Oral Cancer News – Page 154 – The Oral Cancer Foundation News Archive

Blacks with throat cancer get harsher therapy

Source: in.reuters.com Author: Frederik Joelving Blacks in the United States with throat cancer are more likely than whites to have surgery that leaves them unable to speak than to get gentler voice-preserving therapy, according to a study. Previous research has found a similar racial disparity in breast cancer treatment, with blacks more often having the entire breast removed instead of just the cancerous lumps. It's unclear why the disparity exists. But study leader Allen Chen, a radiation oncologist at University of California, Davis, said that poverty, less education and deep-rooted historical biases could all be at work. "There could be an underlying distrust among African Americans where they feel anything less than surgery might be considered quote-unquote experimental," Chen told Reuters Health. He referenced the Tuskegee experiment, conducted by the U.S. government from the 1930s into the 1970s, in which black patients with syphilis went untreated despite assurances to the contrary. "That sort of distrust needs to be addressed or alleviated," Chen said, because voice-preserving treatment for throat cancer, based on radiation and drug therapy, is now the standard. His study, published in the Archives of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery, is based on data from a US cancer registry including nearly 5,400 cases of laryngeal cancer between 1991 and 2008. About 80 percent of whites had voice-preserving treatment, while the rest had their voice box surgically removed - the traditional approach. Among blacks, 75 percent had the gentler therapy. While that's only a five-percent difference, "I think that's [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-07-18T06:04:33-07:00July, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Researchers report early success using saliva to detect oral cancer

Source: www.nih.gov Author: press release Scientists funded by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, part of the National Institutes of Health, reported today taking a major step forward in using saliva to detect oral cancer. As published in the current issue of Clinical Cancer Research, the scientists found they could measure for elevated levels of four distinct cancer-associated molecules in saliva and distinguish with 91 percent accuracy between healthy people and those diagnosed with oral squamous cell carcinoma. This so-called "proof-of-principle" study marks the first report in the scientific literature that distinct patterns of "messenger RNA" not only are measurable in saliva but can indicate a developing tumor. Messenger RNA (mRNA) is the molecular intermediate between gene and protein, serving as a chemical record that an individual gene has been expressed. According to David Wong, D.M.D., D.M.Sc., a scientist at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Dentistry and senior author on the paper, it may be possible with further refinement of the test, possibly by including additional cancer-linked mRNAs, to attain the necessary 99 to 100 percent accuracy of commercial diagnostic tests for oral squamous cell carcinoma, the sixth most common cancer in the United States. Wong noted that currently no biochemical or genetic diagnostic tests are commercially available for oral cancer. He also noted that the RNA patterns in saliva may be informative for other cancers and common diseases. "Saliva is a mirror of our blood," said Wong. "We're now conducting our initial [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-07-13T18:15:21-07:00July, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Robots vs. radiation

Source: the-scientist.com Author: Bob Grant Scientists at London, Ontario-based Lawson Health Research Institute have launched the first ever study of the comparative effectiveness of robotic-assisted surgery versus radiation therapy for the treatment of oropharyngeal cancer, or cancer of the back of the throat. Transoral robotic surgery (TORS), a new method for removing tumors from the throat developed in 2004, approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2010, and already used in many hospitals in the United States, may be a good way for throat cancer patients to avoid some of radiation therapy’s side effects, which include speech problems, hearing loss, skin discoloration, taste changes, difficulty swallowing, and dry mouth. “Early studies of TORS show it holds promise to provide good disease control, as well as offer good speech and swallowing outcomes for patients,” said London Health Sciences Center (LHSC) head and neck surgeon Anthony Nichols in a statement cialis otc canadianviagras.com. “However, it is important that we conduct a thorough comparison of the two treatments.” Researchers conducting the so-called ORATOR trial will track quality of life, side effects, and survival in cancer patients randomly assigned to receive either TORS or radiation therapy. “Radiation has worked very well for the treatment of these cancers and has set a very high standard for treatment,” said LHSC radiation oncologist David Palma in a statement. “Before we can implement TORS, we need to prove that it meets that standard—are the cure rates just as good, and are the side effects [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-07-13T17:51:43-07:00July, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Gardasil vaccine to be free for boys for protection against human papilloma virus

Source: Herald Sun IN a world first, Australian schoolboys will receive the Gardasil vaccine free from next year. Federal Health Minister Tanya Plibersek's announcement yesterday comes five years after it was first funded for girls. She said about 870,000 boys would receive Gardasil over the next four years under the national immunisation program, costing about $21 million. The vaccine, which protects against four strains of the human papilloma virus, will be funded for 12 and 13-year-old boys, but Year 9 students will also be included in a two-year catch-up program. HPV causes cervical cancer in women, as well as a range of other cancers affecting both sexes, including tumours of the head and neck. Ms Plibersek made the announcement at Brisbane's Diamantina Institute, where the vaccine was developed. She said the decision continued Australia's reputation as being a world pioneer in immunisation. "We were one of the first countries to introduce polio and measles vaccinations," the Minister said. "We're the first country to provide free HPV vaccinations for girls, and from next year we will be the first country to provide free HPV vaccinations for boys." Scientist Ian Frazer, who developed Gardasil, hailed the "important public health measure". "The papillomavirus is responsible for some of the cancers inside the mouth and throat along with cancers of the genital tract," Prof Frazer said from overseas. "This is a very safe and effective vaccine." Cancer Council Australia CEO Ian Olver said funding Gardasil for girls was already having positive impacts, decreasing the [...]

Charlotte Parker2012-07-12T08:55:51-07:00July, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

HPV vaccine reduces infection, even in unvaccinated

Source: Therapeutics Daily The HPV vaccine not only has resulted in a decrease in human papillomavirus infection in immunized teens but also in teens who were not immunized. The study is believed to be the first to show a substantial decrease in HPV infection in a community setting as well as herd protection – a decrease in infection rates among unimmunized individuals that occurs when a critical mass of people in a community is immunized against a contagious disease. The Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center study will be published online July 9 in the eFirst pages of Pediatrics. "Infection with the types of HPV targeted by the vaccine decreased in vaccinated young women by 69 percent," says Jessica Kahn, MD, MPH, a physician in the division of Adolescent Medicine at Cincinnati Children's and lead author of the study. "Two of these HPV types, HPV-16 and HPV-18, cause about 70 percent of cervical cancer. Thus, the results are promising in that they suggest that vaccine introduction could substantially reduce rates of cervical cancer in this community in the future." The first HPV vaccine was licensed for use in the United States in June 2006. The U.S. Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has recommended vaccination of girls and women between the ages of 11 and 26 to reduce rates of HPV infection, which ultimately can lead to cervical cancer. In 2006 and 2007, Dr. Kahn and colleagues at Cincinnati Children's recruited 368 young women between the ages of 13 and 16 from [...]

Charlotte Parker2012-07-10T09:33:35-07:00July, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

A New Treatment’s Tantalizing Promise Brings Heartbreaking Ups and Downs

Source: The New York Times Beth McDaniel’s oncologist, a bear of a man, hugged her and twirled her around. “Holy cow, Beth!” Dr. John J. Gohmann exclaimed. For the first time since a rare cancer appeared eight years before, her lymph nodes had shrunk to a normal size, her skin was no longer bright red and inflamed, and the itchiness that plagued her had subsided. Mrs. McDaniel, the 69-year-old wife of a retired corporate executive, had gambled on the ultimate in personalized medicine, an approach known as whole genome sequencing, and it seemed to be paying off. Scientists had compared the entire genetic sequences of the tumor cells invading her body with those in her healthy cells, searching for mutated tumor genes that could be thwarted by drugs approved for other cancers or even other diseases. That had led them to give her an expensive drug approved just a month earlier for melanoma patients. It had never been given to anyone with a blood cell cancer like hers. In theory, the drug should have killed her. Instead, it seemed to have halted or even reversed her cancer. But would it last? And what would it mean if it did not? In the end, Mrs. McDaniel’s journey to the edge of genetics research turned out to be a decidedly mixed experience. It was hard — much harder than anyone in her family had imagined — to get the sequencing and analysis done. It was breathtaking to see the results, which indicated [...]

Charlotte Parker2012-07-09T09:31:57-07:00July, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Viral Marketing: What’s Stopping Men From Getting the HPV Vaccine

Source: GOOD Mobile By: Jake Blumgart on July 6, 2012 at 3:00AM PDT In early 2011, my doctor informed me that a vaccine to protect against the human papillomavirus—HPV—was now available for men. I was relieved, then frustrated—my doctor didn’t actually offer the principal vaccine, Gardasil, to her male patients. After a couple days of hunting around town, I finally found the vaccine at the Mazzoni Center, a LGBT health clinic in downtown Philly. I received all three shots, and joined the less than 1 percent of American men who are vaccinated against the most dangerous strains of the virus. While I was exceedingly grateful to the Mazzoni Center inoculating me, I knew of only one other male friend who’d received his shots. So since I got my shots, I’ve made a point of discussing my experience with any friend, acquaintance, or bemused bystander who will listen. And I’ve learned two things about young, straight men and HPV: We all know it exists, and not much else. When I posted about my vaccinations on Facebook and Twitter, the response was largely positive—but the dozen or so likes and comments mainly came from my female friends. When I brought up the issue with a few straight guys, they seemed confused about my decision to air the information in public. Embarrassed, I let the conversation drop. But a couple weeks later, I received a Facebook message from an acquaintance in another city, freaking out about his own HPV scare, and asking me whether [...]

Charlotte Parker2012-07-09T09:04:05-07:00July, 2012|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

Demystifying the immortality of cancer cells

Source: http://medicalxpress.com/ Author: In cancer cells, normal mechanisms governing the cellular life cycle have gone haywire. Cancer cells continue to divide indefinitely, without ever dying off, thus creating rapidly growing tumors. Swiss scientists have discovered a protein complex involved this deregulated process, and hope to be able to exploit it to stop tumor formation in its tracks. All our cells come equipped with an automatic self-destruct mechanism; they are programmed to die after a certain number of divisions. This internal clock is of great interest to cancer researchers, because most forms of cancer exhibit a defect in this innate timing mechanism. Cancer cells continue to divide indefinitely, long past the moment at which a normal cell would self-destruct. A team of researchers from professor Joachim Lingner’s laboratory at EPFL has learned how this defect is regulated in a tumor. Post-doctoral researcher Liuh-Yow Chen led the team in publishing an article appearing in the journal Nature on the 4th of July 2012. Their hope is that the discovery will provide new targets for drug therapies to combat the deadly disease. Cellular immortality, which is responsible for cancer formation, hearkens back to a critical function of the cells of the developing embryo. At the ends of every chromosome there is a special sequence of DNA known as a telomere, whose length is governed by the telomerase enzyme. This sequence represents the lifespan of the cell. Every time the cell divides, it is shortened, and when the telomere finally runs out, [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-07-08T06:54:32-07:00July, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Test for KRAS mutations clarifies who will benefit from EGFR treatments

Medscape Oncology Written by, Zosia Chustecka (Barcelona, Spain) — A simpler, cheaper, more accurate test forKRAS mutations has been developed by a group of Italian researchers. Routine testing for KRAS mutations in the treatment of colorectal cancer is now recommended by many expert bodies. Testing identifies patients who carry this mutation and are unlikely to respond to treatment with the anti–epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) monoclonal antibodies cetuximab (Erbitux, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Lillly) and panitumumab (Vectibix, Amgen). Targeted therapies are indicated only for use in patients with KRAS wild-type disease. Details on the new test were presented in a poster exhibited here at the 14th World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer, which was organized in partnership with the European Society for Medical Oncology. "This new test is cheaper, quicker, and more sensitive, so the genotyping of patient[s] is more accurate," senior author Christiana Lo Nigro, PhD, from the Laboratory for Cancer Genetics and Translational Oncology at the S. Croce General Hospital, in Cuneo, Italy, toldMedscape Medical News. Currently, the gold standard for KRAS mutation testing is Sanger sequencing of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products. "Although this detects and identifies all mutations in an amplified sequence, it is time-consuming, cost-ineffective, and has a maximum sensitivity of around 15 to 20%," Dr. Lo Nigro stated. Another method — high-throughput pyrosequencing (PS) — is faster but still takes about a day. "It too is cost-ineffective," she said, because the equipment is expensive and is available in only a few centers. In addition, although PS has a detection limit of around 5%, about 5% [...]

Charlotte Parker2012-07-06T16:39:32-07:00July, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

People ignorant of cancers caused by smoking

Source: medicalxpress.com Author: CancerResearch UK Cancer Research UK today reveals the shocking level of ignorance about smoking and cancer among the UK public in a comprehensive new survey of more than 4000 people. When asked to select cancers linked to smoking, more than 80 per cent of people did not know there was a link between smoking and eight different cancers. At least two thirds of the 4,099 people surveyed knew smoking caused cancers of the lung, mouth (oral) and throat (larynx and oesophagus). But less than 20 per cent knew tobacco was linked to leukaemia and cancers of the liver, pancreas, bowel (colorectum), kidney, bladder, cervix, and ovary. And less than 40 per cent knew that stomach cancer is linked to smoking. Cigarette smoke contains a toxic cocktail of more than 70 cancer-causing chemicals. When a cigarette is smoked, these chemicals can enter the bloodstream and travel around the body, increasing the risk of cancer in more than a dozen different locations. Professor Robert West, Cancer Research UK’s quit smoking expert, said: “Nearly everyone knows that smoking causes lung cancer. And smokers may often gamble with their chance of developing the disease. The addiction can lead people to reason that they might avoid lung cancer. But the odds aren’t good. And these alarming results show what could be a fatal level of ignorance about the toxic hit list from tobacco. There are only two options to eliminate illness caused by smoking: help smokers to quit and stop young people from [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-07-04T10:40:48-07:00July, 2012|Oral Cancer News|