Oral Cancer News – Page 207 – The Oral Cancer Foundation News Archive

Oral sex now main cause of oral cancer: Who faces biggest risk?

Source: www.cbsnews.com Author: David W Freeman What's the leading cause of oral cancer? Smoking? Heavy drinking? Actually, it's oral sex. Scientists say that 64 percent of cancers of the oral cavity, head, and neck in the U.S. are caused by human papillomavirus (HPV), which is commonly spread via oral sex, NPR reported. The more oral sex you have - and the more oral sex partners you have - the greater the risk of developing these potentially deadly cancers. "An individual who has six or more lifetime partners - on whom they've performed oral sex - has an eightfold increase in risk compared to someone who has never performed oral sex, Ohio University's Dr. Maura Gillison, said at a recent scientific meeting, according to NPR. It's news that might alarm some parents, who worry about adolescents' appetite for oral sex. "Today's teens consider oral sex to be casual, socially acceptable, inconsequential, and significantly less risky to their health than 'real' sex," Dr. Gillison and colleagues said in a written statement released in conjunction with the meeting. Teens simply think oral sex is "not that a big a deal," Dr. Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco, told NPR. "Parents and health educators are not talking to teens about oral sex. Period." But simply needling teens about the risks posed by oral sex and HPV - the same virus that causes cervical cancer - is no substitute for literally giving them the needle. "When my patients ask [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-02-24T10:23:55-07:00February, 2011|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

Virus passed during oral sex tops tobacco as throat cancer cause

Source: www.npr.org Author: Peggy Girshman If you're keeping score, here's even more evidence that HPV causes oral, head and neck cancers and that vaccines may be able to prevent it. Researchers studying the human papilloma virus say that in the United States HPV causes 64 percent of oropharynxl cancers. In the rest of the world, tobacco remains the leading cause of oral cancer, Dr. Maura Gillison of Ohio State University told a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science this past weekend. And the more oral sex someone has had — and the more partners they've had — the greater their risk of getting these cancers, which grow in the middle part of the throat. "An individual who has six or more lifetime partners — on whom they've performed oral sex – has an eightfold increase in risk compared to someone who has never performed oral sex," she said. The recent rise in oropharnx cancer is predominantly among young, white men, she noted, though she says no one has figured out why yet. About 37,000 people in the United States were diagnosed with oral cancer in 2010, according to the Oral Cancer Foundation. People with HPV-related throat cancer are more likely to survive their cancer than those who were heavy smokers or drinkers, the other big risk factors. The message may be more critical for teens according to Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco. She has studied 600 adolescents over 10 [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-02-24T10:24:37-07:00February, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Popularity surges for e-cigarettes, but health questions unanswered

Source: ArgusLeader.com Misti Stewart of Gregor's Eastside Liquor demonstrates an electronic cigarette. They have gained popularity since the smoking ban. / Elisha Page / Argus Leader Jeff Mann has found a way to get his nicotine fix with no ash, no flame, no odor and no bad breath. And he can do it legally inside businesses that are smoke free. Mann, 40, smokes an electronic cigarette. It's a battery-powered device that looks like a cigarette and emits cigarette-like smoke, but delivers nicotine in vapor form. "You can get a nicotine level that you're used to getting from a regular cigarette," Mann said. E-cigarettes have been available in the United States since 2006 and have grown in popularity in Sioux Falls since the smoking ban went into effect Nov. 10. They're sold in bars, casinos and various retail shops. At least one local distributor has seen a 50 percent increase in sales. But the federal Food and Drug Administration has not approved e-cigarettes. That raises red flags for some health professionals and has them questioning what risks might be associated with e-cigarettes. Smoker says device helped him cut back The FDA lost a court case last year after trying to treat e-cigarettes as drug-delivery devices instead of tobacco products because e-cigarettes heat nicotine extracted from tobacco. But Mann, who owns Vishnu Bunny Tattoo and Piercing, views e-cigarettes as a healthier alternative to the traditional cigarettes he has smoked for 25 years. He said it has helped him cut down on smoking. [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-02-22T11:36:28-07:00February, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Sweden wants the EU to legalize snus

Source: Stockholm News The Swedish government is now urging the EU to legalise snus (moist powder tobacco). But this has led to a quarrel between the government and its own experts in the National Board of Health and Welfare and in the Swedish National Institute for Public Health. Since some years back, the EU is overlooking its tobacco policy - the so called tobacco directive. In its answer to the EU, the Swedish government is now openly urging the EU to legalise snus. The argument from the Swedish government is that the ban on snus goes against the free market. Sweden's Minister for Health and Social Affairs, Göran Hägglund writes that "there is no argument at all which motivates a ban on snus" (quote from Svenska Dagbladet) and he continues that snus is clearly less dangerous than cigarettes. Therefore he claimst that the ban on snus "lacks logic". But at the same time, experts in Sweden do not agree with Minister Hägglund. OCF The Swedish argument of 'harm reduction' with convincing smokers to insted start with snus is "a myth" according to these experts. Internal conflict in Sweden The problem today is that the tobacco issue has become a health issue in the EU as it has been moved to the EU's Directorate for health. This is why is the Swedish Minister for health and not for trade is answering the letter from the EU. This has created a conflict and a dilemma between Swedish authorities. The government's expert organs [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-05-23T20:47:46-07:00February, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Antibody as ‘smart bomb’ to fight cancer

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com Author: staff A joint team of Indian and Australian scientists claims to have achieved a breakthrough by creating an antibody which could be used for developing a "medical smart bomb" that would help seek out and eradicate the root of cancer — the stem cells. The international project is a collaboration between Australia's Deakin University and Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore along with Barwon Health's Andrew Love Cancer Centre and Chem Genex Pharmaceuticals. The team has, in fact, created the world's first RNA aptamer, a chemical antibody that acts like a guided missile to seek out and bind only to cancer stem cells, the Cancer Science journal reported. The aptamer has the potential to deliver drugs directly to the stem cells and to be used to develop a more effective cancer imaging system for early detection of the disease, say the scientists. The Director of Deakin Medical School's Nanomedicine Program , Professor Wei Duan, said that the development of the aptamer had huge implications for the way cancer is detected and then treated. Duan said: "The survival rates for many cancers remain poor, due partly to the inability to detect cancer early. To provide a cure for cancer we must accurately detect and eliminate the cancer stem cells."

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-02-21T21:56:23-07:00February, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Revealed: oral sex is ‘bigger cause of throat cancer than tobacco’

Source: www.dailymail.co.uk Author: staff A virus spread during oral sex is now the main cause of throat cancer in people under 50, scientists have warned. They say the human papilloma virus spread during unprotected sex is to blame for a disturbing rise in potentially deadly oral cancers in the last few decades. Doctors have called for boys to be vaccinated against HPV just like teenage girls to stop the spread of the disease. HPV is best known as the cause of around 70 per cent of cervical cancers. Since 2008, girls have been vaccinated against the virus aged 12 and 13 in schools. However, it can also cause warts, verrucas and other cancers. Cancers of the mouth and oropharynx - the top of the throat - used to be mainly diagnosed in older men who drink or smoke. But increasingly, it is being seen in younger men. Prof Maura Gillison of Ohio State University in Columbus said the sexually transmitted HPV was a bigger cause of some oral cancers than tobacco. She said: 'We don’t know from strict scientific evidence whether the vaccine will protect from oral HPV infections that lead to cancer. Those of us in the field are optimistic it will – the vaccines in every anatomical site looked at so far have been shown to be extraordinarily effective, about 90 per cent effective, at preventing infections.' 'When one of my patients asks whether or not they sound vaccinate their sons, I say certainly.' Girls aged 12 and [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-02-21T12:58:57-07:00February, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Second primary cancers after an index head and neck cancer: subsite-specific trends in the era of human papillomavirus–associated oropharyngeal cancer

Source: jco.ascopubs.org Authors: Luc G.T. Morris et al. Purpose: Patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) are at elevated risk of second primary malignancies (SPM), most commonly of the head and neck (HN), lung, and esophagus. Our objectives were to identify HNSCC subsite-specific differences in SPM risk and distribution and to describe trends in risk over 3 decades, before and during the era of human papillomavirus (HPV) –associated oropharyngeal SCC. Methods: Population-based cohort study of 75,087 patients with HNSCC in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program. SPM risk was quantified by using standardized incidence ratios (SIRs), excess absolute risk (EAR) per 10,000 person-years at risk (PYR), and number needed to observe. Trends in SPM risk were analyzed by using joinpoint log-linear regression. Results: In patients with HNSCC, the SIR of second primary solid tumor was 2.2 (95% CI, 2.1 to 2.2), and the EAR was 167.7 cancers per 10,000 PYR. The risk of SPM was highest for hypopharyngeal SCC (SIR, 3.5; EAR, 307.1 per 10,000 PYR) and lowest for laryngeal SCC (SIR, 1.9; EAR, 147.8 per 10,000 PYR). The most common SPM site for patients with oral cavity and oropharynx SCC was HN; for patients with laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancer, it was the lung. Since 1991, SPM risk has decreased significantly among patients with oropharyngeal SCC (annual percentage change in EAR, −4.6%; P = .03). Conclusion: In patients with HNSCC, the risk and distribution of SPM differ significantly according to subsite of the index cancer. Before [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-02-19T10:13:38-07:00February, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Florida ruling Big Tobacco won comes back to bite it

Source: seattletimes.nwsource.com Author: Curt Anderson A Florida Supreme Court ruling that threw out a $145 billion award against cigarette makers is biting Big Tobacco back, making it dramatically easier for thousands of smokers to sue and turning the state into the nation's hot spot for damage awards. The 2006 ruling has helped generate more than $360 million in damage awards in only about two dozen cases. Thousands more cases are in the pipeline in Florida, which has far more smoking-related lawsuits pending than any other state. Though the justices tossed the $145 billion class-action damage award, they allowed about 8,000 individual members of that class to pursue their own lawsuits. And in a critical decision, they allowed those plaintiffs to use the original jury's findings from the class-action case. That means the plaintiffs don't have to prove that cigarette makers sold a defective and dangerous product, were negligent, hid the risks of smoking and that cigarettes cause illnesses such as lung cancer and heart disease. The plaintiffs must mainly show they were addicted to smoking and could not quit, and that their illness - or a smoker's death - was caused by cigarettes. Jurors have sided with smokers or their families in about two-thirds of the 34 cases tried since February 2009, when the first Florida lawsuit following the rules set by the Supreme Court decision went before a jury. Awards have ranged from $2 million or less to $80 million, though tobacco companies are appealing them all. The successes [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-02-19T10:02:14-07:00February, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Expand the search for oral cancer

Dentistry's responsibilities remain vital in stopping cancer deaths By: Donna Grzegorek, RDH Source: RDH magazine As dental professionals, we have a remarkable opportunity to affect the health and well-being of each patient we treat. This responsibility manifests itself in patients' expectations, which is to inform them of disease at the earliest possible moment. This is the fifth consecutive year in which there has been an increase in the rate of occurrence of oral cancers; yet, for several decades the mortality rates for this insidious disease remained virtually unchanged. OCF As dental professionals and health-care providers, we have an obligation to be vigilant in our commitment to early detection, raising awareness, and the management of the cancer for which we as a profession are held accountable. Approximately 37,000 Americans will be diagnosed with oral or pharyngeal cancer this year. This menacing disease will cause 8,000 deaths, killing approximately one person per hour, 24 hours a day. Of these 37,000 newly-diagnosed individuals, only slightly more than half will survive five years. The mortality rate for oral cancer is higher than that of other cancers we hear about routinely such as cervical cancer, Hodgkin's lymphoma, laryngeal cancer, cancer of the testes, and endocrine system cancers such as thyroid or skin cancer (malignant melanoma). If you expand the definition of oral cancers to include cancer of the larynx, for which the risk factors are indistinguishable, the number of diagnosed cases grows to approximately 50,000 individuals and 13,500 deaths per year in the United States [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-02-18T10:06:03-07:00February, 2011|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

Either called “chemobrain” or “chemofog,” the long-term chemotherapy-induced cognitive decline in cancer survivors is real

J Pain Symptom Manage. 2011 Jan 1;41(1):126-139, AA Argyriou, K Assimakopoulos, G Iconomou, F Giannakopoulou, HP Kalofonos Abstract Context: In recent years, there is growing evidence in the medical literature to support an association between administration of commonly used chemotherapeutic agents and an increased risk for cognitive impairment. Objectives: We herein critically summarize data relating to the pathophysiological mechanisms by which chemotherapy may induce cognitive impairment in patients surviving from solid tumors. The clinical and epidemiological characteristics and the proposed management strategies to counter chemotherapy-induced cognitive impairment (CICI) also are presented. Methods: References for this review were identified by searches of PubMed from 1995 until December 2009 with related terms. Results: Both the pathogenetic mechanisms and the overall clinical nature of CICI remain vaguely defined. OCF Findings indicate that CICI is a relatively common event that, in most of the cases, remains under diagnosed, thereby adversely affecting the quality of life of patients with cancer. Effective pharmacological interventions toward the symptomatic or prophylactic management of CICI also are lacking. Conclusion: Either called “chemobrain” or “chemofog,” the long-term CICI in cancer survivors is real. The need for multidisciplinary care interventions toward a timely diagnosis and management of CICI is clearly warranted.

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-02-19T10:03:29-07:00February, 2011|Oral Cancer News|