Red Meat Consumption Linked to Increased Risk of Total, Cardiovascular, and Cancer Mortality

Source: Harvard School of Public Health Boston, MA -- A new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers has found that red meat consumption is associated with an increased risk of total, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality. The results also showed that substituting other healthy protein sources, such as fish, poultry, nuts, and legumes, was associated with a lower risk of mortality. The study will be published online in Archives of Internal Medicine on March 12, 2012. “Our study adds more evidence to the health risks of eating high amounts of red meat, which has been associated with type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, and certain cancers in other studies,” said lead author An Pan, research fellow in the Department of Nutrition at HSPH. The researchers, including senior author Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at HSPH, and colleagues, prospectively observed 37,698 men from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study for up to 22 years and 83,644 women in the Nurses’ Health Study for up to 28 years who were free of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer at baseline. Diets were assessed through questionnaires every four years. A combined 23,926 deaths were documented in the two studies, of which 5,910 were from CVD and 9,464 from cancer. Regular consumption of red meat, particularly processed red meat, was associated with increased mortality risk. One daily serving of unprocessed red meat (about the size of a deck of cards) was associated with a 13% increased risk of mortality, and one daily [...]

2012-03-15T10:09:22-07:00March, 2012|Oral Cancer News|
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Discussing the Horrors of Oral Cancer with Two Survivors

Source: Dentistry IQ Mar 14, 2012 By Kevin Henry Managing Editor, Dental Economics Editor’s Note: I recently had the chance to talk with Christine Brader, a former smoker and three-time oral cancer survivor who lives in Allentown, Pa. She is a volunteer senior patient advocate and a board administrator for the Oral Cancer Foundation. For nearly five years, Brader has been active with the Oral Cancer Foundation’s online public forum. She devotes several hours a day to compassionately helping oral cancer patients with information and support. I discussed her battle against oral cancer as well as her current push to get more dental offices involved in the war against the disease. Brader and Eric Statler (interviewed later in this article) will be featured on the April cover of Dental Economics. Kevin Henry: You survived oral cancer three times. How were you able to overcome? Christine Brader: There aren’t very many three-time cancer survivors out there, especially when we are talking about oral cancer. I believe God saved me for my children. I wasn’t going to do any kind of surgery because I really didn’t think I was going to survive the third round of oral cancer within three years. I knew the surgery would be bad; I was Stage IV and needed my jaw removed. I knew I would probably end up disfigured. It’s hard to do something when you know your looks are going to be gone overnight and you’re not guaranteed that you will survive, but I knew [...]

2012-03-14T16:30:53-07:00March, 2012|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|
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Green tea’s status as a ‘superfood’ grows: A study finds it even abolishes bad breath (it already helps prevent cancer and heart disease)

Source: www.dailymail.co.uk Author: staff Green tea can help beat bad breath, according to scientific research. The study found that antioxidants in the tea, called polyphenols, destroy a number of compounds in the mouth that can lead to bad breath, tooth decay and even mouth cancer. The study from Israel’s Institute of Technology will add to green tea’s status as one of nature’s so-called ‘superfoods’. It is already said to help prevent cancer and heart disease and lower cholesterol – and even ward off Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. Writing in the Archives of Oral Biology, the scientists called for more studies, adding: ‘All together, there is increasing interest in the health benefits of green tea in the field of oral health.’ Green tea is made from the same plant as black tea but processed in a different way that means it retains less caffeine and more polyphenols. It has been drunk in China and the Far East for thousands of years and is fast becoming popular in Britain particularly because of its health benefits. It is also more likely to be drunk without milk or sugar so it tends to contain fewer calories too. The study, published in the journal Archives of Oral Biology, examined the properties of the polyphenol called epigallocatechin 3 gallate (EGCG) in particular. It reported: ‘EGCG constitute the most interesting components in green tea leaves. ‘Tea polyphenols possess antiviral properties, believed to help in protection from influenza. ‘Additionally green tea polyphenols can abolish halitosis through modification of odorant sulphur [...]

2012-03-14T12:18:27-07:00March, 2012|Oral Cancer News|
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Oral HPV infection affects 7% of the US population

Source: www.onclive.com Author: Ben Leach Approximately 7% of Americans are infected with oral human papillomavirus (HPV), and men are 3 times as likely to be infected as women, according to an analysis that helps define a leading factor in the rise of oropharyngeal cancer. The findings of the HPV prevalence study were presented at the Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Symposium in Phoenix, Arizona, in January and concurrently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.1 The cross-sectional study was based on samples taken from 5579 men and women between the ages of 14 to 69 years that were obtained at mobile examination centers as part of the National Health And Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2009-2010. The samples were obtained through an oral rinse and gargle, with subsequent DNA samples used to determine HPV type. Demographic data were obtained using standardized interviews. HPV prevalence in the overall study population was 6.9% (95% confidence interval [CI], 5.7%-8.3%). HPV type 16, which accounts for 90% of HPVpositive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas, was the most common form, affecting 1.0% of the study population (95% CI, 0.7%-1.3%). Prevalence of HPV was significantly higher in men versus women (10.1% [95% CI, 8.3%- 12.3%] for men compared with 3.6% [95% CI, 2.6%- 5.0%] for women; P < .001]). Sexual contact was identified as a major factor in the rate of infection, with 7.5% of those who had experienced any form of sexual contact (95% CI, 6.1%-9.1%) infected, compared with 0.9% (95% CI, 0.4%-1.8%; P < .001) [...]

2012-03-14T12:09:29-07:00March, 2012|Oral Cancer News|
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One in Two Have Never Heard of Oral Cancer

Source: Cancer Prevention Research Introduction: Vancouver's Downtown Eastside (DTES) community, one of poorest locales in Canada, has shown to be high-risk for oral mucosal abnormalities, including oral cancer. From our previous study, this community not only exposes to high-risk factors but has also high incidence of oral cancer: one oral cancer patient identified in 150 screened dental patients. This is much higher comparing to the rest of Canada and the US (1:10,000). Studies have shown that regular dental care is related to early-staged oral cancer detection. Traditionally dentistry is within the private health sector and access to dental service can be challenging to the DTES residents. Objective: 1) To determine the frequency of oral cancer risk behaviors; 2) To explore the available social assistant program to dental care; 3) To assess the dental care service utilization and its potential barriers in the DTES. Methods: To increase access, mobile screening clinics are set up at 3 main gathering locations: Vancouver Native Health Society (VNHS), Women's centre (WC) and LifeSkill's Centre (LC). Eligibility includes those of age 18 or over, reside in DTES at least for the past 3 months, and are able to sign a consent to participate. Using person-to-person interview, questionnaires for demographics, risk behaviors, perceived dental health status, available health care assistance programs, and dental care service utilization are used collect data. The oral health status is obtained through dental and oral mucosal examination by a dentist and an oral pathologist respectively. Each participant is given an incentive package [...]

2012-03-12T11:57:27-07:00March, 2012|Oral Cancer News|
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New Throat Cancer Gene Uncovered

Source: Science Daily Researchers at King's College London and Hiroshima University, Japan, have identified a specific gene linked to throat cancer following a genetic study of a family with 10 members who have developed the condition. The study, published March 8 in the American Journal of Human Genetics, uncovered a mutation in the ATR gene, demonstrating the first evidence of a link between abnormality in this gene and an inherited form of cancer. The researchers say this finding raises new ideas about genetic factors linked to throat cancer and provides a platform for exploring the role of ATR more generally in cancer biology. Scientists carried out a genome-wide linkage study in a US family with an unusual hereditary condition affecting 24 members of the family over five generations. Characteristics include developmental abnormalities of hair, teeth and nails as well as dilated skin blood vessels. Strikingly, nearly every person with the condition involved in the study had developed throat cancer (oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma) in their 20s or 30s. The team took blood samples from 13 members of the affected family, as well as samples from 13 unaffected people. After analysing these samples they found a single mutation in ATR was present in all the people with the condition, but none of the unaffected people had the mutation. Ten of the 13 people with the condition had developed throat cancer. Professor John McGrath from the King's College London Genetic Skin Disease Group at St John's Institute of Dermatology, based at Guy's [...]

2012-03-09T15:03:16-07:00March, 2012|Oral Cancer News|
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Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor and the Changing Face of Oropharyngeal Cancer

Source: Journal of Clinical Oncology To the Editor: In their article, Chaturvedi et al1 document the rise in human papillomavirus (HPV) –associated cancers as a proportion of squamous cell carcinomas of the oropharynx over the last 25 years. The contemporary figures are mirrored by two recent British studies2,3 demonstrating that the majority of oropharyngeal cancers are now HPV related. In the accompanying editorial,4 Mroz et al rightly highlight the importance of evaluating HPV vaccination for both men and women in the light of these data and lament the lack of significant improvement in the outcomes for non–HPV-associated head and neck cancers. However, they also suggest that the benefit of targeting epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) through concurrent cetuximab may be confined to HPV-associated tumors. Although EGFR expression per se does not correlate closely with response to cetuximab, there is increasing evidence of an inverse correlation between p16INK4A expression (as a marker of HPV association) and EGFR expression shown by immunohistochemistry.5,6 Though suppressed by viral oncogenes, HPV-associated tumors retain wild-type P53,7 and patients with this tumor type have demonstrated excellent survival with existing protocols such as concurrent chemoradiotherapy or surgery with postoperative radiotherapy. Conversely, non-HPV tumors, harboring a range of mutations,8 may respond less well to DNA-damaging agents, but patients with these tumors might benefit from the addition of concurrent EGFR blockade to radiotherapy. Data from the recent SPECTRUM (Study of Panitumumab Efficacy in Patients With Recurrent and/or Metastatic Head and Neck Cancer) study of adding another EGFR-targeting monoclonal antibody, panitumumab,9 [...]

2012-03-09T10:34:29-07:00March, 2012|Oral Cancer News|
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Dentists key to quitting ‘smokeless tobacco’

Source: http://www.dentistry.co.uk/ The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is recommending a key role for dental professionals in their public health intervention proposals to help stop the use of smokeless tobacco by people of South Asian Origin. Dentists, dental nurses and dental hygienists may be asked to play a leading role as part of new proposals to stop the use of smokeless tobacco in the UK. NICE has published a consultation on their proposals, which recommends a key intervention and education role for dental professionals. It is also recommending more training for dental professionals to help them gain a greater understanding of smokeless tobacco including terminology, symptoms and approaches to successful intervention. Smokeless tobacco is associated with a number of health problems including nicotine addiction, mouth and oral cancer, periodontal disease, heart attacks and strokes, problems in pregnancy and following childbirth and late diagnosis of dental problems as smokeless tobacco products can often mask pain. Smokeless tobacco is mainly used by 'people of South Asian origin', which includes people with ancestral links to Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan or Sri Lanka. The draft guidance recommends that dental professionals take specific actions including: • Asking patients about their smokeless tobacco use and record the outcome in their patient notes • Making users aware of the potential health risks and advise them to stop, using a brief intervention • Referring users who want to quit the habit to tobacco cessation services that use counsellors trained in behavioural support • Recording the [...]

2012-03-07T15:45:16-07:00March, 2012|Oral Cancer News|
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Taiwan reports highest oral cancer survivor rate

Source: www.chinapost.com.tw/ Taiwan has reported the highest five-year survival rate for patients with oral cancer in the world, a hospital official said yesterday. On average, more than 70 percent of the oral cancer patients treated at National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH) live for more than five years after being diagnosed, said Ko Jeng-yuh, head of the hospital's division of head and neck oncology. Citing a survey carried out by the American Joint Committee on Cancer, Ko said the survival rate in the United States for such patients in late stages of the disease was lower than 30 percent in 2010. The NTUH treated 1,288 patients with oral cancer between 2004 and 2009 and after complete treatment, more than 55 percent of the 476 stage-four patients lived for at least five more years, the hospital said. Taiwan has the world's highest number of patients suffering from oral cancer, as the majority of patients are middle-aged men who are also the bread winners for their families, said Lou Pei-jen, an NTUH doctor.

2012-03-07T15:33:15-07:00March, 2012|Oral Cancer News|
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