3/19/2008 Hickory, NC staff www.huliq.com Researchers from the Dental Institute and the Nutritional Science Research Division, led by Professors Saman Warnakulasuriya and Victor R Preedy have published new research findings which herald a significant advance in understanding how alcohol may cause oral (mouth) cancer. Oral cancer affects around 4,600 people in the UK per year and the disease is more common in Scotland. It is a highly lethal disease and five year survival is around 50 per cent. At least three people die of or with oral cancer every day in the UK. Saman Warnakulasuriya, Professor of Oral Medicine & Experimental Pathology at King’s, and lead researcher in the project says: ‘We are very excited by this discovery. Alcohol is a major risk factor for oral cancer. We have so far not been able to explain exact mechanisms how alcohol causes cancer of the mouth'. Through study of a group of alcohol misusers the researchers have found that a break down product of alcohol – acetaldehyde can be detected in oral mucosal cells, and thereby provide a marker for alcohol metabolism. The research team at King’s worked in collaboration with Professor Onni Niemela and Professor Seppo Parkkila at the University of Tampere, Finland. Dr Onni Niemela, a Professor of Laboratory Medicine at the University of Tampere, comments: ‘This product (acetaldehyde) identifies cells that are damaged by the alcohol, and through the study of these cells we can see how the damage may trigger diseases such as cancer in alcohol misusers’. [...]

3/18/2008 Little Falls, NJ Judith Groch MedPageToday (www.medpagetoday.com) Although head and neck cancer patients had improved mental health scores a year after diagnosis and treatment, their quality of life, particularly the ability to eat, had declined markedly, a study here found. Treatment, especially a feeding-tube still in place at one year, and the effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy, were major factors in diminished quality of life at follow-up, David L. Ronis, Ph.D., of the University of Michigan here, and colleagues reported in the March issue of Archives of Otolaryngology--Head & Neck Surgery. But there was a modest improvement in mental health after a year. Treatments tend to produce pain, disfigurement, and eating and communication problems, the researchers noted. Many patients become disabled, and about one-third continue to smoke, while half are depressed. It is likely, the researchers said, that the improvement in mental health the researchers found is a consequence of low baseline levels because anxiety and depressive reactions to a cancer diagnosis are common. Thus, there may be some "floor effect" for mental well-being that occurs near the time of diagnosis, and patients are likely to improve in most cases. In the survey of more than 300 patients, about 43% of patients with newly diagnosed head and neck cancer had smoked in the month prior to treatment (baseline). Smoking at baseline was highly correlated with decreased quality-of-life scores at baseline and at one year of follow-up, the researchers said. Even after controlling for baseline quality of life, those [...]

3/18/2008 Harrisburg, PA press release EarthTimes (www.earthtimes.org) Approximately 35,000 Americans are diagnosed with oral cancer each year and nearly 8,000 people died of these cancers in 2007 alone. Early detection is an integral part in battling the disease and can even help identify precancerous cells before they become cancerous. The Pennsylvania Dental Association (PDA) stresses that regular dental checkups play an essential part in the early detection of oral cancer. The term oral cancer refers to cancers located in any part of the mouth, including the lips, gum tissue, tongue and the soft or hard palate, or in the pharynx, the top part of the throat. Adults over the age of 40 are more susceptible to oral cancer and the disease historically affects twice as many men than women. However, there has been a nearly five-fold increase in incidence in oral cancer patients under the age of 40. Individuals who use any form of tobacco products, especially when combined with the use of alcohol, are at a greater risk for developing oral cancer. "All patients should be screened for oral cancer whether they fall into one of the high-risk categories or not," said Dr. John Meci, a PDA member and general dentist from Coplay. "Additionally, patients who do not have their own teeth should have their dentures checked periodically for proper fit and their mouth examined for precancerous or cancerous lesions." While you should visit the dentist twice a year for regular checkups, dentists recommend that you check your mouth [...]

3/17/2008 web-based article Karl Kingsley et al. BMC Public Health, March 10, 2008; 8(1): 87 Background: Downward trends have been observed in oral cancer incidence and mortality in the US over the past 30 years; however, these declines are not uniform within this population. Several studies have now demonstrated an increase in the incidence and mortality from oral cancers among certain demographic groups, which may have resulted from increased risks or risk behaviors. This study examines the underlying data that comprise these trends, to identify specific populations that may be at greater risk for morbidity and mortality from oral cancers. Methods: Oral cancer incidence and mortality data analyzed for this study were generated using the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program. Results: While oral cancer incidence and mortality rates have been declining over the past thirty years, these declines have reversed in the past five years among some demographic groups, including black females and white males. Sorting of these data by state revealed that eight states exhibited increasing rates of oral cancer deaths, Nevada, North Carolina, Iowa, Ohio, Maine, Idaho, North Dakota, and Wyoming, in stark contrast to the national downward trend. Furthermore, a detailed analysis of data from these states revealed increasing rates of oral cancer among older white males, also contrary to the overall trends observed at the national level. Conclusions: These results signify that, despite the declining long-term trends in oral cancer incidence and mortality nationally, localized geographic areas exist where the incidence [...]

3/17/2008 web-based article staff American Medical Network (www.health.am) The results of a study in the International Journal of Cancer confirm an association between smoking and cancers of the stomach and esophagus, and suggest that moist snuff, a popular form of smokeless tobacco in Scandinavia known as “snus,” raises the risk of these cancers as well. Dr. Kazem Zendehdel, of the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, and colleagues examined the occurrence of esophageal and stomach cancers in a group of male Swedish construction workers who were followed for up to 33 years. A total of 336,381 subjects provided information on tobacco smoking and snus use between 1971 and 1993. Follow-up through 2004 was accomplished through linkage to various nationwide registers. Fifty-eight percent of the workers reported current or former smoking, and 28 percent reported snus use. Tobacco smoking raised the risk of stomach and esophagus cancers by as much fivefold. Although snus use appeared to be safer, it still increased the risk of stomach cancer slightly and raised the odds of esophagus cancer by more than threefold. Although there is still some uncertainty about the cause and strength of these associations, and if they can be extended to other populations, “we conclude that at present, Scandinavian snus cannot be considered to be without a (cancer) risk,” Zendehdel and colleagues conclude. Source: International Journal of Cancer, March 2008.

3/14/2008 Gathersburg, MD Lisa Richwine and Kim Dixon www.reuters.com The widespread use of anemia drugs sold by Amgen Inc and Johnson & Johnson should be sharply restricted for cancer patients amid serious safety concerns, a U.S. advisory panel said on Thursday. The Food and Drug Administration panel recommended against giving the medicines to patients with potentially curable cancers who are undergoing treatment, or to patients with advanced breast cancer or head and neck cancer. "How long do patients have to continue to be exposed to a drug that we are not sure is safe?" said Dr. Judith Kramer of Duke University and a panel member. The FDA typically takes the advice of its expert panels. The recommendations come after eight studies found evidence of tumor growth or shorter survival for some patients given high doses of the drugs, which include Amgen's top-selling product Aranesp and J&J's Procrit. Tens of thousands of cancer patients take the drugs for anemia caused by chemotherapy. Anemia, or low levels of red blood cells, causes fatigue and weakness. The drugs, known as erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs), are genetically engineered forms of a protein that boosts production of red blood cells. The injectable medicines also are sold for patients with kidney disease. The panel rejected, in a 13-1 vote, a more extreme option of recommending a complete withdrawal of all approved uses for cancer patients. The panel is saying "if you want to cure a patient with chemo, don't kill them with an ESA," King said. Amgen [...]

3/13/2008 Tulsa, OK staff www.dentalofficemag.com Students from New York University College of Dentistry and from other local chapters of the Student National Dental Association--in partnership with the Harlem Hospital Center, the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce, New York University, Columbia University, and Renaissance Health Care Network--will lead New York City's Third Annual Oral Cancer Walk April 19. The goal of the walk is to raise awareness of a disease that kills more than 8,000 Americans each year. Last spring, the Second Annual NYC Oral Cancer Walk attracted approximately 500 participants, up from just less than 300 walkers in 2006. The walk raised more than $30,000. This year, the goal will be to double both the number of walkers and the funds raised. The walk is taking place in Harlem to call attention to the fact that oral cancer disproportionately affects African-American men, who have the highest rates of oral cancer in the United States. If detected in its earliest stages, however, oral cancer is easily treated. The key is early detection and prevention. Major risk factors are tobacco and heavy alcohol use. Free oral cancer screenings and general health screenings will be available immediately following the walk. Registration begins at 9 a.m. April 19 at Marcus Garvey Park Auditorium near 122nd St. West & Mount Morris Park West, Harlem, New York City. Welcoming ceremonies begin at 10 a.m. and the walk begins at 11 a.m. Participants will receive a map of the walk route (approximately four miles) when they register. [...]

3/13/2008 Washington, DC Will Dunham www.reuters.com There are two distinct culprits behind head and neck cancer -- the long-recognized heavy tobacco and alcohol use as well as a common sexually transmitted virus, researchers said on Tuesday. The risk factors are so dramatically different in head and neck cancer in people infected with the human papillomavirus, or HPV, that it should be considered a separate disease from cases in which patients are not infected, researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore said. Head and neck cancer includes tumors in the mouth, tongue, nose, sinuses, throat and lymph nodes in the neck. "These are completely different cancers and we need to view them as such. They just happen to occur in the same place. The risk factors didn't appear to overlap at all, and there didn't appear to be any interaction between them," Dr. Maura Gillison, a professor of oncology and epidemiology, said in a telephone interview. More than 35,000 people are diagnosed with head and neck cancer annually in the United States alone. If found early, such cancer may respond well to treatment with surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Not only are the patient populations different in HPV-positive and HPV-negative head and neck cancer, but the tumors look different under a microscope, Gillison said. People with the viral-linked cancer also tend to respond better to treatment than those not HPV-infected, she added. HPV is a common sexually transmitted virus. It is well known for causing cervical cancer and genital warts. Since [...]

3/13/2008 web-based article press release ScienceDaily.com Clinicians have been perplexed by the fact that some patients given the drug cetuximab--an immune-based therapy commonly used to treat persons diagnosed with head and neck cancer, or colon cancer--have a severe and rapid adverse reaction to the drug. Sometimes the reaction includes anaphylaxis, a life-threatening condition characterized by a drop in blood pressure, fainting, difficulty breathing, and wheezing. Now researchers funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, have discovered that specific pre-existing antibodies cause the severe reaction to the drug. This discovery in turn has enabled them to explain the unusual geographic pattern of this reaction seen among individuals in the United States. The unusual findings of this investigation appear in a report published in the March 13 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine. "These intriguing research findings not only are potentially important to physicians treating certain cancer patients, but also may have broader implications for the use of immunotherapies for other diseases," notes Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., NIAID director. NIAID grantee Thomas Platts-Mills, M.D., Ph.D., who heads the Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology at the University of Virginia, led a research study to investigate the cause of the clinical problem with cetuximab. Their newly reported findings are of immediate importance in the care of cancer patients, says Dr. Platts-Mills. "Because of the widespread use of cetuximab in cancer treatment, it may be useful to pre-screen patients for specific [...]

3/12/2008 Chicago, IL staff medheadlines.com Patient demographics has led researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center to identify two types of cancer associated with the head and neck and the types of people more likely to get one form of the cancer or the other. The two cancers - one HPV positive and the other HPV negative - usually involve the back of the tongue and the upper throat. HPV is the human papillomavirus, a sexually transmitted disease often associated with cervical cancer. Patients who develop HPV-positive cancers are most often young, well educated, married, and earn more than $50,000 per year. They are also more likely to have had multiple sex partners, engage in oral sex, and smoke marijuana. The patients with HPV-negative cancers are often older, smoke tobacco, use alcohol, and neglect oral hygiene. The rate of HPV-positive cancers has almost doubled in the US in the last 30 years but this form of cancer seems to respond better to treatment, leading to longer survival rates, than the HPV-negative type. Some risk factors associated with HPV-positive cancers include a history of smoking marijuana, multiple sex partners, casual sex, lack of barrier protection during oral and vaginal sex, and a history of at least one sexually transmitted disease. The risk of cancer increases with marijuana use. Study participants who smoked pot five years or longer were found to be 11 times more at risk of HPV-positive cancers of the head and neck than people who smoke nothing. Further [...]