Oral Cancer News

Star Scientific – filed application with U.S. FDA for approval to market a moist-snuff product

Source: snus-news.blogspot.com Author: staff Star Scientific, Inc. filed an application yesterday, February 2nd with the U.S. Food & Administration (FDA) for approval to market a moist-snuff product, Stonewall Moist-BDL™, as a modified-risk tobacco product (MRTP). The company believes that this is the first application filed with the FDA for approval of a tobacco product in a longstanding market segment. The data submitted in the application to the Center for Tobacco Products at FDA document TSNA levels in Stonewall Moist-BDL™ that are below limits of detection, or "BDL", by current standards of measure. Recent findings in the form of test results from an independent international laboratory validate the extraordinarily low levels in recently submitted samples of Stonewall Moist-BDL™, which the company believes are the lowest found anywhere in the world. The company pointed out that this application is particularly significant in two ways. First, moist snuff product sales accounted for roughly 75% of the total smokeless tobacco market in 2009. Moist snuff sales increased from 31,500 metric tons and $3.3 billion in 2004 to 37,990 metric tons and $4.64 billion in 2009 – an average annual growth rate of roughly 4%, and a 41% overall increase in sales over the six-year period. The moist snuff market segment has been well established for many decades, and is one of the oldest tobacco product categories in the United States. Second, tobacco-specific nitrosamine (TSNA) levels among the moist snuff products with the largest sales volume in 2009 averaged over 10,000 parts per billion in [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-02-06T08:36:25-07:00February, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Global cancer statistics

Source: caonline.amcancersoc.org Authors: Ahmedin Jemal, DVM, PhD et al. The global burden of cancer continues to increase largely because of the aging and growth of the world population alongside an increasing adoption of cancer-causing behaviors, particularly smoking, in economically developing countries. Based on the GLOBOCAN 2008 estimates, about 12.7 million cancer cases and 7.6 million cancer deaths are estimated to have occurred in 2008; of these, 56% of the cases and 64% of the deaths occurred in the economically developing world. Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer death among females, accounting for 23% of the total cancer cases and 14% of the cancer deaths. Lung cancer is the leading cancer site in males, comprising 17% of the total new cancer cases and 23% of the total cancer deaths. Breast cancer is now also the leading cause of cancer death among females in economically developing countries, a shift from the previous decade during which the most common cause of cancer death was cervical cancer. Further, the mortality burden for lung cancer among females in developing countries is as high as the burden for cervical cancer, with each accounting for 11% of the total female cancer deaths. Although overall cancer incidence rates in the developing world are half those seen in the developed world in both sexes, the overall cancer mortality rates are generally similar. Cancer survival tends to be poorer in developing countries, most likely because of a combination of a late stage [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-02-06T08:31:35-07:00February, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Gene expression profiling predicts the development of oral cancer

Source: cancerpreventionresearch.aacrjournals.org Authors: Pierre Saintigny et al. Patients with oral premalignant lesion (OPL) have a high risk of developing oral cancer. Although certain risk factors, such as smoking status and histology, are known, our ability to predict oral cancer risk remains poor. The study objective was to determine the value of gene expression profiling in predicting oral cancer development. Gene expression profile was measured in 86 of 162 OPL patients who were enrolled in a clinical chemoprevention trial that used the incidence of oral cancer development as a prespecified endpoint. The median follow-up time was 6.08 years and 35 of the 86 patients developed oral cancer over the course. Gene expression profiles were associated with oral cancer–free survival and used to develop multivariate predictive models for oral cancer prediction. We developed a 29-transcript predictive model which showed marked improvement in terms of prediction accuracy (with 8% predicting error rate) over the models using previously known clinicopathologic risk factors. On the basis of the gene expression profile data, we also identified 2,182 transcripts significantly associated with oral cancer risk–associated genes (P value

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-02-04T18:13:41-07:00February, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Assessment of human papillomavirus in lung tumor tissue

By: Journal of the National Cancer Institute Affiliations of authors: Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, NCI/NIH/DHHS, Bethesda, MD (JK, MR, AKC, AMG, AH, PRT, SW, MTL, NEC); Department of Internal Medicine, Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center–James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH (MLG, HS); DDL Diagnostic Laboratory, Voorburg, the Netherlands (L-JVD, WGVQ, LS); EPOCA Research Center, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy (LT, PAB); Epidemiology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Mangiagalli e Regina Elena, Milan, Italy (LT, PAB) Background Lung cancer kills more than 1 million people worldwide each year. Whereas several human papillomavirus (HPV)–associated cancers have been identified, the role of HPV in lung carcinogenesis remains controversial. Methods We selected 450 lung cancer patients from an Italian population–based case–control study, the Environment and Genetics in Lung Cancer Etiology. These patients were selected from those with an adequate number of unstained tissue sections and included all those who had never smoked and a random sample of the remaining patients. We used real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to test specimens from these patients for HPV DNA, specifically for E6 gene sequences from HPV16 and E7 gene sequences from HPV18. We also tested a subset of 92 specimens from all never-smokers and a random selection of smokers for additional HPV types by a PCR-based test for at least 54 mucosal HPV genotypes. DNA was extracted from ethanol- or formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumor tissue under strict PCR clean [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-02-04T18:07:12-07:00February, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Does chocolate hold the key to cure HPV?

Source: Yahoo News Indulgent chocolate treats may be the best-known and most widely appreciated product of the cacao tree, but new scientific research from New York Based Cacao Biotechnologies is uncovering potential new applications for the antioxidant-rich beans which could spur an innovative approach to treating human papillomavirus (HPV), a precursor to cervical cancer. The human papillomavirus is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the United States, with an estimated 24 million active cases and 5.5 million new cases each year, according to the National Cancer Institute. HPV is the leading cause of cervical cancer in woman with more than 12,000 cases reported in the U.S. each year. HPV vaccines approved by the Food and Drug Administration are available, but they are not a cure and they can’t effectively prevent all strains of HPV infection in those who are sexually active. Existing vaccines are only proven effective against a small number of high-risk, cancer-causing HPV strains and are not free of serious side effects including convulsions and paralysis. While condoms can reduce the risk of HPV infection, the virus can still be transmitted simply through skin contact of areas not covered by the condom. Vaccination will not cure someone who is already infected with the virus, so even with massive public health education campaigns, HPV will not soon be eradicated because it is so widely spread in the adult population. According to Penny Hitchcock, Chief of the Sexually Transmitted Diseases Branch of the U.S. government’s National Division of [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-02-04T12:16:39-07:00February, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Parotid-sparing intensity modulated versus conventional radiotherapy in head and neck cancer (PARSPORT): a phase 3 multicentre randomised controlled trial

Source: www.thelancet.com Authors: Dr Christopher M Nutting FRCR et al. Background: Xerostomia is the most common late side-effect of radiotherapy to the head and neck. Compared with conventional radiotherapy, intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) can reduce irradiation of the parotid glands. We assessed the hypothesis that parotid-sparing IMRT reduces the incidence of severe xerostomia. Methods: We undertook a randomised controlled trial between Jan 21, 2003, and Dec 7, 2007, that compared conventional radiotherapy (control) with parotid-sparing IMRT. We randomly assigned patients with histologically confirmed pharyngeal squamous-cell carcinoma (T1—4, N0—3, M0) at six UK radiotherapy centres between the two radiotherapy techniques (1:1 ratio). A dose of 60 or 65 Gy was prescribed in 30 daily fractions given Monday to Friday. Treatment was not masked. Randomisation was by computer-generated permuted blocks and was stratified by centre and tumour site. Our primary endpoint was the proportion of patients with grade 2 or worse xerostomia at 12 months, as assessed by the Late Effects of Normal Tissue (LENT SOMA) scale. Analyses were done on an intention-to-treat basis, with all patients who had assessments included. Long-term follow-up of patients is ongoing. This study is registered with the International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial register, number ISRCTN48243537. Findings: 47 patients were assigned to each treatment arm. Median follow-up was 44·0 months (IQR 30·0—59·7). Six patients from each group died before 12 months and seven patients from the conventional radiotherapy and two from the IMRT group were not assessed at 12 months. At 12 months xerostomia side-effects were reported in [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-02-04T12:18:59-07:00February, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Wrong way to go smoke-free

Source: Newsobserver.com By: Joseph G.L. Lee CHAPEL HILL -- So, now R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company wants to help smokers "break free" from tobacco? That statement should make parents, health care providers and smokers nervous. Last month, Reynolds promoted its Camel Snus (a "spit-free" tobacco pouch) with advertisements in national magazines that read "If you've decided to quit tobacco use, we support you," under a large "2011 Smoke-free Resolution" banner. Reynolds then offered its smoke-free snus as the solution. For smokers, the majority of whom try to quit every year, the message should be to quit tobacco use, not to substitute one form of cancer for another. No safe form of tobacco use exists. Smokers who try tobacco snus products are at high risk of becoming addicted to both cigarettes and snus, thus continuing or even adding to their risk for lung, bladder, breast, cervical, oral and pancreatic cancer. In addition to running these misleading ads in People, Time and Rolling Stone, R.J. Reynolds is continuing a long-standing practice of targeting vulnerable populations such as young people, African-Americans and gays and lesbians. Last year, research in the medical journal Pediatrics implicated Reynolds' "Camel No. 9" campaign in an increase in smoking among young teenage girls. The tobacco industry has long targeted African-Americans by focusing on marketing and so-called "corporate social responsibility" strategies to buy favor with civil rights organizations. Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco estimated that the approximately $25 million in tobacco industry corporate philanthropy that funded African-American [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-02-03T12:09:00-07:00February, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Jimmy Bradley is being treated for oral cancer

Source: NY Times Author: Sam Sifton Jimmy Bradley, the chef and an owner of the Red Cat and the Harrison, two restaurants in Manhattan, said he is recovering from oral cancer, and will not be moving forward with plans to open J & S Food Hall in the Nolitan Hotel. “It’s a bad break,” he said in a telephone interview on Tuesday morning, his voice only slightly thicker than its usual laconic drawl. “But long-term the prognosis is pretty good. I just think at this point the best thing for me is to concentrate on my health and on the livelihood of the 100 people I already have working for me, not on hiring 50 people for a new business.” Mr. Bradley, 43, said that in late October his dentist spotted a tumor in the center of his tongue. He sought four subsequent opinions from oncologists, and underwent surgery to remove the growth at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan on Nov. 17. Three days later, he said, he returned to the kitchen of the Harrison, where he had recently started cooking again. Radiation treatments for the cancer are ongoing. “I was super bummed for the first month or so,” Mr. Bradley said. He struggled to regain his ability to speak, and was terrified that he would lose his ability to taste. Some of his palate has already returned, he said. “Every day is a little better,” he said. “It’s like being a little kid and learning again what coffee tastes like, or [...]

Charlotte Parker2011-02-04T06:18:19-07:00February, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Tobacco industry adapts to world of fewer smokers

Source: The Tennessean Author: Anita Wadhwani By any name or variety you choose — call it snuff, dip, chew or plug — smokeless tobacco is making a comeback, and Tennessee farmers, factory workers and consumers are playing a major role in the renewed buzz. Farmers here and in Kentucky who once made a good living off raising burley tobacco for cigarettes have had to eliminate 40 percent of acreage devoted to that crop as demand has declined, while farmers who cultivate the dark tobacco used for chewing have been able to expand their fields by 22 percent in three years. Now, the massive marketing muscle of the nation's biggest tobacco companies — Altria Group and its subsidiary Philip Morris USA, which owns the 100-year-old U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co. factory within view of the state Capitol, and R.J. Reynolds, which runs its smokeless operations out of a Memphis factory — are battling for market dominance. Together, the two manufacturers already control 90 percent of the American smokeless tobacco sector with brands such as U.S. Smokeless' Skoal and R.J. Reynolds' Kodiak. They're competing with new fruit- and mint-flavored products (some packaged to look like miniature cigarette packs) to attract a new generation of consumers and entice ex-smokers looking for nicotine- infused alternatives. Former cigarette smokers like Dave Kenner, 31, a construction worker making a pit stop at a West Nashville convenience store last week, said he switched to Red Seal Wintergreen smokeless because heavily taxed cigarettes cost too much — nearly $300 [...]

Charlotte Parker2011-02-04T12:24:02-07:00February, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

New surgical approach can remove throat tumor and rebuild trachea

Source: www.news-medical.net Author: staff Using a novel surgical approach, it's possible to rebuild the trachea and preserve a patient's voice after removing an invasive throat tumor, according to a new report from Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. This case study is the first of its kind to not only document a successful technique to create a fully functional trachea, or windpipe, but also report a rare type of malignant tumor in an adult's trachea. Most commonly, this type of tumor is seen in newborns and very rarely occurs in the neck, says lead study author Samer Al-Khudari, M.D., with the Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery at Henry Ford Hospital. "In this case, the patient's tumor had spread to the trachea, thyroid gland, muscles around the thyroid gland and nerves in the area," says Dr. Al-Khudari. According to head and neck cancer surgeon Tamer A. Ghanem, M.D., Ph.D., who led the Henry Ford surgical team, the easiest approach would have been to remove the trachea and the voice box, given the tumor's proximity to the larynx and other surrounding structures. With this method, however, the patient would no longer be able to speak or swallow normally. Instead, the surgical team took another approach. Using tissue and bone from the patient's arm, they were able to reconstruct the trachea, restoring airflow through the trachea and saving the patient's voice. "We had to think outside the box to not only safely remove the tumor, but to allow for optimum functional outcome," says [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-02-04T12:27:54-07:00January, 2011|Oral Cancer News|