Tobacco ‘mints’ tied to kids’ poisoning

Source: msnbc.com Author: JoNel Aleccia Smokeless, flavored tobacco products that look like candy and come in packages shaped like cell phones may be contributing to accidental poisonings in very young children, new research suggests. Nicotine-laced pellets, strips and sticks that dissolve completely in the user’s mouth — dubbed “tobacco candy” by critics — have joined chewing tobacco and snuff to become the second-most common cause of unintentional tobacco ingestion in kids younger than 6. Between 2006 and 2008, nearly 1,800 U.S. youngsters — almost 600 a year —accidentally consumed smokeless tobacco products, according to an analysis of 13,705 tobacco-related reports to the nation’s poison control centers. That’s a fraction of the nearly 3,600 poisonings a year that involved cigarettes and filter tips, but it worries authors of the new study published in the journal Pediatrics. "Novel smokeless tobacco products, including dissolvable, compressed tobacco products ... are now of major concern, with their discreet form, candy-like appearance and added flavorings that may be attractive to children," the authors write. Potential poisonings add to the growing list of worries from those who fear that tobacco makers thwarted by anti-smoking laws are trying to peddle their addictive products to a new generation of users. Tasty flavors and packaging that resembles Tic Tac mints could be a powerful draw to young users, critics say. “Our response has been one of dismay,” said Cathryn Cushing, a spokeswoman for the Oregon Tobacco Prevention & Education Program. Oregon is one of three states, along with Ohio and [...]

2010-04-19T11:31:12-07:00April, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Diffuse reflection spectroscopy: an alternative to autofluorescence spectroscopy in tongue cancer detection

Source: Applied Spectroscopy, Vol. 64, Issue 4, pp. 409-418 (2010) Authors: Rupananda Jayachandra Mallia et al. Laser-induced autofluorescence (LIAF) and diffuse reflection spectroscopy (DRS) are two emerging noninvasive optical tools that have shown immense potential to detect oral cavity pre-cancer. In a recent study, we have used spectral ratio reference standards (SRRS) of LIAF intensity ratios F500/F635, F500/F685, and F500/F705 for grading of tissues belonging to sites other than dorsal side of tongue (DST), lateral side of tongue (LST), and vermillion border of lip (VBL) that exhibited similar spectral shape for normal and abnormal tissues. This led to dismal diagnostic accuracies, and for the three LIAF-SRRS, normal tissue values were often misclassified as squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), which means that the true negatives were being wrongly identified as true positives. This study examines the applicability of the site-specific diffuse reflection spectral intensity ratio (R545/R575) of the oxygenated hemoglobin bands to classify different DST lesions and compares the results obtained with those obtained using LIAF-SRRS. DRS-SRRS of R545/R575 differentiated benign hyperplastic DST tissues from normal tissue with a sensitivity of 86% and specificity of 80%, which were indistinguishable using LIAF-SRRS. Further, in distinguishing hyperplastic tissues from premalignant dysplastic lesions, DRS-SRRS gave a sensitivity of 90% and a specificity of 86%, as compared to sensitivity of 89% and specificity of 72% shown by the three LIAF-SRRS together. The diagnostic accuracy and statistical adequacy of the two techniques were assessed by receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC-Curve) analysis. Three LIAF ratios gave a low [...]

Adenosine deaminase in saliva as a diagnostic marker of squamous cell carcinoma of tongue

Source: Clin Oral Investig. 2010 Apr 9 Authors: Rai B, Kaur J, Jacobs R, Anand SC. Tongue cancer is amongst the most common and fatal types of cancers in the world. The abnormalities in purine metabolism are characteristic features of many human tumors. Little is known about the correlation between the activities of key enzymes of purine nucleotide pathway and clinical indicators of tongue cancer invasiveness and aggressiveness. Fifty patients (M: F 25:25; mean age: 55.6 years (range 45-60; SD 1.8)) with diagnosed squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue (test group) and 30 normal subjects (M: F 15:15) without any systemic disease (control group) were recruited after obtaining informed consent. All patients were staged by the TNM classification. Salivary adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity was assessed in cancerous patients (test group) and normal healthy subjects (control group). Statistically significant differences between test and control groups were observed in salivary ADA (P

Genmab to review clinical plans for head and neck cancer candidate after mixed results from phase III trial

Source: www.genengnews.com Author: staff Genmab is reporting that Phase III results of its antibody for head and neck cancer, zalutumumab, showed that the treatment did not increase overall survival enough for it to be statistically significant but did significantly boost progression-free survival. The company says that it is evaluating its development program in this indication in light of this data. Zalutumumab is a human antibody targeting the epidermal growth factor receptor. The Phase III trial evaluated the treatment in 286 patients with recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck who failed standard platinum-based chemotherapy. Patients were randomized to receive either zalubumuab in combination with best supportive care (BSC) or BSC alone. Data showed that median overall survival in the zalutumumab plus BSC group was 6.7 months compared with 5.2 months for the BSC-only group. Genmab points out that although this represented a 30% improvement, the increase was not sufficient to demonstrate a statistically significant difference in survival. However, patients in the zalutumumab cohort did demonstrate a 61% increase in progression-free survival compared with those in the BSC-only arm. “The progression-free survival data indicates that zalutumumab can provide a benefit to these cancer patients, and we will review with our clinical advisors and the regulatory agencies how to best proceed with this product,” says Lisa N. Drakeman, Ph.D., Genmab CEO. Zalutumumab is also undergoing Phase I/II trials as a treatment for advanced head and neck cancer either in combination with chemo-radiation or in combination with radiotherapy in [...]

Fruit and vegetables only modestly linked to reduced cancer risk, large study questions conventional wisdom

Source: www.medicalnewstoday.com Author: Catharine Paddock, PhD A large study of over 400,000 people living in ten western European countries found only a modest link between high intake of fruit and vegetables and reduction in overall cancer risk: thus failing to confirm the widely held belief enshrined in the World Health Organization's recommendation that people should eat five servings of fruit and vegetables a day to prevent cancer and other diseases. Dr Paolo Boffetta, of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, and colleagues, wrote about their findings in a study published in the 6 April online issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. In 1990 the World Health Organization recommended people eat five helpings of fruit and vegetables a day to reduce their risk of cancer, cardiovascular and other diseases. But since then, many studies have either produced inconsistent results or failed to find a significant link between fruit and vegetable intake and cancer risk, wrote the authors. For their prospective study, Boffetta and colleagues analyzed data from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), which recruited 142,605 men and 335,873 women in Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom, between 1992 and 2000. The data were mostly self-reported by the participants and detailed their dietary and lifestyle habits. The participants were followed for a median of 8.7 years, during which time deaths and incidents of cancer diagnoses were noted. The researchers then analysed the data using [...]

First-time walk raises awareness of oral cancer

Source: indarticles.com Author: staff A support group for people with oral and head and neck cancer is looking to send a message Saturday with its inaugural Oral Cancer Awareness Walk, co-sponsored by the Oral Cancer Foundation. "Last year approximately 35,700 new cases were diagnosed in the United States, and there were about 7,600 deaths," walk organizers said in a news release. "Sixty percent of people aren't diagnosed until the cancer has progressed to Stage III or IV, and almost half of those victims die within five years. But if caught early, oral cancer has one of the highest overall treatment and survival rates." Organizers hope the walk will call attention to the importance of early detection and prevention, not only to the general public but to dentists, who spot problems. Perhaps the highest-profile patient is movie critic Roger Ebert, who has recently detailed his battle with oral cancer. Locally, Jeanna Richelson, an engineer at Siskin Steel, has shared her story. Now cancer-free, she is spearheading the support group, known officially as the Chattanooga Chapter of Support for People With Oral and Head and Neck Cancer. "When I was diagnosed with oral cancer in 2001, I had no idea how my life would be changed forever," she said in the news release. "If I can save one life or keep one person from having to go through the hardships that me and so many others have gone through, it will be worth it." Registration for the walk begins at 10 a.m. [...]

Metabolic activity of head and neck cancer may help guide treatment

Source: www.oncologystat.com Author: Staff The metabolic activity of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma on pretreatment imaging independently predicts outcomes in patients who undergo intensity-modulated radiation therapy, new data show. This imaging information can be used to tailor treatment, especially to reduce the risk of distant metastases, lead investigator Dr. Min Yao said at a head and neck cancer symposium sponsored by the American Society for Radiation Oncology. Higher standardized uptake value (SUV) of the primary tumor and of the lymph nodes predicted worse outcomes in multivariate analyses presented by Dr. Yao, a radiation oncologist at the Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland. "Several papers have shown that the standardized uptake value (SUV) is a prognostic factor in head and neck cancer," Dr. Yao told attendees. Most of these studies were small series, involved patients receiving conventional radiation therapy, and did not evaluate SUV of the primary tumor and lymph nodes separately. Dr. Yao and his colleagues analyzed outcomes in 177 patients treated for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma with intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) between 1999 and 2006. The patients had a pretreatment positron emission tomography scan using fluorodeoxyglucose as the tracer (FDG-PET), and the maximal SUV was determined for both the primary tumor and the involved lymph nodes. The patients then underwent IMRT with curative intent. Seventy-seven percent of the patients were male. Twenty-nine percent were receiving IMRT postoperatively, whereas the rest were receiving it as definitive therapy. The cancer was most commonly located in the oropharynx (49%) and [...]

Charity backs HPV vaccine for boys

Source: www.healthcarerepublic.com Author: Stephen Robinson A dental charity has joined calls for the HPV jab to be given to teenage boys. The British Dental Health Foundation said HPV is now a leading cause of cancer for men and that more must be done to prevent it, starting with extending the HPV vaccine to boys. The charity's chief executive Nigel Carter said: ‘We strongly recommend that the government take another look at introducing the vaccination for young males. 'Much of the 42% rise in incidence of mouth cancer over the last 10 years is attributed to HPV and whilst vaccination of adolescent females will help, in order to be truly effective we will need to consider vaccination of males as well.' The debate had reignited following an Australian study that found almost two thirds of all throat and tonsil cancer cases are caused by the HPV virus. Research now suggests HPV, which is transmitted by oral sex, could soon rival smoking and drinking as a main cause of mouth cancer, the charity said. The national HPV vaccine programme has vaccinated 1.5 million teenage girls since September 2008. A similar programme for boys was turned down because the cost exceeded the upper threshold of NICE's cost-effectiveness benchmark. Mr Carter said: ‘The impact of the disease is huge and treatment of advanced cases extremely expensive so it is likely that a cost effective case for the vaccination could be put forwards.'

NCCN Panel: Straight talk with compassion urged for end-of-life cancer care

Source: www.medscape.com Author: Deborah Brauser Although telling patients that they have cancer and/or that the end is near is difficult, it should be handled in an informative, compassionate, individualized manner, according to a mainstage roundtable discussion here at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) 15th Annual Conference. The panel consisted of experts, celebrity survivors, family members of prominent people who lost their lives to cancer, and even a representative from one of the largest health insurance companies in the United States. "How do you tell a patient that the end is coming? And do they want to know?" asked moderator Sam Donaldson, veteran ABC News journalist, cancer survivor, and chair of the newly established NCCN Foundation Board of Directors. "I would say that about 90% of patients want to know the truth about what to expect, but they aren't statistics and they don't want to just hear statistics," answered David S. Ettinger, MD, professor of oncology at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. "I would recommend really communicating with patients and their families at their initial diagnosis and then design therapy for that particular individual," Dr. Ettinger added. "Everyone acts differently and every cancer is different, but you want to give them all hope, if possible." Kayce Freed Jennings, wife of the late news anchor Peter Jennings, said that she appreciated that the doctors never took away their hope until the final days. "While being realistic, we knew there were [...]

The health risks of smokeless tobacco use deserve congressional attention, advocates say

Source: www.prnewswire.com Author: press release Oral Health America (OHA) participated in a congressional hearing today on the use of smokeless tobacco by young people, the effects it has on oral health, and the impact of its use by professional baseball players. The hearing, "Smokeless Tobacco: Impact on the Health of our Nation's Youth and Use in Major League Baseball," was held by Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Health Subcommittee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ). Speakers included OHA's former NSTEP® (National Spit Tobacco Education Program) Chairman, Joe Garagiola, and Gruen Von Behrens, an oral cancer survivor and member of the NSTEP speaker's bureau. "I wish to thank the Committee for bringing this important, but overlooked health issue to the table. Smokeless tobacco is not harmless," Mr. Von Behrens said at the hearing. "It has ruined my life." Mr. Von Behrens first started using smokeless tobacco at the age of 13 to fit in with his peers. As a high school baseball star at the age of 17, he was diagnosed with cancer and has since undergone 34 surgeries in the past 15 years. He now travels throughout the country and has shared his story with over 2 million young people and collegiate and professional athletes. OHA established the NSTEP program in 1994 to reduce the use of spit tobacco and help break baseball's association with it. NSTEP reaches up to 325,000 Little League players every year with its relationship with Little League Baseball and [...]

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