Oral Cancer News – Page 224

Government Certified: What’s Causing Cancer — Research Summary

CANCER-INSIDE AND OUT: Cancer is one of the most prominent diseases in the world. According to the National Cancer Institute, "cancer is a renegade system of growth inside the human body. The changes that must occur inside for cancer to flourish are genetic changes, but factors outside the body also play a role." Outside factors, such as: diet, smoking, alcohol use, hormone levels, and even exposure to certain chemicals and viruses over time, can all work together to create defects and maturation in cells. Furthermore, they go on to explain that environmental, in science, means, everything outside the body, in the environment, that enters and interacts with it. This type of exposure can also include things such as: sunshine, rain, water, food intake, and workplace environment. Researchers have concluded approximately 67 percent of all cancers are due in some part to the environment. Feeling like you can't go anywhere now without being faced with cancer? The good news is these risks can decrease significantly if lifestyle changes are made. The National Cancer Institute suggests about one third of all cancer deaths could have been prevented if lifestyle changes were made, such as avoiding or completely eliminating tobacco and alcohol use. NOT JUST ON THE OUTSIDE: Environmental factors are not the only culprit when it comes to cancer. A lot of cancer is gene related and based on our composition from within. Random gene changes occurring now, as well as gene changes that occur from cell growth and division, accumulate and [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-10-08T11:32:47-07:00October, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Cancer answer? Researchers are working on a more individual approach to each tumour

Source: macleans.ca By: Kate Lanau This summer, Vancouver cancer researchers announced a medical first. Presented with an extremely rare case of tongue cancer—it was so unusual there were no standard treatments to use—they sequenced the DNA of the patient’s tumour, and discovered similarities with another cancer (renal cell carcinoma, a type of kidney cancer) for which there’s a known therapy. The patient received drugs tailored to these results, and the cancer stopped growing for several months. Steven Jones, a molecular biologist with the B.C. Cancer Agency Genome Sciences Centre and one of two lead researchers on the study, calls it a breakthrough. It isn’t standard in hospitals to genetically sequence a patient’s tumour, but “the goal would be, maybe in 10 years, this would be routine,” he says. Dr. Leif Ellisen, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, is working to bring tumour genotyping from the lab into the clinic. He and a team have designed a system that can screen relatively large numbers of patients for a variety of mutations across different cancer genes. These genetic mutations are a tumour’s “Achilles’ heel,” noted a recent editorial in the journal EMBO Molecular Medicine. “Every tumour has a flaw,” says Ellisen, who’ll be discussing his work as part of the Scienta Health Series in Toronto on Oct. 7, and his goal is to find it. It’s the mantra of a growing number of researchers, who tout personalized medicine—treatments tailored to each individual—as the future of cancer care. Traditionally, cancer treatment [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-10-08T10:18:00-07:00October, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Virtual Fine Art Gallery TheArtGallerist.com Launches to Fulfill Dream of Cancer Survivor

Laguna Beach, CA, October 08, 2010 — For cancer survivor Brian Siedlecki, doing something meaningful and important is a requirement. With a clean bill of health and a mission to create something that would give him total fulfillment, he launched TheArtGallerist.com, a virtual fine art gallery based in the beautiful community of Laguna Beach that sells juried original art and fine art prints. “I want to make original fine art accessible to the millions of art collectors and buyers around the world who understand the effect art can have on one’s environment, emotions, perspective, and who appreciate those that have the talent to express themselves through their art,” said Siedlecki. As a result of being diagnosed three and half years ago with oral cancer, Brian had to make a difficult choice and retire. The treatment impacted his ability to speak clearly, so when deciding what he would like to do next, he chose to merge his passion for art and his success in business to launch a virtual company, TheArtGallerist.com. TheArtGallerist.com only represents a limited number of artists whose work must first be approved by a panel of professional artists and critics, ensuring only the highest quality for its customers. Artists must exhibit extraordinary technical skills, an authentic, distinctive style along with a unique and personal interpretation or point of view. TheArtGallerist.com is divided into three separate fine art “exhibits” – With one for Student artists, a second for Emerging artists, and a third for Professional artists, visitors are provided [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-10-08T09:39:12-07:00October, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Refurbished York plant churning out Marlboro Snus, a new smokeless tobacco product

Source: www.dailypress.com Author: Jon Cawley From outside the non-descript facility on Merrimac Trail nothing indicates it's home to Marlboro Snus, a spit-less, smokeless tobacco product that company officials say is gaining significant market traction. Inside, processed tobacco is finely ground, cooked, flavored, pouched and packaged by automated machinery in sanitary "clean rooms." High-speed robots can produce 150 Snus packages — each containing six individual pouches of tobacco — per minute, officials said during a recent plant tour. The York manufacturing center is the only place making Snus (pronounced snoose). The tobacco product has been in limited production since late 2007 but began nationwide distribution in March. That marks a big turnaround for the once-idle York County plant that underwent a $100 million renovation and expansion beginning in 2006 and now employs 17 salaried and 30 hourly workers along with 54 contractors. During renovations, Philip Morris USA gutted the facility, located across from Anheuser Busch's Williamsburg-area brewery. It had been closed for about three years since the company discontinued production of an electrically heated smoking device. The facility was expanded by 33,000 square feet to 139,000 square feet and fitted with high-tech machinery specific to making and packaging Snus. That construction was partly funded by a $650,000 state and county grant, said Ed Tucker, a director with the U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Manufacturing Co. Tucker said Snus and its packaging are discreet and designed to appeal to consumers as smoking restrictions continue to tighten. He said that because Snus is cooked instead [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-10-02T14:28:58-07:00October, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Smokeless products face FDA test. Tobacco maker first in line for regulatory review

Source: Boston.com By: Michael Felberbaum RICHMOND- Tobacco maker Star Scientific Inc. hopes there's fire where there's no smoke. The small Virginia company has made itself the test case for a big issue: whether the Food and Drug Administration will allow certain tobacco products — particularly the company’s tobacco lozenges — to be marketed as less harmful than cigarettes. The application to market the product as safer also highlights a philosophical debate over how best to control tobacco. One camp says there’s no safe way to use tobacco and pushes for people to quit above all else. Others embrace the idea that lower-risk alternatives like smokeless tobacco or electronic cigarettes can improve public health, if they mean fewer people smoke. How the FDA handles the products is being closely watched by both the public health community and bigger tobacco companies, which are looking for new products to sell as they face declining cigarette demand due to tax increases, health concerns, smoking bans, and social stigma. A law enacted last year gives the FDA authority to evaluate tobacco products for their health risks and lets the agency approve ones that could be marketed as safer than what’s currently sold. So far only Star Scientific has applied for approval to market what the agency calls “modified-risk’’ products. The company says the small tablets that dissolve in the user’s mouth contain “below detectable levels’’ of certain cancer-causing chemicals found in tobacco and its smoke. It wants to sell them to smokers as “a useful [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-10-01T11:36:27-07:00October, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Evidence-based dentistry – detect oral cancers early through dental exams

Source: www.tonguecancer.com Author: staff A recent posting on the American Dental Association web site describes an interesting study conducted by a panel convened by the ADA Council on Scientific Affairs, a sub-group of the American Dental Association. The panel, in conjunction with the ADA Center for Evidence-Based Dentistry (EBD) staff, reviewed five systematic reviews and four clinical studies to determine if dentists could detect oral cancers early through routine dental examination. The study panel examined four distinct questions in the detection of oral squamous cell carcinomas during routine dental exams: 1. Does routine dental screening reduce the likelihood of potentially malignant lesions on the tongue, cheeks, lips, gums and other parts of the oral cavity? 2. Do specialized treatments help dentists identify potential cancers during routine examinations? 3. Compared to examinations without specialized detection tools, can dentists identify trouble spots or should dentists use these specialized tools for the early detection of squamous cell carcinomas in the mouth? 4. Are there specific groups which benefit more from detailed, dental examinations – groups such as seniors, smokers, men, women and other groups within the larger study group? According to the panel’s report, “…while oral cancer screenings may detect potentially malignant and malignant lesions, clinicians are urged to remain alert to signs the lesions may become cancerous or early stage cancers while performing routine visual and tactile examinations in all patients, particularly those who use tobacco or consume alcohol heavily.” It’s been shown that any kind of tobacco use is a cause [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-09-30T14:29:24-07:00September, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

When East meets West, cancer patients win

Source: www.healthzone.ca Author: Nicole Baute An ancient four-herb formula used in China for 1,800 years might one day be available as a prescription pill to treat side effects caused by cancer chemotherapy, thanks to research from Yale University and a growing international consortium focused on the globalization of Chinese medicine. Huang Qin Tang (pronounced Hu-ang Chin Tong) is made with peonies, a purple flower called skullcap, licorice and fruit from a buckthorn tree. The Chinese medicine has long been used for diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and cramps, which happen to be side effects associated with certain chemotherapy drugs. Now research led by Yung-Chi “Tommy” Cheng, the Henry Bronson Professor of Pharmacology at Yale University, suggests a Western version of this ancient medicine may reduce gut damage caused by chemotherapy in colon and rectal cancer patients. Cheng says a capsule preparation of this formula, called PHY906, inhibits three processes that cause inflammation during chemotherapy and enhances the recovery of damage to tissue. “This is an example of West meeting East for treatment of cancer,” Cheng said, on the phone from Taiwan. Cheng, who has equity interest in the Yale-sponsored company that licenses the technology, is focused on getting PHY906 licensed as a prescription drug in the U.S. — not as a supplement or alternative. A study published in Science Traditional Medicine Wednesday explains how PHY906 restored intestinal damage in mice caused by chemotherapy and also helped trigger the replacement of damaged intestinal stem cells with healthy ones. The drug is now in [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-09-30T14:18:21-07:00September, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Dentists don’t need tools to screen for oral cancer

Source: auburnpub.com Author: Dr. Michael Keating A comment from a patient the other day inspired this month’s topic. I had gone down to the room of one of the hygienists on my team to examine a patient at their six-month preventive therapy visit. I sat down and began examining the skin of the face and neck when the patient asked me what exactly I was looking for. It made me think. Maybe our patients don’t know what we are looking for as we dentists examine them. The exam is much more than coming in, picking up a mirror and explorer and checking just the teeth. Each dentist has their own method and technique of performing the exam. Rest assured, this important step is not missed. So what is it I am looking for? This particular patient that prompted me to discuss oral cancer asked me the question as I was looking along their hairline and lifting back their bangs so I could examine the scalp and forehead. If you were to look at the Skin Cancer Foundation website (www.skincancer.org) you would find that basal cell carcinoma is found mainly on the face, scalp, ears, neck, shoulders and back. Let’s see, four out of six of those are right front and center to me when I go to look at a patient at their recall exam. Sure makes sense for me to check! So for this patient I told them I was looking for any signs of skin cancer, and if [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-09-30T14:04:25-07:00September, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

SciClone identifies unique genetic markers associated with patient response to SCV-07 treatment in oral mucositis

Source: www.marketwatch.com Author: press release SciClone Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that researchers have identified two unique gene clusters that differentiated subjects who responded to treatment in the Company's phase 2a proof of concept study of SCV-07 for the prevention of severe oral mucositis (OM; WHO grades 3-4) in patients with advanced head and neck cancer. The Company believes that the discovery of these gene clusters may assist in providing the framework for effectively identifying those patients most likely to respond to SCV-07 in future clinical trials based on their individual genomic profile or gene signature. These findings were presented today in a poster presentation at the 4th American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) International Conference on Molecular Diagnostics in Cancer Therapeutic Development. As part of the Company's recently completed phase 2a OM study, researchers collected and analyzed RNA samples from patients prior to and at the completion of the trial's treatment phase. Results from this gene expression analysis demonstrated the strong association of two specific gene clusters with patient response to SCV-07. Consistent with SCV-07's activity as a modulator of the immune system, these clusters included genes associated with G-protein coupled receptors, signal transducers, glycoproteins and membrane proteins. "The identification of these specific genetic markers represents an exciting and potentially powerful development in the clinical advancement of SCV-07 for the treatment of oral mucositis," said Dr. Stephen T. Sonis, speaking in his role as Chief Medical Officer of Biomodels, LLC. Dr. Sonis is also a Clinical Professor of Oral Medicine [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-09-30T12:56:10-07:00September, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Nuances in the changing epidemiology of head and neck cancer

Source: Cancer Network Author: Daniel C. Beachler, MHS Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) represents a heterogeneous group of malignancies caused by the traditional risk factors of tobacco, alcohol, and poor oral hygiene, as well as more recently identified roles of human papillomavirus (HPV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV).[1-3] We commend Kim and colleagues on their comprehensive review of the epidemiology of HNSCC. There has been a clear change in the epidemiology of HNSCC which has further accentuated differences in etiology, survival, and demographics among HNSCC patients. We will discuss several important nuances of this changing epidemiology, including the role of tobacco, race, sexual behavior, and gender, as well as HNSCC in nonsmokers and nondrinkers. As tobacco use has declined over the past several decades,[4,5] so has the number of cancers caused by tobacco and alcohol.[1,6,7] Continued decline in tobacco use and associated HNSCC is not guaranteed, however; in fact, some recent evidence suggests rates of tobacco use in the US may be stabilizing.[5] In contrast, the incidence of HPV-associated HNSCC has increased over the past several decades,[7] although it is unclear what is driving this change. The increasing incidence of HPV-associated HNSCC could be related to changes in oral sexual practices resulting in more oral HPV infection, or it may be explained by increased persistence and progression due to changes in relevant cofactors. Kim and colleagues noted in their review that HPV-associated HNSCC largely occurs among nonsmokers and nondrinkers. While it is true that HNSCC patients with HPV-associated disease [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-09-30T12:46:32-07:00September, 2010|Oral Cancer News|