6/15/2006 Cape Town, South Africa Susan Erasmus Health24.com Former South African president F.W. de Klerk has had a tracheotomy done after complications set in following surgery for colon cancer last week. Why do smokers, or former smokers, often have severe post-operative complications? Health24 spoke to a lung specialist. “Many smokers are unaware of the fact that they have heart or lung problems, before they have operations,” according to lung specialist from Durbanville in Cape Town. “They often have blocked coronary arteries or emphysema, which may only be picked up when post-operative complications set in.” But that does not mean that all smokers get emphysema. Only 15% of them do, but says the doctor, there are many other grim conditions to which smokers are more susceptible than non-smokers, such as mouth cancer, lip cancer and colon cancer, to name but a few. Emphysema is certainly not the only thing to worry about if you are a smoker. He also mentioned that smokers produce more phlegm, which makes them more susceptible to airway and lung infections. Their lungs are also far more likely to collapse after they have had surgery. What is a heavy smoker? When asked when he would consider someone to be a heavy smoker he replied that anyone who smoked 15 or more cigarettes a day could be considered as that. But he also cautioned that that didn’t mean it was in order to smoke ten a day. “Non-smokers are just generally healthier and stand a greater chance to [...]

6/14/2006 New Haven, CT staff Biocompare (news.biocompare.com) There is a lower incidence of cardiovascular disease and cancer in Asia where people smoke heavily, which may be accounted for by high consumption of tea, particularly green tea, according to a review article published by a Yale School of Medicine researcher. "We do not yet have a full explanation for the 'Asian paradox,' which refers to the very low incidence of both heart disease and cancer in Asia, even though consumption of cigarettes is greater than in most other countries," said Bauer Sumpio, M.D., professor and Chief of Vascular Surgery in the Department of Surgery. "But we now have some theories." Sumpio, the lead author of the review in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, said he and his colleagues reviewed more than 100 experimental and clinical studies about green tea in writing the article. He said one theory is that the average 1.2 liters of green tea consumed daily by many people in Asia offers the anti-oxidant protective effects of the polyphenolic EGCG. EGCG may prevent LDL oxidation, which has been shown to play a key role in the pathophysiology of arteriosclerosis. EGCG also reduces the amount of platelet aggregation, regulates lipids, and promotes proliferation and migration of smooth muscle cells, which are all factors in reducing cardiovascular disease, he said. Sumpio said other reports show that EGCG prevents growth of certain tumors. Tea, according to studies, also can improve gastrointestinal function, alcohol metabolism, kidney, liver and pancreatic function, [...]

6/13/2006 Los Angeles, CA press release www.tradingmarkets.com Monday, drug manufacturer MGI Pharma Inc. revealed that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, has accepted its New Drug Application, or NDA, for Saforis Powder for Oral Suspension for priority review. The regulator also kept October 12 as a Prescription Drug User Fee Act goal date for review of the company's application for Saforis. The Bloomington, Minnesota-based MGI Pharma's Saforis is an investigational drug candidate for the prevention and treatment of oral mucositis in patients, who have been given mucotoxic cancer therapy. Oral mucositis is a common side effect of mucotoxic cancer therapy and has been termed by painful ulcerations, redness and swelling in the mouth. More than 200,000 patients in the U.S. are estimated to develop significant oral mucositis every year. This included nearly 40% of patients, who are undergoing standard dose mucotoxic cancer therapy and over 75% of patients receiving high dose chemotherapy with stem cell transplantation or radiation therapy for head and neck cancer. Studies supporting Saforis One pivotal phase 3 trial and several supportive studies form the foundation of the Saforis NDA. The pivotal phase 3 trial of Saforis was successfully completed in 326 patients with breast cancer who were receiving anthracycline-based chemotherapy regimens. The primary endpoint of this trial, defined as a reduction in incidence and severity of oral mucositis, was met. Data showed that patients receiving Saforis experienced a 22% relative risk reduction of clinically significant (World Health Organization or WHO Grade 2 or higher) [...]

6/13/2006 Germany press release finanzen.net Amgenthe world's largest biotechnologycompany, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration(FDA) has accepted the Biologic License Application (BLA) for panitumumab, an investigational fully human monoclonal antibody that targets the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFr) and has granted Priority Review. The BLA was submitted for the treatment of metastaticcolorectal cancer patients who have failed prior chemotherapy,including oxaliplatin and/or irinotecan containing regimens. A Priority Review designation means that the FDA will target an Agency action within six months of the application's submission date. Priority Review status is assigned by the FDA to those applications the Agency has deemed to have the potential to provide a significant therapeutic advance for patients. The rolling BLA submission for panitumumab was initiated in December 2005 and completed in March 2006. Panitumumab received Fast Track designation from the FDA in July 2005. In April 2006, marketing applications were submitted to the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) and Health Canada and in May 2006 in Australia and Switzerland. Patients and physicians can access www.amgentrials.com for moreinformation about ongoing panitumumab clinical trials. About Panitumumab Panitumumab is an investigational fully human monoclonal antibody that targets the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFr), a protein that plays an important role in cancer cell signaling. Panitumumab, an IgG2 monoclonal antibody, binds with high affinity to the EGFr. Panitumumab was generated with XenoMouse(R) technology, which creates a fully human monoclonal antibody that contains no murine (mouse)protein. The body's immune system can recognize the mouse protein found in chimeric [...]

6/13/2006 Larchmont, NY press release Genetic Engineering News (www.genengnews.com) Intraop Medical Corporation has received encouraging reports of significant local control and survival benefits for patients with advanced head and neck cancer who received intraoperative electron radiation therapy (IOERT) as part of their treatment. The studies were conducted at The Arthur James Cancer Center at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, one of seven U.S. centers currently equipped with a Mobetron(R). These results are significant for the Company because Intraop is the developer of the Mobetron, the world's first and only mobile electron-beam system designed exclusively for this kind of treatment. One study involved patients with hypopharyngeal cancer. This uncommon cancer has one of the worst prognoses for tumors of the upper aerodigestive tract, with five-year survival rates ranging from 19% to 31% when using only surgery, conventional radiation and chemotherapy. In the current study that added IOERT, the five-year survival rate was 56%, and more than 90% of the patients achieved local control of their disease. The second study included locally advanced tumors of the oral cavity and oropharynx. Standard treatment regimens for these tumors produce four-year survival rates of less than 38%. When IOERT was added, the survival rate was 72%, and overall local control of the disease was 93%. "Head and neck cancers are very difficult to treat because so many vital structures in this region of the body need to be preserved to provide good quality of life for the patient. These new studies are further [...]

6/12/2006 Rome, Italy Kathy Jones Foodconsumer.org Folic acid supplements could halt some laryngeal lesions from progressing to cancer and could even promote regression of disease, according to a new study by researchers at the Sacro Cuore Catholic University in Rome, Italy. The researchers studied the effect of folic acid supplements on laryngeal leucoplakia, which is a precancerous lesion that occurs as a white patch. Smokers are particularly prone to these lesions and might benefit from taking folic acid as a preventative measure, the researchers said. The study had 43 patients diagnosed with glottic laryngeal leucoplakia. Researchers assigned these patients to receive 5 mg of folate supplements every eight hours for six months. All patients were examined every 30 days. Blood tests were done periodically to ensure the volunteers were taking their supplements as assigned. The researchers report that thirty-one out of 43 patients with laryngeal leukoplakia had a 50 percent or greater reduction in patch size at the end of six months. The detailed report appears in the online edition of the journal Cancer. * The small study found that 12 people did not respond to folic acid supplementation. * Of the remaining, 19 had a partial response and 12 had a complete response. * There was no evidence of the original white patches after 6 months of folic acid therapy in the latter group. "Folate supplementation, alone or in combination with other chemopreventive drugs, could effectively reduce the risk of progression in an already genetically altered mucosa, especially in [...]

6/10/2006 London, England Hugo RIfkind TimesOnLine (entertainment.timesonline.co.uk) Cigarettes were cool in the 1950s; a killer in the 1980s. Now Hollywood is hooked again, says Hugo Rifkind Here’s a funny thing. Throughout Casablanca, not one woman smokes. The men do, like anything. A viewer from another species might assume that Humphrey Bogart has a thin white fifth finger, and that he contains an inexhaustible supply of thin, wispy, white candyfloss, which seeks any orifice from which to escape. But the women; never. They may hold cigarettes, but they never smoke them. Seriously. Not once. There is even a scene, right at the beginning, where a women beside Sam at the piano starts to bring a cigarette towards her mouth, and then pauses, as though thinking better of it. Richard Klein, the author of the excellent Cigarettes are Sublime (Picador, 1995), suggests that she may have been checked by a signal from the director. This was 1942, and a mainstream Hollywood movie. Such things just weren’t done. Jump forward 63 years, to 2005’s Romance and Cigarettes, and you can sort of see where that director was coming from. Whenever Kate Winslet’s grotesquely strapping lingerie salesgirl Tula drains a cigarette and leaves it crushed and lipstick-smeared, it is evident to even the most naive viewer that this cigarette probably represents something else. Thank You for Smoking, which opens on Friday, is a satire based around a tobacco PR, played by Aaron Eckhart, who is desperate to get smoking back into the movies. “Let’s [...]

6/10/2006 Washington, DC Todd Zwilich WebMD (www.webmd.com) A government expert panel on Tuesday added cancer of the larynx to the list of ailments directly linked to asbestos exposure but said there was less evidence tying the mineral to a variety of other cancers. The conclusion means that thousands more workers exposed to asbestos could qualify for compensation from a fund under debate in Congress. But lawmakers are still far from agreement on the proposed $140 billion fund, and it looks increasingly unlikely that Congress will finalize it this year. An Institute of Medicine (IOM) panel concluded Tuesday that large-scale studies show a “causal relationship” between asbestos exposure and cancer of the larynx, a part of the throat containing the vocal cords. Results from 34 studies show that people exposed to asbestos have an average 40% greater chance of laryngeal cancer than those with no exposure, the committee concluded. People with high exposure -- including miners and some construction and textile workers -- had up to double to triple the risk. The panel also found evidence linking asbestos to cancer of the stomach, upper throat, colon, and rectum. But it said that studies were not strong enough to conclusively point to asbestos as a cause. “There’s some evidence showing greater risk in those who are exposed, but there’s still substantial uncertainty,” Jonathan Samet, MD, chair of the IOM panel, tells WebMD. Asbestos was used for decades in a variety of industrial products, including insulation, construction materials, fire retardants, and tiling. Exposure [...]

6/10/2006 Chicago IL Lauren Heist Beep (www.beepcentral.com) For lots of people, oral sex seems fun and risk-free. You can’t get pregnant, and it’s pretty difficult to get AIDS. What’s not to like? See, you won’t get pregnant if you give or receive oral sex, but you can get infected with Human Papillomavirus (HPV) -- most commonly known as the virus that causes genital warts. HPV has been known to cause cervical cancer for years, but new research has proven that some forms of this common sexually transmitted disease can lead to cancer of the mouth and throat, according to the American Cancer Society. HPV is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases in the world -- 75 to 80 percent of all Americans between the ages of 15 and 49 have been infected with the virus, according to the American Social Health Association. In fact, you’re probably infected right now and don’t even know it. That’s because when the virus is inactive, it’s very difficult to spot. You can get a normal pap smear and still be a carrier. When the virus becomes active, it often shows up as genital warts. HPV, whether active or inactive, is transmitted by skin-to-skin contact, so you can get HPV even if you or your partner is wearing a condom or even if you’re having oral sex instead of regular sex. “If you’re wearing a condom, there are parts of your anatomy that aren’t protected,” says Brian Hill, executive director of the Oral [...]

6/9/2006 Gainesville, FL William M. Mendenhall et al. Journal of Clinical Oncology, Vol 24, No 17 (June 10), 2006: pp. 2618-2623 The purpose of this article is to review the role of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) in the standard management of patients with head and neck cancer through a critical review of the pertinent literature. IMRT may result in a dose distribution that is more conformal than that achieved with three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D CRT), allowing dose reduction to normal structures and thus decreasing toxicity and possibly enhancing locoregional control through dose escalation. Disadvantages associated with IMRT include increased risk of a marginal miss, decreased dose homogeneity, increased total body dose, and increased labor and expense. Outcomes data after IMRT are limited, and follow-up is relatively short. Locoregional control rates appear to be comparable to those achieved with 3D CRT and, depending on the location and extent of the tumor, late toxicity may be lower. Despite limited data on clinical outcomes, IMRT has been widely adopted as a standard technique in routine practice and clinical trials. The use of IMRT involves a learning curve for the practitioner and will continue to evolve, requiring continuing education and monitoring of outcomes from routine practice. Additional standards pertaining to a variety of issues, including target definitions and dose specification, need to be developed. Phase III trials will better define the role of IMRT in coming years. Authors: William M. Mendenhall, Robert J. Amdur, Jatinder R. Palta Authors' affiliation: From the Department of Radiation Oncology, [...]