7/1/2006 New York, NY Mike Stobbe Forbes.com Taking up a sensitive issue among religious conservatives, an influential government advisory panel Thursday recommended that 11- and 12-year-old girls be routinely vaccinated against the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices also said the shots can be started for girls as young as 9, at the discretion of their doctors. The committee's recommendations usually are accepted by federal health officials, and influence insurance coverage for vaccinations. Gardasil, made by Merck & Co., is the first vaccine specifically designed to prevent cancer. Approved earlier this month by the Food and Drug Administration for females ages 9 to 26, it protects against strains of the human papilloma virus, or HPV, which causes cervical, vulvar and vaginal cancers and genital warts. Health officials estimate that more than 50 percent of sexually active women and men will be infected with one or more types of HPV in their lifetimes. Vaccine proponents say it could dramatically reduce the nearly 4,000 cervical cancer deaths that occur each year in the United States. The vaccine is considered most effective when given to girls before they become sexually active. About 7 percent of children have had sexual intercourse before age 13, and about a quarter of boys and girls have had sex by age 15, according to government surveys. The committee's vote was unanimous, with two of the 15 members abstaining because of they have worked on Merck-funded studies. The committee also voted to [...]

7/1/2006 Helsinki, Finland staff Health24.com A chewing gum with the amino acid cysteine aimed at reducing the risk of alcohol and tobacco smoking related cancers is expected to launch to market this year, following extensive research at the University of Helskinki. The gum, called XyliCyst, is to be introduced by Finnish company Biohit Oyj, which holds the patents to the preparations to use I-cysteine to eliminate the carcinogen acetaldehyde after drinking or smoking. It is not yet known which markets the gum will be launched in, but a spokesperson for the company said that the plan is for it to be available in mainstream shops, not just pharmacies – although this will depend on individual countries’ regulations. I-cysteine has been understood for many years to have the ability to bind to acetaldehyde, or ethanal, a toxic chemical compound that forms in saliva, especially with alcohol drinking and tobacco smoking. Increase in acetaldehyde According to Finnish researchers Professors Mikko Salaspuro and Martti Marvola, epidemiological statistics indicating that 80 percent of cancers of the mouth, pharynx and oesophagus are linked to smoking and drinking could be explained by increased exposure to acetaldehyde in the upper digestive tract. According to Cancer Research UK, oesophageal cancer is the ninth most common form of the disease in the UK, almost 7 500 new cases diagnosed every year. In 2002 there were 4 405 new cases of mouth cancer; 32 percent of mouth cancers are in the oral cavity, and 25 percent in the oropharynx, priform [...]

7/1/2006 Wheeling, WVa staff Wheeling News-Register (www.theintelligencer.net) The West Virginia High Technology Consortium Foundation is assisting a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs researcher in securing a company to commercialize software that can help diagnose a medical condition affecting millions of Americans. With one in four U.S. residents now considered obese, the medical community and others are spending countless hours and millions of dollars to get the country back in shape. New drugs, diets and exercise regimens are hitting the market faster than consumers can snap them up. Everyone, it seems, is looking for the perfect prescription to prevent over-eating. But what if you couldn’t eat? For the 15 million Americans with swallowing disorders — a number growing by 1 million more annually — this is a nightmare come true. And it is a problem that doesn’t receive enough attention, according to Roxann Diez Gross, a research speech-language pathologist for the VA Pittsburgh Health Care System. “Our lives are centered around food,” Gross said. “It’s not just life-sustaining; it’s how we meet, how we celebrate, how we get to know each other. Try to think of any special event that doesn’t involve food. Now try to imagine being told you may never be able to eat or drink again.” Swallowing disorders, or oropharyngeal dysphagia — which can result from a stroke, Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, brain injury, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, head and neck cancer, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and even more diseases — constitute “a neglected medical problem,” said [...]

7/1/2006 Columbus, OH staff TheWBALChannel.com If you’re in the habit of skipping dessert to try and eat healthier, you may want to reconsider. Scientists continue to find more evidence that sweet, mouth-watering berries are more than a summertime treat. They’re also potent cancer fighters, and whether it’s in a cobbler, a pie or fresh off the vine, there is one berry in particular that’s worth the indulgence. Mike Melson has an appreciation for the past. He runs an antique store, and looks back fondly on the warm summer days of his childhood. “My grandmother had the guy we called the berry man that came to the house during the berry season, and we bought our fresh raspberries straight off the berry farm,” Melson said. Dr. Gary Stoner at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center said berries are packed with ellagic acid, which helps give them their color and their power. “We found that there’s a little bit of it in many fruits, but the most abundant amount was in berries. As it turns out, the highest amount was in black raspberries,” said Stoner. Stoner and his team at The Ohio State University’s James Cancer Hospital have found that the more black raspberries we eat, the more they can protect us from developing cancer. But what about patients like Melson who already have cancer? “The down side of oral cancer after surgery is that about 20 percent of those individuals in 18 months will come back to the James with [...]

7/1/2006 Memphis, TN staff CancerConsultants.com ImClone Systems Incorporated has received FDA approval for their monoclonal antibody Erbitux (cetuximab) in the treatment of head and neck cancer. Erbitux is the first and only monoclonal antibody approved for the treatment of head and neck cancer. The new indication includes the use of Erbitux in combination with radiation therapy for the treatment of locally or regionally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, or as a single agent in the treatment of metastatic or recurrence squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck that has failed prior platinum-based therapy. The prior indication for Erbitux was its use in combination with Camptosar® (irinotecan) for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer refractory to irinotecan-based therapy in EGFR-expressing cancers, and as a single agent for the treatment of EGFR-expressing metastatic colorectal cancer in patients who were not able to tolerate irinotecan therapy.

7/1/2006 Austin, TX press release Introgen Therapeutics, Inc Introgen Therapeutics, Inc. will conduct a conference call on July 18, 2006 at 3:30 p.m. ET to discuss data regarding Introgen's lead product ADVEXIN® presented at the annual meetings of the American Society of Gene Therapy (ASGT) and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). A panel of clinical experts will discuss the importance of prognostic indicators of ADVEXIN efficacy associated with high response rates, locoregional disease control and increased survival identified in Introgen's Phase 2 trials in patients with head and neck cancer. The call will include detailed discussions of the significance and clinical application of biomarkers predictive of ADVEXIN efficacy. The identification of prognostic indicators of ADVEXIN activity complies with initiatives of regulatory agencies to identify biomarkers that can predict the patient populations most likely to benefit from a specific cancer therapy. In blinded analyses performed by an independent testing laboratory, a molecular biomarker was identified that predicted patients most likely to benefit from ADVEXIN cancer therapy. This biomarker also identifies patients who are less likely to respond to standard cancer treatment. The predictive biomarkers correlated with statistically significant increases in survival, tumor response and loco-regional disease control following ADVEXIN therapy in clinical trials. The predictive use of biomarkers coincides with Food and Drug Administration as well as with National Cancer Institute initiatives on the use of biomarkers in the development of breakthrough cancer therapies. In addition, Introgen will discuss the successful use of ADVEXIN for Li- Fraumeni Syndrome cancer, [...]

7/1/2006 Jacksonville, FL Jack Stripling HeraldTribune.com In the fight against one of the world's most vicious killers, University of Florida physicians say they've found a better bullet. Gathered at the UF Proton Therapy Institute here Tuesday, the new facility's brain trust marveled at state-of-the-art equipment they say will help save the lives of cancer patients. The institute to be called Florida Proton will begin treating patients in late July or early August. Using a procedure called proton therapy, physicians will treat patients with highly targeted killing doses of radiation that strike at cancerous cells with unique precision. "You are standing in the most sophisticated radiation oncology center on the planet," Dr. Sameer Keole, a UF assistant professor of radiation oncology, told reporters at a media event Tuesday. The $125 million project, which was first proposed in 1998, will make UF's 98,000-square-foot facility one of just five such institutes in the nation. Instead of using traditional radiation delivery methods, like X-rays, the center will employ proton beams that UF experts say are more effective. The high-tech equipment in the center resembles something from a science fiction movie. But the basic principle that guides proton therapy is simple: Zero in on the bad cells with a killing dose of radiation, and spare the healthy cells that surround the cancer. By using protons, which are tiny subatomic particles, physicians can send a high dose of radiation directly to the site of the tumor. Once the proton reaches the tumor site, it releases all [...]

6/30/2006 Scotland, Great Britain GR Ogden Br Dent J, June 24, 2006; 200(12): 675 Objective: The 2003/04 West of Scotland Cancer Awareness Programme oral cancer campaign was designed to raise public awareness of the signs and symptoms of oral cancer. The objectives of this study were to explore general dental practitioners' (GDPs) awareness and perceptions of the campaign, and its impact on local dental practices. Methods: A self-completing questionnaire was sent to GDPs in the West of Scotland (N = 983) at the conclusion of the public awareness campaign. Results: A response rate of 68.6% was achieved. Most dentists (92%) had heard of the campaign and a large percentage had displayed the promotional materials in their practice. The majority of respondents rated the campaign materials, including a television advertisement, in a very positive manner. Over 40% of dentists reported that, during the active phase of the campaign, patients had asked for information concerning the programme, and 66% indicated that registered patients had asked for advice regarding a specific lesion. Additionally, 41% of dentists reported non-registered patients had attended asking for advice regarding a 'worrying' lesion. Over 60% of dentists had referred a patient during the campaign and 40% of these practitioners indicated an increased referral rate during this period. Conclusions: Most respondents were positive in their assessment of the campaign and reported an increased awareness of oral cancer among patients.

6/30/2006 Boston, MA R Haddad et al. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg, June 1, 2006; 132(6): 678-81 Objective: To report the rate of pathological complete response after induction chemotherapy with the docetaxel, cisplatin, and fluorouracil (TPF) combination. Design: Retrospective cohort analysis. SETTING: Tertiary care academic cancer center, between June 1999 and May 2004. Patients: Seventy-two patients with newly diagnosed squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck; 68 (95%) of the patients had stage IV, locally advanced disease. Interventions: Three cycles of induction chemotherapy followed by a biopsy of the primary site. All patients subsequently underwent chemotherapy with 3 cycles of TPF. Main Outcome Measure: Rate of pathological complete response at the primary site after induction chemotherapy with 3 cycles of TPF. Results: Biopsy results were negative for cancer in 64 patients (89%) and positive in 8 patients (11%). The median follow-up was 2 years. In the positive biopsy result group, 2 (25%) of 8 patients died of disease vs 3 (4%) of 64 patients in the negative biopsy result group. Twenty-nine neck dissections were performed; results were positive in 7 patients (all alive with no evidence of disease) and negative in 22 patients (21 alive with no evidence of disease). The overall 2- and 5-year progression-free survival is currently projected at 85% and 85%, respectively; the overall 2- and 5-year survival, at 95% and 90%, respectively. Importantly, T4 presentation did not predict a positive biopsy result at the primary site or a positive neck dissection result (P = .60 [...]

6/27/2007 Portland, OR staff EurekAlert.com Oregon Health & Science University Cancer Institute researchers have developed a Web-based software program that can help head and neck cancer patients better predict their survivability. "This new tool can help us make personalized predictions of conditional survival for an individual patient depending on his or her specific situation," said Sam Wang, M.D., Ph.D., principal investigator, Holman Pathway Resident in the Department of Radiation Medicine, OHSU School of Medicine. Conditional survival is a statistical system that takes into account the age when the patient was diagnosed with cancer and the time elapsed since diagnosis. The new Web-browser software tool, called the regression model, can calculate a patient's conditional survival based on the patient's age, gender, race and tumor site, stage and aggressiveness. The study was recently presented at the annual American Society of Clinical Oncologists. In a previous study researchers, including Wang, demonstrated the concept of conditional survival for head and neck cancer. They showed the longer patients survive after diagnosis and treatment, their better their prognosis. "This is the first time we have the ability to make a customized prediction of conditional survival probability for an individual head and neck cancer survivor, based on his or her specific characteristics," said Wang. The long-term goal is to build similar software tools for other cancers, Wang explained,so that physicians will be able to give cancer patients more individualized prognosis and treatment recommendations. "Now that cancer researchers are beginning to collect more specific information about patients' tumors, [...]