Oral Cancer News

‘I like my odds’ against cancer, Michael Douglas says

By Donna Freydkin Source:USA TODAY NEW YORK— They don'tmake'em like Michael Douglas anymore. In this age of crass reality upstarts and pampered starlets, he's a movie star of the old school. And even in his third week of grueling radiation treatments for Stage IV throat cancer, Douglas is a gentleman first, making sure a guest is comfortable on the green sofa in his family room and apologizing repeatedly for being a little off his game after a particularly brutal radiation session this morning. He hasn't pondered the meaning of life yet, or gone on any soul-searching journeys to faraway lands. "I like my odds. I'm not dealing with mortality issues until they tell me, 'Oops, we have to go back and do surgery' or something like that," Douglas says. "The tumor is shrinking. The odds are good." He pauses a beat, smiles, and takes a sip of the aloe-infused water he's drinking to soothe his throat. "I haven't found God yet." There's no woe-is-me self-pity as Douglas manages to poke fun at his condition. "There's never a really great time for cancer, but this is one for the books," he cracks. "Actually I was doing really good, but today has not been great." It has been a doozy of a year for Douglas, 65, full of highs and staggering lows. After little-seen turns in 2009's Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and 2007's King of California, he earned positive reviews for playing a sleazy seducer in this year's intimate drama Solitary Man. [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-09-10T21:33:53-07:00September, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Actor’s diagnosis puts spotlight on oral cancer

By: Donna Domino, Associate Editor Source: DrBicuspid.com Actor Michael Douglas' recent revelation that he has stage IV oropharyngeal cancer has highlighted the growing incidence of oral cancer, and experts say dentists can help stem the alarming increase of the disease by checking for it during routine examinations. “Tobacco is no longer the only bad guy.” — Brian Hill, executive director, Oral Cancer Foundation The actor's cancer includes a walnut-sized tumor at the base of his tongue, and he will require radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and surgery. Douglas says his doctors told him he has an 80% survival rate if it hasn't spread to his lymph nodes. While tobacco was the prime cause of oral cancer in the past, recent studies have attributed the steady increase of the disease to the human papillomavirus (HPV). There are approximately 130 versions of HPV but only nine cause cancers, and the HPV16 version causes almost half of the oral cancers in the U.S., said Brian Hill, executive director of the Oral Cancer Foundation. "Tobacco is no longer the only bad guy," he told DrBicuspid.com. “HPV16 is increasing in incidence as the causative etiology, and if it continues on this trend line, it will replace tobacco as the primary cause of oral cancers." Dentists can play a key role in catching the disease in its early stages if they check for it during examinations, Hill pointed out. "But many dentists think it's such a rare disease that they don't bother to screen for it," he said. [...]

Charlotte Parker2017-03-29T19:08:30-07:00September, 2010|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

Snus increases miscarriage risk drastically

Source: The Swedish Wire Author: Johan Nylander Women who use snuff tobacco face 60% higher miscarriage risk. A Swedish study by the Karolinska Institute and Uppsala University warned that women who uses snus are 60 percent more likely to misscarry than average. “Stillbirth is probably one of the worst things that can happen to parents who are expecting a baby. That also snus increases the risk of this underlines the importance of being complete tobacco-free when you are pregnant”, Anna-Karin Wikström at the Uppsala University Hospital Women's clinic told newspaper Upsala Nya Tidning. Snus, a moist powder tobacco product that you consume by placing it under the lip, is said to be much less dangerous than smoking. But to take up snus in order to quit smoking may be contra productive. A woman who smokes just a few cigarettes a day has 40 percent higher risk of miscarriage. "Taking the help of snus to quit smoking is a bad option to protect children", said Anna-Karin Wikström. The study, that was launched more than ten years ago, involved almost 570,000 women. The small, teabag-like pouches, also called moist snuff, are used by nearly one million Swedes. Placed under the user's lip, they quickly deliver a nicotine rush to the blood and a strong salt and herbs flavour in the mouth. While cigarette sales have tumbled by 50 percent in Sweden over the past 30 years, snus is on the up, with sales rising from some 2,500 tonnes a year in the 1970s to [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-09-07T10:08:20-07:00September, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Organ preservation for advanced resectable cancer of the base of tongue and hypopharynx: a Southwest Oncology Group trial

Source: J Clin Oncol 23:88-95 Author: Susan G. Urba et al. Purpose: The Southwest Oncology Group designed a phase II trial for patients with base of tongue or hypopharyngeal cancer to evaluate the complete histologic response rate at the primary site after induction chemotherapy followed by chemoradiotherapy for responders. Secondary end points were the rate of organ preservation and the need for salvage surgery. Patients and Methods: Fifty-nine eligible patients were enrolled; 37 had base of tongue cancer, and 22 had hypopharynx cancer. Forty-two percent had stage III disease, and 58% had stage IV disease. Induction chemotherapy was two cycles of cisplatin 100 mg/m2 and fluorouracil 1,000 mg/m2/d for 5 days. Patients who had a greater than 50% response at the primary site were treated with radiation 72Gy and concurrent cisplatin 100 mg/m2 for three cycles. Patients with less than partial response at the primary had immediate salvage surgery. Results: Forty-five patients (76%) had a greater than 50% response at the primary after induction chemotherapy; 43 went on to receive definitive chemoradiotherapy. Thirty-two patients (54%) achieved a histologic complete response at the primary site, and an additional nine patients had a complete clinical response, but biopsy was not done. Seventy-five percent of patients did not require surgery at the primary tumor site. The 3-year overall survival was 64%. The 3-year progression-free survival with organ preservation was 52%. Conclusion: Patients with base of tongue or hypopharyngeal cancer treated with this regimen of induction chemotherapy followed by definitive chemoradiotherapy have a good [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-09-07T07:46:33-07:00September, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

More ’empowered’ patients question doctors’ orders

Source: www.usatoday.com Author: Mary Brophy Marcus In the past, most patients placed their entire trust in the hands of their physician. Your doc said you needed a certain medical test, you got it. Not so much anymore. Jeff Chappell of Montgomery, Ala., recalls a visit a couple of years ago to a Charlotte emergency room, near where the family used to live, with his wife, Jacqueline, who has adrenal failure. "I blew up loud enough for everyone in the ER to hear me explain that while we were insured, an MRI was about a $1,000 co-pay," Chappell says. The couple knew her symptoms well (primarily stomach pain), knew that an MRI was not necessary under the circumstances and knew that a cortisone shot was what she needed. "The doctor walked off in a huff," Chappell says, but later came back and "compromised" by agreeing to give his wife the shot, but not before taking an abdominal X-ray to rule out other problems first. Many physicians say an increasing number of patients are getting involved in decisions about their medical care, including medication choices, whether they need a specialist, and especially whether they need expensive diagnostic tests, which some health economists say are driving up the cost of health care. 'Shared decision model' "There have been big changes," says Patrick McManus, residency director of family and community medicine at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. "Some of my older patients are still more deferential, but more and more, we talk with patients [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-09-03T20:58:23-07:00September, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Michael Douglas talks cancer with Letterman: stage 4, 80% odds

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com Author: staff Michael Douglas says he faces an "eight-week struggle" against throat cancer but is optimistic about his chances for recovery. During an appearance Tuesday on David Letterman's "Late Show," the actor said he had just finished his first week of radiation and chemotherapy. That drew a surprised reaction from Letterman. "You've never looked better to me, and this proves that you're a tough guy, for God's sakes," the talk-show host said, drawing cheers from the studio audience, according to a CBS news release. "Let's just say ... I'm pretty lit up right now," Douglas replied. The disease was diagnosed three weeks ago, he said, although he had complained of a very sore throat earlier this year and had undergone testing that failed to find a cause. Douglas, 65, who has two children with Catherine Zeta-Jones, said he enjoyed the summer traveling with his family before returning to the doctor. A biopsy found he had late, stage-four cancer, "which is intense, and so they've had to go at it," he said. However, Douglas said, the cancer remains above the neck and that means expectations are good, with an 80 percent or better chance of recovery. Asked by Letterman about his personal habits, he said he had smoked and consumed alcohol. According to a National Institutes of Health website, use of tobacco or alcohol are among the factors that put people at risk of developing throat cancer. Combining tobacco and drinking increases the risk. Most throat cancer develops in [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-09-01T13:10:43-07:00September, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Decreases in adolescent tobacco use leveling off

Source: HemOncToday.com Declines in rates of adolescent tobacco use have stagnated in the past few years, prompting the CDC to call for better prevention efforts, according to a recent report. “Smoking continues to be the leading preventable cause of death and disability in the United States; and among adult established smokers in the United States, more than 80% began smoking before age 18 years,” CDC researchers wrote. To evaluate behaviors and attitudes toward tobacco use during the critical period of adolescence, the researchers used National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) data collected from 2000 to 2009. The NYTS, which presents school-based survey responses from a cross-sectional, nationally representative sample of middle school and high school students, gleans information on youth tobacco use; smoking cessation; tobacco-related knowledge and attitudes; access to tobacco; media and advertising and secondhand smoke exposure. The study has been conducted every 2 years since 2000. From the 205 participating schools, 22,679 students responded. They were polled about any use of, current use of and experimentation with certain tobacco products, including cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, pipes, bidis and kreteks. Survey questions also investigated students’ willingness to initiate tobacco use. Results indicated that 8.2% of middle school students and 23.9% of high school students reported current tobacco use in 2009, the researchers said, with 5.2% of middle school and 17.2% of high school students reporting current cigarette use. The researchers also noted that 21.2% of middle school and 24% of high school students were willing to start smoking cigarettes. Data [...]

Charlotte Parker2017-10-29T20:14:13-07:00August, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Can saliva-based HPV tests establish cancer risk and guide patient management?

Source: Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology doi:10.1016 Author: Mark W. Lingen, DDS, PhD Section Editor, Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the 6th most common malignancy in the world today.1 Despite numerous advances in treatment, the 5-year survival rate has remained modest. This poor outcome is due to several factors, including delayed diagnosis. Therefore, improved early detection and effective prevention strategies are critical components for management of this malignancy. The etiology of classical HNSCC has been attributed to chronic exposure to tobacco and alcohol.2 In addition, there is now sufficient evidence to support the contention that high-risk forms of the human papillomavirus (HPV) are a major causative factor for HNSCC of the tonsil, base of tongue, and oropharynx.3-8 The increasing importance of HPV in oropharyngeal HNSCC has raised considerable concern and uncertainty among healthcare professionals and patients. For example, I am often asked to describe the clinical features of HPV-associated premalignant lesions. Unfortunately, to my knowledge, the clinical spectrum of HPV-associated premalignant disease has not been adequately described. Furthermore, because this subset of HNSCC often develops in hard to- examine locations, such as tonsillar crypts, it can be exceedingly difficult to even identify the carcinomas. In the absence of such information, how can clinicians identify patients that are at increased risk for harboring an HPV-associated premalignant lesions or HNSCC? Recently, a large commercial diagnostic lab began offering a saliva-based test for the identification of oral HPV infections. As a result of this new offering, I [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-08-31T12:09:37-07:00August, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Tobacco signs still target city’s poorer areas

Source: www.boston.com Author: Stephen Smith The signs, wrought in soothing italics, beckon with promises of tobacco “pleasure!’’ at low, low prices. Across Dorchester, Mattapan, and other city neighborhoods, big signs and little signs, vertical signs and horizontal signs trumpet the availability of cigarettes at corner stores and gas stations. They are plastered on façades and propped against windows, affixed to light poles and gas pumps. A dozen years after Massachusetts attempted to ban storefront tobacco ads within 1,000 feet of schools and playgrounds, a prohibition thwarted by a tobacco company’s legal challenge, the signs remain prolific and prominent in Boston’s lower-income neighborhoods, especially those with substantial African-American and Hispanic populations. But now, empowered by Congress to regulate tobacco companies, the Food and Drug Administration is taking steps that could rein in the pastel-hued signs that industry foes say entice young customers to start smoking. With cigarette advertising banished from the airwaves and largely absent from billboards, storefronts are some of the last bastions of tobacco marketing. The continued presence of the ads is a testament, researchers said, to the deep reach of cigarette makers in poorer communities, where merchants said company representatives sometimes personally attach ads to store exteriors. “Tobacco advertising is still alive and well,’’ said Dr. Michael Siegel, a tobacco control specialist at the Boston University School of Public Health. “There’s a widespread perception that somehow the tobacco advertising has gone away, that it’s been taken care of, that we don’t have to worry about this anymore. But [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-08-31T11:48:38-07:00August, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Dermatologist discusses advantages of vaccines that prevent human papillomavirus and herpes zoster

Source: www.prnewswire.com Author: public release Vaccines have a long history of successfully preventing disease and, in effect, improving the lives of countless Americans. Now, two serious diseases – human papillomavirus (HPV) and herpes zoster – could become a thing of the past as people better understand the safety and efficacy of vaccines to prevent these serious viral infections in specific populations. At the American Academy of Dermatology's Summer Academy Meeting 2010 in Chicago, dermatologist Jeffrey M. Weinberg, MD, FAAD, associate clinical professor of dermatology at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City, highlighted the significant benefits associated with these two new vaccines. HPV Vaccine Protects Girls and Boys HPV is a group of viruses commonly linked to the sexually transmitted diseases known as genital HPV infection, which have long been associated with the development of cervical cancer, a life-threatening cancer. According to the American Cancer Society's 2010 estimates, approximately 4,210 women will die from cervical cancer in the United States. In 2006, a breakthrough vaccine was approved by the FDA for the prevention of HPV types 6, 11, 16 and 18. HPV types 6 and 11 are responsible for more than 90 percent of all cases of genital warts, and HPV types 16 and 18 cause 70 percent of all cervical cancers. Although the vaccine is specifically approved for use in females 9 to 26 years of age, Dr. Weinberg acknowledged that many people are still reluctant to get the vaccination due to a lack of [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-08-29T08:09:12-07:00August, 2010|Oral Cancer News|