Oral Cancer News – Page 280

Tobacco giants challenge law

Source: online.wsj.com Author: David Kesmodel, Lauren Etter & Alicia Mundy Reynolds American Inc., Lorillard Inc. and several other tobacco companies filed a lawsuit Monday seeking to block various provisions of a new federal tobacco law on the grounds that the provisions violate the companies' First Amendment rights. The tobacco companies said the recently enacted law, which placed the industry under the oversight of the Food and Drug Administration, sharply restricts the companies' right to advertise their products to adult tobacco users. The companies object to such provisions as a requirement that cigarette makers expand the size of warning labels so that they cover the top half of the front and back of cigarette packs, and include graphic images such as diseased lungs. This change, they say, would leave manufacturers with only a small and often-obscured portion of a cigarette pack to print their own messages. The companies also challenged a rule that restricts their ability to publicize the relative health risks of certain products such as smokeless tobacco. The suit was filed against the FDA in a federal district court in Bowling Green, Ky., the home of one of the plaintiffs, Commonwealth Brands Inc. An FDA spokeswoman said the agency doesn't comment on lawsuits. The FDA recently announced that its choice for its "tobacco czar" to run the new tobacco regulation center is Lawrence Deyton, who led antismoking efforts at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Many of the FDA regulations won't take effect until next year and the years that [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-09-01T12:13:33-07:00September, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Unlocking the body’s defenses against cancer

Source: Author: staff Scientists have discovered a way of allowing healthy cells to take charge of cancerous cells and stop them developing into tumours in what could provide a new approach to treating early-stage cancers. University of Manchester researchers found that a special type of the chemicals known as 'kinase inhibitors' opened up communication channels on the surface of cells that enabled healthy cells to 'talk' to the cancer cells. "When we added the chemicals to a mixture of healthy and cancerous cells in a flask the diseased cells stopped multiplying and began acting like normal cells again," said Dr Ian Hampson, who carried out the research with wife Dr Lynne Hampson. "Further tests revealed that the chemicals helped the cancer cells form connections with surrounding healthy cells that allowed these normal cells to take charge of the mechanism by which cancer cells divide and grow out of control." Cell division occurs naturally and continuously in human organs and tissue as part of the body's normal repair processes to combat wear and tear but in cancer the cells divide in an uncontrolled way. Dr Hampson says the findings, published in the British Journal of Cancer, are all the more exciting because the chemicals, which were developed with colleagues at the University of Salford, appear to be relatively non-toxic and the positive effect on the cancer cells persists even when the chemicals are withdrawn. "When the chemicals were added to a culture containing just cancer cells they had little effect," said [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-09-01T12:05:38-07:00September, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

National guideline released for the treatment of hoarseness

Source: www.eurekalert.org Author: press release New recommendations from ENT doctors on the management of a common voice problem in adults and children The American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF) will issue the first--and only--national clinical practice guideline to help healthcare practitioners identify and manage patients with hoarseness, also known as dysphonia. The guideline emphasizes evidence-based management of hoarseness by clinicians, and educates patients on the prevalence of this common vocal health issue. "Hoarseness affects approximately 20 million people in the U.S. at any given time, and about one in three individuals will become hoarse at some point in their life," said Richard M. Rosenfeld, MD, MPH, an author of the guideline and chair of the AAO-HNSF Guideline Development Task Force. "In addition to the impact on health and quality of life, hoarseness leads to frequent healthcare visits and several billion dollars in lost productivity annually from work absenteeism." The terms hoarseness and dysphonia are often used interchangeably, however, hoarseness is a symptom of altered voice quality and dysphonia is a diagnosis. Hoarseness (dysphonia) is defined as a disorder characterized by altered vocal quality, pitch, loudness, or vocal effort that impairs communication or reduces voice-related quality of life. Hoarseness may affect newborns, infants, children, and adults of any age. Individuals with hoarseness have impaired communication with their family and peers, which may result in depression, social isolation, missed work, lost wages, or reduced quality of life. "Most hoarseness is caused by benign or self-limiting conditions, but [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-09-01T08:50:37-07:00September, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Los Angeles jury recommends Philip Morris USA pay $13.8 million in punitive damages

Source: snus-news.blogspot.com Author: staff A jury on Monday, August 24th, recommended that cigarette maker Philip Morris USA should pay $13.8 million in punitive damages to the daughter of a longtime smoker who died of lung cancer, according to a report by the Associated Press. The panel voted 9 to 3 in favor of Bullock's daughter Jodie Bullock, who is now the plaintiff in the case. Betty Bullock died of lung cancer in February 2003. She had sued Philip Morris in April 2001, accusing the company of fraud and product liability. A jury in 2002 recommended Philip Morris pay a record $28 billion in punitive damages to Bullock, but a judge later reduced the award to $28 million. In 2008, the 2nd District Court of Appeal reversed the jury's decision and remanded the case for a new trial over the punitive damages. Philip Morris said the $28 million remained excessive; however, the original jury recommended the tobacco company pay Bullock $750,000 in damages and $100,000 for pain and suffering, a verdict that still stands. In a statement, Richmond, Va.-based Altria Group Inc., which owns Philip Morris, said any amount given to Bullock's daughter is unwarranted. "After hearing weeks of improper arguments and evidence that violated state and federal law on punitive damages, the jury still managed to reject plaintiff's patently unreasonable request," said Murray Garnick, Altria Client Services senior vice president, speaking on behalf of Philip Morris. "Even so, we believe that any punitive damages award is unwarranted based on the [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-08-29T16:53:58-07:00August, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Advantages of TomoTherapy platform for radiation therapy highlighted at 10th biennial ESTRO conference

Source: au.sys-con.com Author: press release TomoTherapy Incorporated announced today that there will be more than 40 presentations at the 10th Biennial ESTRO Conference on Physics and Radiation Technology for Clinical Radiotherapy that explore use of the TomoTherapy® treatment system. The TomoTherapy system -- a versatile, CT scanner-based device that integrates image guidance for increased treatment accuracy and helical radiation therapy delivery for enhanced tumor targeting -- is helping cancer centers advance patient care around the world. The papers cover a breadth of advantages related to the TomoTherapy system, including the importance of daily imaging for precise patient positioning and adaptive therapy purposes, fundamental advancements in treatment planning and improvements in treatment quality for the patient. The ESTRO Conference will take place August 30 to September 3, 2009, in Maastricht, The Netherlands. At booth 140, TomoTherapy will highlight how its radiotherapy platform is reshaping radiation therapy, with exhibits and presentations on topics such as the evolution and future of the TomoTherapy platform, user case studies, use of TomoDirect technology to increase system versatility and throughput, and the new TQA(TM) quality assurance tool. The conference will feature more than 40 TomoTherapy-related papers, on a range of topics, including: Clinically Applied Imaging Adaptive Radiotherapy to Treatment Response - UCL-Cliniques Universitaires Saint Luc, Brussels, Belgium. This study explores how recent advancements in imaging, computational and technological fields may enable clinicians to achieve high precision radiation dose delivery. Initial results show that use of the TomoTherapy system's adaptive planning capabilities allows for a significant reduction [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-08-28T12:43:54-07:00August, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Widespread, growing use of snus

Source: WebMD Author: Marlene Busko Lyon, France - Smokeless tobacco—such as snuff and chewing tobacco—is not harmless when it comes to heart health, according to a new meta-analysis [1]. A review of 11 studies from Sweden and the US, almost entirely in men, showed that smokeless-tobacco users had an increased risk of death from MI or stroke. The study, by researchers at the International Agency for Research on Cancer(IARC), is published online August 18, 2009 in BMJ. Contrary to common belief that smokeless tobacco has very little effect on health, these products have been shown to increase cancer risk, coauthor and IARC researcher Dr Kurt Straif (Lyon, France) told heartwire. "There is sufficient evidence for a causal association between smokeless tobacco and oral and pancreatic cancer [2] and probably also esophageal cancer [3]," he said. "Now, this study adds evidence that smokeless tobacco causes death from cardiovascular diseases," Straif summarized. Widespread, growing use of snus Types of smokeless tobacco used in North America and Europe include dry snuff that is inhaled, as well as moist snuff (called snus in Sweden) and chewing tobacco (or spit tobacco), which are sucked inside the cheek. These products have been around for centuries, and after a decline in consumption for most of the 20th century, use has rebounded in the past few decades, the authors write. In 2000, 23.9% of men and 4.1% of women in Sweden reported using snus daily or occasionally. In the same year, in the US, 4.4% of men and 0.3% of women were [...]

Charlotte Parker2009-08-25T20:10:54-07:00August, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Saliva test for microRNA could detect oral cancer

Source: www.medpagetoday.com Author: Chris Emery, Contributing Writer, MedPage Today Researchers say they have identified dozens of microRNAs in saliva, raising hopes that saliva tests could assist in early detection of oral cancers. Analyzing patient saliva with a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique, the researchers identified about 50 microRNAs -- molecules that halt mRNA translation and/or lead to mRNA degradation, according to a report in the Sept. 1 edition of Clinical Cancer Research. Of the miRNAs they found, a few were present at significantly lower levels in the saliva of patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) than in control subjects (P<0.05). "Two of these miRNAs, miR-125a and miR-200a, are differentially expressed in the saliva of the OSCC patients compared with that of healthy controls," David T. Wong, DMD, DMSc, of the Los Angeles School of Dentistry, and colleagues wrote. "These findings suggest that the detection of miRNAs in saliva can be used as a noninvasive and rapid diagnostic tool for the diagnosis of oral cancer." The authors noted that OSCC is the sixth most common cancer in the U.S., accounting for 90% of oral cancers and leading to 8,000 deaths per year. "The average five-year survival rate for OSCC is [about] 50%," they wrote. "Shockingly, this number has not changed in last three decades. Therefore, an early detection method for OSCC is needed to increase long-term patient survival." Other recent studies have discovered hundreds of miRNAs in various organisms that play roles in cell growth, differentiation, apoptosis, stress response, immune [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-08-25T20:10:52-07:00August, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Dietary vitamin D and cancers of the oral cavity and esophagus

Source: Annals of Oncology 2009 20(9):1576-1581 Authors: L. Lipworth et al. Background: Data on the association between vitamin D and upper digestive tract neoplasms are limited. Methods: In two case–control studies in Italy, we examined the relation between dietary vitamin D intake and squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus (SCCE; 304 cases) and oral/pharyngeal cancer (804 cases). Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated by multiple logistic regression. Results: Adjusted ORs for SCCE and oral/pharyngeal cancer were 0.58 (95% CI 0.39–0.86) and 0.76 (95% CI 0.60–0.94), respectively, for the highest tertile of vitamin D intake. Using a reference group of those in the highest tertile of vitamin D who were never/former smokers, ORs were 8.7 (95% CI 4.1–18.7) for SCCE and 10.4 (95% CI 6.9–15.5) for oral/pharyngeal cancer among heavy smokers in the lowest vitamin D tertile; similarly, compared with those in the highest tertile of vitamin D who drank <3 alcoholic drinks/day, corresponding ORs were 41.9 (95% CI 13.7–128.6) for SCCE and 8.5 (95% CI 5.7–12.5) for oral/pharyngeal cancer, among heavy alcohol drinkers in the lowest vitamin D tertile. Conclusion: We observed inverse associations between dietary vitamin D intake and risk of SCCE and, perhaps, oral/pharyngeal cancer, which were most pronounced among heavy current smokers and heavy consumers of alcohol. Authors: L. Lipworth1,2, M. Rossi3, J. K. McLaughlin1,4, E. Negri3, R. Talamini5, F. Levi6, S. Franceschi7 and C. La Vecchia3,4,8 Authors' affiliations: 1 International Epidemiology Institute, Rockville, MD 2 Department of Preventive Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-08-25T04:04:14-07:00August, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Light-mediated therapy aims to overcome both tumour cell uptake barriers and toxicity problems

Source: news.prnewswire.com Author: press release PCI Biotech Holding ASA, the Norwegian drug delivery company focusing on effective delivery of cancer therapeutics, today announced that the first patient has received treatment in the Phase I/II trial with the lead candidate Amphinex(R), which uses a new approach called photochemical internalisation. The patient was treated at the University College Hospital (UCH) in London. PCI's proprietary photosensitiser Amphinex(R) is in this study combined with the therapeutic agent bleomycin. When activated by light, Amphinex(R) promotes effective delivery of large therapeutic molecules such as bleomycin through triggered endosomal release. The trial will investigate a broadly representative spectrum of cancers including head and neck cancer and breast cancer, to demonstrate the safety and potential of this new approach. The primary objective of this study is to assess the maximum tolerated dose of Amphinex(R), in PCI treatment with bleomycin. Secondary objectives include determination of the antitumor activity of Amphinex(R) when used in combination with bleomycin, as well as its pharmacokinetics. Colin Hopper, Principal Investigator at UCH, said: "At UCH we are dedicated to high quality patient care and we have extensive experience in the use of photodynamic therapy to treat cancer patients. PCI is a very exciting new approach in photodynamic medicine that has shown great promise in preclinical studies. We are very proud of being the first centre to move this new technology into the clinic." Per Walday CEO of PCI Biotech, said: "This first in man trial is an important step forward for the company. We [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-08-24T20:34:26-07:00August, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

First ever list of top-rated cancer fighting nonprofits

Source: Hotindienews.com Author: Staff Menlo Park, Calif. — For donors and volunteers looking to support a cancer charity, GreatNonprofits releases the first ever list of top-rated cancer fighting nonprofits. A huge variety of cancer support, education, and advocacy organizations were reviewed during the 2009 GreatNonprofits Cancer Fighters Awards in July. The large diversity of organizations that received reviews combined with the large number of reviews posted, shows the incredible passion and commitment these organizations inspire. “We’re really proud of this,” says Brian Hill, Founder and Executive Director of The Oral Cancer Foundation, which won for top-rated cancer organization with an annual budget below $250,000. “It’s an honest appraisal of metrics of what we’ve accomplished that’s actually human.” Nancy Frank is the Executive Director of the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation, the winner among organizations with budgets over $1,000,000. She says, “We were thrilled with the response. We work our little nose to the grindstone every day and this kind of renewed our spirits in this hard year.” The contest, held throughout July, asked people to submit reviews and ratings about nonprofits serving the cancer community. The contest was sponsored by GreatNonprofits, GuideStar and Planet Cancer. The results provide surprising and inspiring insights into the diversity of organizations that are considered effective and important by volunteers, donors and stakeholders of the cancer community. This is the first ever list providing reviews of cancer fighting nonprofits by those who have actually experienced their work. These unique results will be helpful to donors and [...]

Charlotte Parker2009-08-24T22:36:54-07:00August, 2009|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|