16 and HPV-18. Gardasil and Cervarix, vaccines that protect against the two primary cancer-causing types of the human papillomavirus (HPV), entail a three-shot regimen, with each dose delivered several months apart. But what has transpired since these two vaccines received regulatory blessing in the United States has reaffirmed something that cancer and public health researchers have appreciated for some time: The translation of basic research to the clinic doesn’t end with FDA approval of a new drug or treatment. In many respects, FDA approval is just a beginning. In March 2007, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) gave its strongest recommendation for HPV vaccination for females ages 9 to 26, which is the FDA-approved indication for Gardasil. Cervarix is approved for females ages 10 to 25. Both vaccines entail a three-shot regimen, with the doses delivered several months apart. According to the most recent data, only 44 percent of adolescent girls 13 to 17 years of age have received at least one dose of the vaccine. Completion rates for the three-shot [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-11-30T10:47:00-07:00November, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Trial Confirms Efficacy of HPV Vaccine, Shows Cross-Protection

Source: National Cancer Institute End-of-trial results from a trial testing Cervarix, a vaccine against human papillomavirus (HPV) types 16 and 18, showed that the vaccine continued to provide substantial protection against cervical precancers 4 years after vaccination. Cervarix provided almost complete protection in young women who had no evidence of exposure to HPV at the time of vaccination. The vaccine provided less protection for the total vaccinated cohort and was less effective with increasing age at vaccination. These findings reflect the vaccine’s lack of effectiveness against infections acquired before vaccination. The vaccine also partially protected women against four types of HPV that are not targeted by the vaccine. (Although HPV-16 and -18 cause about 70 percent of cervical cancers worldwide, as many as 15 HPV types can cause cancer.) These results from the PATRICIA trial (Papilloma Trial against Cancer in Young Adults) were published online November 9 in Lancet Oncology in two separate papers, available here and here. The PATRICIA trial enrolled 18,644 young women between the ages of 15 and 25 from 14 countries. The participants were randomly assigned to receive either three doses of Cervarix or three doses of a hepatitis A vaccine as a control. Results from the interim analysis, published in July 2009, showed that the vaccine greatly reduced the risk of grade 2 cervical intraepithelial neoplasias and higher (CIN2+). The new analysis shows that, 4 years after vaccination, Cervarix provided complete protection against grade 3 cervical intraepithelial neoplasias or higher (CIN3+) associated with HPV-16 and [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-11-29T18:55:35-07:00November, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Men in doubt still don’t get checked out!

Source: www.easier.com Author: staff Men are almost twice as likely to die from mouth cancer and statistics consistently show they are less likely to consult with a doctor than their female counterparts. But with rates of incidence and mortality rising at an incredible rate, men can no longer afford to ignore the increasing threat of a killer disease. Mouth cancer cases in the UK have almost doubled in the last decade, rising to 6,000 every year with almost 4,000 of those coming from men and although there are some clear early warning signs many postpone seeking professional advice, leaving fatality rates of the disease at 50 per cent. This is supported by data from the Office of National Statistics, which reveals that women are twice as likely to see their GP as men, visiting the doctors an average of six times a year compared to just three for men. Chief Executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, Dr Nigel Carter, puts this failing down to a lack of general cancer health knowledge in men and warns that ignoring the issue can lead to severe problems in future. Dr Carter said: "For almost all types of cancer, men will die more often than women. There's no biological reason that this should be the case so the reason must be purely down to the timing of diagnosis. Unfortunately, when men do go to their GP their condition may be at a far more advanced stage and therefore much more difficult to treat. [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-11-27T14:52:41-07:00November, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Lab at Hershey Medical Center identifies a virus that could kill cancer

Source: www.pennlive.com Author: Nick Malawskey, The Patriot-News This is not the kind of lab we picture when we think of world-changing science. It’s not the clean, spotless modern laboratories of television or movies. It’s a cluttered, workaday environment, where plastic test tubes rub shoulders with petri dishes and tubs of chemicals on busy shelves. The white board isn’t covered with the scrawl of complex mathematical formulas, but reminders of whose turn it is to buy the doughnuts. But it is here, on the fifth floor of the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, where Dr. Craig Meyers and his team might have conducted a miracle. What he and his lab claim discovery of is breathtaking in its simplicity. A common virus, omnipresent in the world. When it infects humans, it does no harm. But introduce it into certain kinds of tumors and the virus appears to go wild, liquefying every cancer cell it comes into contact with. It’s the type of discovery that could change the world. And like all great stories of scientific discovery, it begins with a moment of sublime serendipity, not unlike Isaac Newton nodding off beneath an apple tree. A Tiny Virus It’s one of the smallest, simplest viruses and yet adeno-associated virus type 2, or AAV2, could be among the most important agents in modern medicine. That’s because it’s almost perfectly imperfect. For whatever reason, through its evolution, AAV2 developed what would, in most cases, be a dead end — it cannot easily reproduce. [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-11-27T14:38:16-07:00November, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Acupuncture can prevent radiation-induced chronic dry mouth

Source: http://www.virtualmedicalcentre.com Author: staff When given alongside radiation therapy for head and neck cancer, acupuncture has shown for the first time to reduce the debilitating side effect of xerostomia, according to new research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center. The study, published in the journal Cancer, reported findings from the first randomised controlled trial of acupuncture for the prevention of xerostomia. Xerostomia, or severe dry mouth, is characterised by reduced salivary flow, which commonly affects patients receiving radiotherapy for head and neck cancer. Most current treatments are palliative and offer limited benefit, according to Lorenzo Cohen, Ph.D., professor in MD Anderson's Departments of General Oncology and Behavioral Science and director of the Integrative Medicine Program. The condition impairs quality of life for patients, as it creates difficulties eating, speaking and sleeping, while also increasing the risk for oral infections. "There have been a number of small studies examining the benefits of acupuncture after xerostomia develops, but no one previously examined if it could prevent xerostomia," said Cohen, who is also the study's principal investigator. "We found incorporating acupuncture alongside radiotherapy diminished the incidence and severity of this side effect." Cohen and his colleagues examined 86 patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma, treated at Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center. Forty patients were randomised to acupuncture and 46 to the standard of care. Those in the treatment arm received acupuncture therapy three times per week during the seven-week course of radiotherapy. Patients were evaluated before [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-11-27T14:18:34-07:00November, 2011|Oral Cancer News|