Oral Cancer News – Page 216 – The Oral Cancer Foundation News Archive

R.J. Reynolds Pulls Dissolvable Smokeless Products from Test Markets; Company Must Stop Pushing Tobacco Products that Entice Kids

Source: PR Newswire It is good news for the communities involved that R.J. Reynolds has decided to stop its initial test-marketing of new, dissolvable smokeless tobacco products – called Camel Sticks, Strips and Orbs – that look, taste and are packaged like candy and are likely to entice children. According to media reports and a letter RJR sent to customers, the company is pulling the products from the test markets of Columbus, Ohio, Indianapolis and Portland, Oregon, where the products have provoked outrage among public officials and the public. Unfortunately the company told the media that these products have been pulled only for potential redesign and may be test-marketed elsewhere in the future. We call on R.J. Reynolds to permanently pull these products and to stop its insidious marketing of tobacco products in ways that appeal to kids and seek to discourage smokers from quitting and keep them hooked on nicotine. The Camel dissolvable products appeal to children in that they are easily concealed and colorfully packaged, shaped and flavored to resemble mints or gum. These products also have been marketed as an alternative to cigarettes in the growing number of places where smoking is not allowed, which discourages smokers from quitting and truly protecting their health. One ad for these products states, "Enjoy Anywhere. Anytime. Anyplace." U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) took swift and laudable action by including a mandate that the Food and Drug Administration review the impact of these products on public health [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-12-22T10:51:57-07:00December, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Real Cancer Drug Breakthrough Is Astronomical Prices

Source: Robert Langreth Blog In the wake of the FDA’s decision start the process to revoke Avastin’s approval in breast cancer last week, patients are puzzled and angry over how a drug once touted as a breakthrough now can be branded as ineffective. The controversy illustrates just how much the much-vaunted revolution in cancer therapy is driven by hype and high prices. Selling cancer drugs has become big business, with $52 billion in sales last year, according to IMS. Some $6 billion of it goes right to Roche’s Avastin, the biggest selling of the new drugs. No wonder companies like Merck and Pfizer are racing to develop new cancer drugs. But even as sales reach new heights, and prices keep going up–pretty much any cancer drug now costs $50,000 a year–the results from many trials are getting less and less impressive. Tarceva from Roche extends the life of pancreatic cancer patients by two weeks. Avastin has now failed to extend the lives of breast cancer patients in three giant trials. The hype about targeted cancer drugs has reached fever pitch thanks in part to baby boomers who don’t want to acknowledge their mortality; companies who need to sell hugely expensive drugs that can cost up to $100,000 a year; and science journalists eager for a positive story about a dread disease. The truth is that nobody wants to acknowledge the unpleasant fact that progress against most cancers has been grudgingly slow. Oncologists are in the business of providing hope to [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-12-21T13:56:53-07:00December, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Surgical excision can spread tumor cells to sentinel node

Source: www.oncologystat.com Author: K Wachter, Elsevier Global Medical News Surgical excision of breast cancer prior to sentinel lymph node dissection can displace isolated tumor cells to the sentinel lymph node, but these tumor cells appear to have little clinical significance, according to an analysis of more than 17,000 patients in a large database. "Earlier surgical excision leads to a nearly fourfold increase in the risk of having isolated tumor cells in the sentinel node indicating iatrogenic displacement," Dr. Tove F. Tvedskov said at the annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. She advised, however, that these cells are probably without clinical significance, and that the omission of axillary lymph node dissection should be considered. The study was based on data from the Danish Breast Cancer Cooperative Group database, which includes more than 80,000 women with breast cancer. Approximately 3,000 new sentinel lymph node dissections (SLNDs) are included in the database each year, with clinical and histopathologic data prospectively collected for these cases. Data from this database were combined with data from the Danish National Health Registry, which includes all surgical procedures performed in Danish hospitals. The researchers identified 414 breast cancer patients who underwent surgical excision up to 2 months before SLND and compared them with 16,960 breast cancer patients who underwent SLND without prior surgical tumor excision. "The proportion of patients with isolated tumor cells was almost three times higher in the group with earlier surgical excision, compared to the group without earlier surgical excision," said Dr. Tvedskov of Copenhagen [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-12-17T15:45:46-07:00December, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Hospital Performs Area’s First Robotic Surgeries on Oral Cancers HEALTH CARE: Technique Could Reduce the Length Of Patients Hospital Stay

Source: San Diego Business Journal By: Steve Sinovic The first transoral robotic surgeries in San Diego have been performed at Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center and all three patients who underwent those procedures are recovering well, said the surgeon who is leading up the effort to help patients beat early-stage oral cancer. Advances in robotic surgery prompted the hospital to look for ways to apply that technology to treat tumors of the mouth and throat. And thanks to a local benefactor, the institution hopes to be performing more procedures on local patients. The hospital is one of fewer than a dozen in the U.S. to offer the procedure, which was launched thanks to a $1.2 million anonymous donation to Sharp Chula Vista. The donation helped fund the acquisition of Intuitive Surgical Inc.’s da Vinci Surgical System, said Dan Dredla, vice president of business development for the 343-bed hospital in south San Diego County. “We were fortunate that a donor helped us purchase the da Vinci,” said Dredla. “It’s a costly system, and it was challenging to find the capital to acquire it on our own.” The da Vinci robot, which combines enhanced 3-D views with precise incision capabilities, is already being used for various surgeries at hundreds of hospitals throughout the country and around the world. However, it was just recently that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved using the da Vinci for the transoral surgeries, or TORS, procedures on head and neck cancers. While Dredla didn’t have exact [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-12-17T11:39:08-07:00December, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Zometa aids patients with head and neck cancer

Source: DrBicuspid.com Zoledronic acid, a drug currently approved for osteoporosis treatment, has been shown to reduce bone loss in a study of mice with oral cancer, suggesting it could serve as a supplemental therapy in patients with head and neck cancers that erode bone (Cancer Research, November 1, 2010, Vol. 70:21, pp. 8607-8616). The drug, known by the brand name Zometa, is designed to inhibit bone resorption. Oral squamous cell carcinoma accounts for about 90% of all tumors in the mouth, according to the National Cancer Institute. The five-year survival rate for this form of cancer is 61% for all stages combined. When these tumors form in the gums, their growth in the mouth leads to bone loss in the jaw. In turn, bone erosion stimulates the cancer to grow. Scientists call this phenomenon, driven in part by the release of cancer stimulatory compounds from bone, a vicious cycle that occurs in this and other forms of cancer. Even though the bone loss itself is not life-threatening, loss of bone means the tumor is continuing to grow. "The goal is to stop the vicious cycle," said Thomas Rosol, DVM, PhD, professor of veterinary biosciences at Ohio State, in a press release. "Chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery are all used to treat head and neck cancers. Zoledronic acid is a very safe drug and all it does is block bone resorption, so patients could receive all of the standard treatments, and this drug could be added as an additional benefit. That's the [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-12-15T11:16:48-07:00December, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Michael Douglas Fights Oral Cancer

Source: The Science of Dentistry Actor Michael Douglas‘ recent revelation that he has stage IV oral cancer has highlighted the growing incidence of oral cancer, and experts say dentists can help stem the alarming increase of the disease by checking for it during routine examinations.The actor’s cancer includes a walnut-sized tumor at the base of his tongue, and he will require radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and surgery. Douglas says his doctors told him he has an 80% survival rate if it hasn’t spread to his lymph nodes. While tobacco was the prime cause of oral cancer in the past, recent studies have attributed the steady increase of the disease to the human papillomavirus (HPV). HPV are common viruses that cause warts. There are approximately 130 versions of HPV but only nine cause cancers, and the HPV16 version causes almost half of the oral cancers in the U.S., said Brian Hill, executive director of the Oral Cancer Foundation. “Tobacco is no longer the only bad guy,” he told DrBicuspid.com. “HPV16 is increasing in incidence as the causative etiology, and if it continues on this trend line, it will replace tobacco as the primary cause of oral cancers.” Dentists can play a key role in catching the disease in its early stages if they check for it during examinations. Most Americans have never even heard of oral cancer, but it’s not as rare or uncommon as people would like to think it is. This is why an opportunistic screening by the dental community [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-12-13T15:13:27-07:00December, 2010|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

My dog saved my life, says Sunderland man

Source: Sunderland Echo By: Katy Wheeler John and Pauline Douglas were devastated when their dog Diesel had to be put down after developing cancer of the neck. But it was the late bull mastiff’s symptoms which helped John, 39, realise that he too had the disease. The dad-of-four, of Tunstall Bank, noticed a lump in his neck in February. And despite the fact he was told by doctors to rule out cancer, John’s experience with Diesel’s disease convinced him something was seriously wrong – and he pushed for further tests. His instincts were proved correct and John was diagnosed with cancer, which had spread to his neck, in April – just a week before his wedding day to wife Pauline, 41. John said: “Because of my age, the fact I don’t smoke and because I am a moderate drinker, I was told not to worry about cancer and that it was just an infection. “But what happened to Diesel set alarm bells ringing. “He had the same kind of lump in his neck that would swell up and down. We were told his wasn’t cancer to start with and it was only found late on. “Even though I was told by a specialist that I didn’t fit the criteria for cancer, the doubt was still niggling and I made such a song and dance that more tests were done.” As a result of John’s persistence, one of his tonsils was removed and a biopsy revealed the cancer, which had spread [...]

Charlotte Parker2017-03-29T19:08:21-07:00December, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Manual Drainage for Lymphedema Investigated in First-Ever RCT

Source: Medscape Today By: Zosia Chustecka December 11, 2010 (San Antonio, Texas) — Manual lymph drainage (MLD) in the form of massage was not effective in preventing arm lymphedema in patients with breast cancer who had undergone axillary lymph node dissection. The results come from a randomized clinical trial in 160 patients with breast cancer, reported here today at the 33rd Annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. "This is a very nice study," commented session moderator Hiram Cody, MD, from the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. "This has been a data-free zone, and this [study] is a very nice addition," he added. The results were presented by Nele Devoogdt, from University Hospitals Leuven, in Belgium, who undertook the study as part of her doctoral thesis. She was the recipient of a scholarship awarded by the American Association for Cancer Research Translational Research Scholars and funded by Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Massage to Increase Lymph Drainage MLD is a kind of massage where the skin is stretched, Ms. Devoogdt explained. The theory is that it would help to prevent the development of lymphedema by increasing the resorption of lymph, increasing lymph transport, and creating collateral pathways to aid in lymph drainage. However, she pointed out that its effectiveness in preventing lymphedema has never been tested in a randomized controlled clinical trial. So this is what her group set out to investigate. They compared a program consisting of information and exercises therapy, with and without the addition [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-12-13T11:44:05-07:00December, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

More Indians chew tobacco blend, get oral cancer

Source: Boston.com By: Adi Narayan MUMBAI — Safiq Shaikh was 13 when he began chewing a blend of tobacco, areca nut, and spices that jolted him awake when his job at a textile loom got too dreary. Five years later, doctors in Mumbai lopped off his tongue to halt the cancer that was spreading through his mouth. Shaikh believed the fragrant, granular mixture he chewed, known in India as gutka, was a harmless stimulant and at first he ignored the milky lump growing inside his mouth. Now Shaikh is one of about 200,000 Indians diagnosed with a tobacco-related malignancy this year, said his surgeon, Pankaj Chaturvedi. India now has the highest number of oral cancers in the world, after a group of entrepreneurs known locally as “gutka barons’’ turned a 400-year-old tobacco product hand-rolled in betel leaves into a spicy blend sold for 2 cents on street corners from Bangalore to New Delhi. Sales of chewing tobacco, worth $4.6 billion in 2004, are on track to double by 2014, according to Datamonitor, a branch of the international research firm based in Hyderabad, India. The combination of tobacco and areca nut makes gutka and its hand-made ancestor, known as paan, addictive, scientists said. Areca nut is the fourth-most commonly used psychoactive substance in the world after tobacco, alcohol, and caffeine, according to the World Health Organization. “Now you have an industrial version of a traditional thing’’ spurring demand, said Chaturvedi, who works at Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai, Asia’s largest cancer [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-12-13T11:35:06-07:00December, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Burgeoning market for smokeless tobacco products

Source: www.acsh.org Author: staff Now for some more good news on the harm reduction front: While cigarette sales have fallen by 17 percent since 2005 due to robust health campaigns and steeper taxes, smokeless tobacco products sales have grown by an annual rate of approximately 7 percent, reports The Chicago Tribune. The increase in sales of smokeless tobacco products can be partially attributed to their invisibility. For addicted smokers stuck in a smoke-free office environment all day long, these products relieve them of their nicotine craving. Economic factors have also been responsible for the rise in smokeless tobacco sales since a can of premium Swedish snus can run not much more than half the cost of a pack of Marlboro cigarettes in places where state, county and city excise taxes are high. Perhaps the most intriguing element to this story is that the use of smokeless tobacco products is increasing even though advertisers aren’t allowed to market them as a safer alternative to cigarettes. “I wonder how these people get the message,” ponders ACSH's Dr. Elizabeth Whelan. Even though medical experts agree that quitting tobacco altogether is the ideal scenario, scientists admit that smokeless tobacco products are much less harmful than cigarettes. But the potential benefit of these products, says ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross, is often overshadowed by anti-tobacco camps that focus on the possibility of increased risks of oral cancer from smokeless tobacco products. Dr. Ross notes that this risk “is essentially nil in the kinds of highly purified [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-12-12T10:03:39-07:00December, 2010|Oral Cancer News|