Oral Cancer News – Page 204 – The Oral Cancer Foundation News Archive

Certain parts of the brain activated in people who heard tailored health messages and quit smoking

Staff writer, Healthy and Fit Magazine. com People who demonstrated a stronger brain response to certain brain regions when receiving individually tailored smoking cessation messages were more likely to quit smoking four months later, a new study finds. The new University of Michigan study underscores the importance of delivering individually tailored public health messages to curb unhealthy behaviors, said principal investigator Hannah Faye Chua, who led the study as a research assistant professor at the U-M School of Public Health. It also begins to uncover the underlying neural reasons why these individually tailored messages are so much more effective than a one-size-fits-all approach, said Chua, who now works in the private sector. The study is scheduled for advance online publication Feb. 27 in the journal Nature Neuroscience Researchers have known for 15 years that tailored public health messages that account for a person’s individuality work better at curbing unhealthy behaviors but until now, they haven’t known why. Chua and the research team hypothesized that portions of the brain activated during self-related processing were also engaged when people received individually tailored health messages, and that this brain activity accounted for the increased effectiveness of tailored messages. For the study, the research group assessed 91 people who wanted to stop smoking, and based on those answers they designed an individual smoking cessation program for each subject. Next, researchers imaged subjects’ brains with MRI to see which portions responded to tailored and untailored messages about smoking cessation, and also to neutral messages. They [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-03-25T14:26:47-07:00March, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Pioglitazone Shows Promise for Oral Cancer Prevention

Laird Harrison Medsscape staff writer San Diego, California — In a phase 2 clinical trial, the thiazolidinedione pioglitazone partially or completely eliminated two thirds of leukoplakia lesions, which can sometimes become cancerous, researchers reported here at the International Association of Dental Research 89th General Session and Exhibition. Pioglitazone (Actos, Takeda Pharmaceuticals) "works pretty well — better than anything we've seen before," principal investigator Nelson Rhodus, DMD, MPH, professor of otolaryngology at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, toldMedscape Medical News. Leukoplakia lesions, which are usually caused by irritation, appear on the tongue or sometimes on the insides of the cheek. About 17% of the lesions become invasive cancer, and no treatment has been shown to reliably prevent this, said Dr. Rhodus. They researchers got interested in pioglitazone because it preserves cell differentiation, enhances apoptosis of tumor cells, and prevents tumor angiogenesis. In a previous study, the researchers noticed a decrease in head, neck, and lung neoplasms in a population of diabetic men older than 40 years who took thiazolidinedione agents. For this study, Dr. Rhodus and colleagues from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, and the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, recruited 44 patients with lesions characterized histopathologically as either moderate or severe epithelial dysplasia. The researchers randomly divided these patients so that 22 patients received pioglitazone 45 mg daily for 12 weeks and 22 patients served as a comparison group. Dr. Rhodus's team measured the leukoplakia lesions and took biopsies of the involved mucosa to evaluate histologic response in all participants. They [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-03-23T15:07:16-07:00March, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Rise of tongue cancer in young, white females

www.medscape.com Roxanne Nelson - staff journalist for Medscape Oncology. The incidence of oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma has been rising in young white American women, according to a new report. For the past 3 decades, the incidence has been increasing in white men and white women 18 to 44 years of age, but the trend is most pronounced in young white women. In a report published online March 7 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the authors found that the incidence of oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma was declining for all age groups. The incidence of oral cavity and tongue cancer also was decreasing for nonwhite individuals. However, among people 18 to 44 years of age, the incidence of oral tongue cancer climbed 28% between 1975 and 2007. Among white people in this age group, the incidence increased 67%. The rising rates were most dramatic for white women, with a jump of 111%. "Lately, we have been seeing more oral tongue cancer in young white women in our clinic. So we looked at the literature, which reported an increase in oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma in young white individuals, but couldn't find any information about gender-specific incidence rates, so we decided we should take a look at the SEER [Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results] data," said lead author Bhisham Chera, MD, assistant professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill. The authors note that historically, cancer of the oral cavity was considered to be associated with older men with histories of significant tobacco and [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-03-23T11:14:20-07:00March, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Oral cancer screenings: dental professionals can save lives

Source: www.dentistryiq.com Author: Michelle Kratt I am sure that you have heard of HPV (human papillomavirus)? Did you know that some types of HPV can cause oral cancer? Recent studies in the United States indicate that HPV is now the leading cause of head and neck cancers at 64%, even rising above smoking, tobacco chewing, and drinking alcohol. Oral cancer accounts for 2% to 4% of all cancers diagnosed annually in the United States. The number of oral cancer cases is steadily rising, and today it is showing up in younger patients. More than 37,000 Americans will be diagnosed with oral or pharyngeal cancer this year. It will cause more than 8,000 deaths, killing roughly one person per hour, 24 hours per day. Of those 37,000 newly diagnosed individuals, only slightly more than half will be alive in five years. The death rate for these types of cancer is so high not because it is hard to discover or diagnose, but because it is caught too late in its development, with 70% found in Stage III or IV. Aside from the usual risk factors — tobacco and alcohol, ultraviolet light, poor nutrition, immune system suppression, lichen planus, and history of cancer — the addition of HPV as a risk factor for oral cancer has made it extremely difficult to easily define high-risk individuals (25% of mouth cancers and 35% of throat cancers are caused by HPV). Another risk factor, although controversial, is ill-fitting dentures. It has been suggested that long-term [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-03-21T12:28:36-07:00March, 2011|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

Evaluation of human papillomavirus testing for squamous cell carcinoma of the tonsil in clinical practice

Source: jcp.bmj.com Authors: Selvam Thavaraj et al. Background: Oncogenic human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is a subtype of head-and-neck cancer with a distinct clinical and prognostic profile. While there are calls to undertake HPV testing for oropharyngeal SCCs within the diagnostic setting and for clinical trials, there are currently no internationally accepted standards. Methods: 142 tonsil SCCs were tested using p16 immunohistochemistry (IHC), high-risk HPV DNA in situ hybridisation (ISH) and HPV DNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR; GP5+/6+ primers). Results: There were high levels of agreement between pathologists for p16 IHC and HPV ISH scoring; however, around 10% of HPV ISH cases showed some interobserver discrepancy that was resolved by slide review. The combination of p16 IHC and HPV ISH classified 53% of the samples as HPV-positive, whereas the combination of p16 IHC and HPV PCR classified 61% of the samples as HPV-positive. By employing a three-tiered, staged algorithm (p16 IHC/HPV ISH/HPV PCR), the authors were able to classify 98% of the cases as either HPV-positive (p16 IHC+/HPV DNA+; 62%) or HPV-negative (p16 IHC−/HPV DNA−; 35%). Conclusions: The current study suggests that using a combination of p16 IHC/HPV ISH/HPV PCR, in a three-tiered, staged algorithm, in conjunction with consensus reporting of HPV ISH, leads to less equivocal molecular classification. In order to ensure consistent reporting of this emerging disease, it is increasingly important for the head-and-neck oncology community to define the minimum requirements for assigning a diagnosis of ‘HPV-related’ oropharyngeal SCC in order to inform prognosis and [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-03-19T12:32:28-07:00March, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

FDA panel finds ban on menthol cigarettes would ‘benefit the public health’

Source: www.washingtonpost.com Author: Lyndsey Layton An advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration that has been studying whether the government ought to ban menthol cigarettes said Friday that the “removal of menthol cigarettes from the marketplace would benefit the public health.” The panel, made up of scientists, doctors and public health experts, stopped short of recommending a ban on menthol cigarettes, which make up about 30 percent of the $80 billion U.S. cigarette market. The committee, which spent a year analyzing menthol cigarettes before releasing its draft recommendations, said that compared to standard cigarettes, the mint-flavored products do not pose greater individual risk to smokers in terms of lung cancer, stroke and other tobacco-related diseases. But menthol cigarettes are especially enticing to teenagers and to blacks and are more likely to turn them into lifetime smokers, the panel found. Smokers of menthol cigarettes also find it harder to quit, the panel said. Lawrence R. Deyton, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, said the agency will review the panel’s recommendations. The FDA is not required to follow the advice of its advisory panels but often does. “Now it’s up to us to do our job,” Deyton told the panel. The menthol question will be the first real test of how aggressively the FDA intends to regulate tobacco. Congress passed landmark legislation in 2009 that put tobacco under the authority of the FDA for the first time. The law prohibits the agency from outlawing tobacco or nicotine but gives [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-03-19T09:29:53-07:00March, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Dissolvable tobacco products may increase mouth disease in smokers, children

Source: onlinejournal.com Author: staff When they were originally released, it looked as though dissolvable tobacco might become a healthier alternative to traditional cigarettes. After all, there is no smoke to breath in and no juice to spit out. But a recent study suggests that these tobacco lozenges have the potential to cause increased mouth diseases as well as possible harm to children. The study is based on findings from John V. Goodpaster of the Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis and colleagues. After analyzing the complex ingredients in the products, researchers found that they contained nicotine, along with finely-ground tobacco and a variety of flavoring ingredients, sweeteners and binders. When these substances are dissolved near the lips and gums, the effects can be just as harmful for the mouth as more traditional tobacco products. When the first dissolvable tobacco products in pellet, stick and strip forms went on sale to test markets in Indianapolis, Ind., Columbus, Ohio, and Portland, Ore., they were billed as a safer way to get your tobacco fix. But the study, published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, asserts that nicotine is still a harmful substance and prolonged exposure on the lips and gums is still harmful, no matter the delivery mechanism. The study also expressed concerns over other ingredients in the products, including coumarin, which has been banned as a flavoring agent in food because of its link to a risk of liver damage. 'The results presented here are the first to reveal the [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-03-19T09:25:03-07:00March, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Jury finds no negligence by orthodontist in Annadale woman’s tongue-cancer death

Source: Silive.com Tragic teen: Stephanie Hare's cancer was too far advanced, and aspiring teacher died in November 2004. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Annadale resident Stephanie Hare was only 19 years old when a cancerous lesion was detected on her tongue in April 2004. By that time, it was too late. Despite undergoing surgery to remove most of her tongue and submitting to painful radiation and chemotherapy treatments, the vivacious young woman who aspired to be a teacher died seven months later at the age of 20. Ms. Hare’s family contends her orthodontist, Dr. Michael J. Donato of Richmond, was responsible for her death by failing to detect the lesion during a December 2003 visit. However, a jury in state Supreme Court, St. George, disagreed. The panel on Wednesday found Dr. Donato was not negligent and had followed standard dental practices and care when he examined Ms. Hare on Dec. 19, 2003. "Stephanie’s death was not anybody’s fault," Dr. Donato’s lawyer, Douglas J. Fitzmorris, told jurors in his summation. "Stephanie died of cancer. Dr. Donato’s not to blame. The whole specter of this lesion being missed by Dr. Donato is not what happened. There was no deviation from accepted practice." Jason C. Molesso, the lawyer for Ms. Hare’s family, had asked jurors to consider a $2.3 million award for her pain and suffering if they found Dr. Donato liable. "This case is about choices," Molesso told jurors in his closing argument as Ms. Hare’s family wept and hugged each other in the [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-03-18T09:45:15-07:00March, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Head and neck cancer guidelines ‘streamlined’

Source: www.medscape.com Author: Fran Lowry Modest changes in the 2011 National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Head and Neck Cancers Guidelines will refine and improve the treatment of these complex, challenging, and relatively rare cancers, according to the panel chief reporting here at the NCCN 16th Annual Conference. One of the main changes is a new "suggestion" that the workup for cancer of the oropharynx include testing of the tumor for human papillomavirus (HPV). "Immunohistochemical testing for HPV p16 is recommended," said David G. Pfister, MD, from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, and chair of the NCCN Head and Neck Cancers Guidelines Committee. "Although not used to guide treatment, HPV testing is valuable prognostically. The results should not change management decisions," he emphasized. HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer appears to be a new and distinct disease entity, and is associated with better survival than non-HPV head and neck cancers, Dr. Pfister noted. HPV Has a Clear Impact on Prognosis "Our understanding of the human papillomavirus as a risk factor for head and neck cancer has evolved. Now we see that it has a clear impact on prognosis," Dr. Pfister said in an interview with Medscape Medical News. Because of their improved prognosis, these patients might require different treatment, he said. "There is a great interest in better understanding HPV-related cancers and how we treat the disease down the road. Right now we have insufficient data to change how we treat these patients, but clinical trials are being designed to assess the optimal treatment [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-03-18T12:17:56-07:00March, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

US cancer survivors grows to nearly 12 million

Source: www.cancer.gov Author: staff The number of cancer survivors in the United States increased to 11.7 million in 2007, according to a report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health. There were 3 million cancer survivors in 1971 and 9.8 million in 2001. The study, “Cancer Survivors in the United States, 2007,” is published today in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. A cancer survivor is defined as anyone who has been diagnosed with cancer, from the time of diagnosis through the balance of his or her life. "It's good news that so many are surviving cancer and leading long, productive, and healthy lives," said CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. "Preventing cancer and detecting it early remain critically important as some cancers can be prevented or detected early enough to be effectively treated. Not smoking, getting regular physical activity, eating healthy foods, and limiting alcohol use can reduce the risk of many cancers." To determine the number of survivors, the authors analyzed the number of new cases and follow-up data from NCI’s Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program between 1971 and 2007. Population data from the 2006 and 2007 United States Census were also included. The researchers estimated the number of persons ever diagnosed with cancer who were alive on Jan. 1, 2007 (except non-melanoma skin cancers, which are fairly common and rarely fatal). Study findings indicate: Of the 11.7 million people [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-03-17T04:27:56-07:00March, 2011|Oral Cancer News|