Oral Cancer News – Page 232 – The Oral Cancer Foundation News Archive

Vaccines might help fight throat cancer, but hurdles are high

Source: www.npr.org Author: Chao Deng There's been a big and controversial push to protect girls from cervical cancer by vaccinating them against the human papillomavirus. Turns out, the same vaccine might also protect boys from developing throat cancer later in life. Researchers estimate HPV causes more than 11,000 cases of throat cancers in the U.S. each year. Many are cropping up in younger people, especially in white men. Changes in sexual behavior have led to an increase in that could mean more than 20,000 cases annually by 2015, Forbes reports. So wouldn't you think that a growing market like that would be attractive to makers of HPV vaccines? Not so much, it turns out. Merck's Gardasil vaccine is approved for use in boys, but only to protect against genital warts. And a company spokeswoman told us in an email that Merck isn't looking to pursue approval of a throat-cancer indication anytime soon because of "competing research and business priorities." Same goes for Glaxo, according to Forbes. A big hurdle is that doctors can't screen for throat cancer the way they can for cervical cancer with a Pap smear. Without a simple test, it's harder to show the HPV vaccine reduces the risk of throat cancer. And that, in turn, makes it harder for vaccine makers to run a study that will pass muster with the Food and Drug Administration. But the outlook isn't completely bleak. Ohio State researcher Maura Gillison, who got funding for a pilot vaccine study [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-07-25T20:21:36-07:00July, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Dispatch: get vaccinated!

Source: American Council on Science and Health Author: Staff According to U.S. researchers, there are an estimated 11,300 throat cancer cases attributable to human papilloma virus (HPV) annually, although the government does not formally track the incidence rate since the connection between HPV and throat cancer was only made in the past few years. The rate is expected to rise since people have more sexual partners now than in decades past. “Unfortunately, many people are unaware of the connection between HPV and throat cancer since it is so underreported. I’m especially concerned for kids who engage in oral sexual activities under the mistaken belief that this is ‘safe sex,’ and it’s not,” warns ACSH's Dr. Elizabeth Whelan. Though also alarmed by the increasing rate of throat cancer caused by infection with HPV, ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross was more perturbed to learn that drug makers are resistant to study the use of HPV vaccines — now used to prevent cervical cancer in women and anal warts in males — for the prevention of oral cancer. “I was disconcerted to read that the two manufacturers of the HPV vaccine, Merck and GlaxoSmithKline, are not interested in pursuing this topic of prevention,” laments Dr. Ross. “Since there is no easy way to detect pre-cancers in the oral cavity, a clinical trial could take 10 to 20 years to complete. However, it is obvious that eliminating the virus through the use of vaccination would stop our current epidemic.”

Charlotte Parker2010-07-25T20:14:29-07:00July, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Consistent condom use may cut men’s HPV risk

Source: MedScape Today Author: Staff NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Jul 16 - Men who use condoms every time they have sex are less likely to harbor human papillomavirus (HPV) than those who are less consistent about protection, a new study finds. The results, reported online June 22nd in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, may not sound surprising. In the past, however, some studies have suggested that condoms may do little to protect men from infection with HPV. Persistent HPV infection is best known as the primary cause of cervical cancer, but it can also lead to cancers of the anus and penis. Preventing HPV infection in men may help lower their risk for those cancers, and cut their chances of transmitting the virus to their female partners -- potentially helping to prevent some cases of cervical cancer. While condom use has been shown to lower the transmission of other sexually transmitted diseases, studies have yielded conflicting results as to whether condoms help lower men's HPV risk. One reason may be that HPV is easily transmitted, including any genital-to-genital contact, and some studies in which men have been tested for HPV in areas not protected by condoms have failed to show that condoms lower infection risk. For the new study, Dr. Carrie M. Nielson of Oregon Health and Science University in Portland and colleagues tested 463 men between the ages of 18 and 40 for 37 types of HPV. The testing was done on swabbed samples from the penis, as well [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-07-25T20:14:07-07:00July, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Gene may hold key to reducing spread of oral cancers

Source: University of Illinois Author: Sam Hostettler The spread of cancer cells in the tongue may be reduced if a gene that regulates cancer cell migration can be controlled, according to new research at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Oral cancer is an under-treated and poorly understood disease, says Xiaofeng "Charles" Zhou, assistant professor in the UIC Center for Molecular Biology of Oral Diseases and lead researcher of the study. More than 90 percent of oral cancers are squamous cell carcinomas that normally start on the gums, floor of the mouth, or tongue. About 30,000 Americans are affected each year, Zhou said. While new cancers of all types have risen 8 percent in the last five years, oral cancer increased 21 percent, according to the American Cancer Society. Tongue squamous cell carcinoma, one of the most frequent oral cancers, rose more than 37 percent in this period. And although overall cancer deaths decreased during this period, those due to oral cancer increased by 4 percent -- and those due to tongue squamous cell carcinoma by 10 percent. Improvements in patient survival require better understanding of tumor invasion and how cancer spreads, Zhou said, so that aggressive tumors can be detected early and targeted therapies can be developed. While researchers have tried to identify altered genes that contribute to the aggressive nature of tongue squamous cell carcinoma, most previous studies have focused on protein-encoding genes, Zhou said. The new study examines a noncoding gene called microRNA-138. MicroRNAs are small, noncoding [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-07-25T20:13:36-07:00July, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

The cancer-causing sex virus

Source: Forbes Author: Matthew Herper Martin Duffy, a Boston consultant and economist, thought he just had a sore throat. When it persisted for months, he went to the doctor and learned there was a tumor on his tonsils. Duffy, now 70, had none of the traditional risk factors for throat cancer. He doesn't smoke, doesn't drink and has run 40 Boston marathons. Instead, his cancer was caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV), which is sexually transmitted and a common cause of throat and mouth cancer. HPV tumors have a better prognosis than those caused by too many years of booze and cigarettes. But Duffy "is in the unlucky 20%" whose cancer comes back--despite rounds of chemotherapy and radiation that melted 20 more pounds off a lean 150-pound frame. Now the cancer has spread throughout his throat, making eating and talking difficult. "I made my living as a public speaker," he says. "Now I sound like Daffy Duck." Duffy believes he has only a few months left. "How do you tell the people you love you love them?" he asks. Nine Things You Need To Know About HPV Most strains of the HPV virus are harmless, but persistent infections with two HPV strains cause 70% of the 12,000 cases of cervical cancers diagnosed annually in the U.S. Other forms of the sexually transmitted virus can cause penile and anal cancer, and genital warts. The HPV throat cancer connection has emerged in just the last few years and is so new that [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-07-25T20:13:00-07:00July, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Mice with toys and friends have better anti-cancer responses

Source: Medscape Blogs Author: Alok Khorana, MD As clinicians, we know that patients with excellent support systems will (in general) do better than patients without. I had personally always thought of this as being secondary to better reporting and oversight - for instance, a patient with a spouse is more likely to be brought in with a fever whereas a patient living by him/herself is more likely to try and ride it out, leading to more dangerous complications. In a fascinating animal model study published in Cell, researchers led by Cao et al at identify even more of a therapeutic benefit for having such an "enriched environment". The authors show this by placing mice with different types of cancers (melanoma, colon cancer) in two different types of environments: one, the usual laboratory housing (5 mice per cage) and the other "enriched" with "groups (18-20 mice per cage) in large cages of 1.5 m x 1.5 m x 1.0 m supplemented with running wheels, tunnels, igloos, huts, retreats, wood toys, a maze, and nesting material". The results all clearly favored having an enriched environment: "In the mice housed in enriched environment for 3 weeks prior to tumor implantation, the mean volume of the tumor was 43% smaller than those in the control housing (p < 0.05). For the 6 week groups, the tumor mass in EE mice was reduced by 77.2% p < 0.001). Notably, all mice in the control groups developed solid tumors, whereas 5% of mice with 3 weeks [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-07-25T20:12:24-07:00July, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Dental researchers discover human beta defensins-3 ignite in oral cancer growth

Source: www.innovations-report.com Author: Kimyette Finley Detecting oral cancer in its earliest stages can save the lives of the nearly 40,500 people diagnosed annually. But early detection has been difficult. Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine researchers discovered a biomarker, called human beta defensin-3 (hBD-3), which may serve as an early warning. The defensin is present in all oral cancers and associated with the early stages of oral cancer. “Using the biomarker to detect oral cancer holds potential for saving lives when the cancer is most curable. Annually some 10,000 people die from this cancer,” said Ge Jin, assistant professor of biological sciences at the dental school. He led the study, “An Antimicrobial Peptide Regulates Tumor-Associated Macrophage Trafficking via the Chemokine Receptor CCR2, a Model for Tumorigenesis.” The Public Library of Science published the research in PLoS ONE. Oral cancer first appears as white or red lesions in the mouth, the same as noncancerous lesions. Often, the lesions are not biopsied, and cancer is not discovered until it becomes apparent in its later stages, when it has metastasized to other organs. Such a late-stage diagnosis is generally fatal and can result in costly surgeries and treatments or disfigurement that may include removing parts of the tongue, jaw and cheek. All this can be avoided with early removal of the lesion. The hBD-3 biomarker is one of many innate immune peptides found in the epithelial lining of the mouth. In a normal, healthy oral cavity, hBD-1, -2 and -3 ward [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-07-20T14:18:41-07:00July, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Head and neck cancer among lifelong never-smokers and ever-smokers: matched-pair analysis of outcomes after radiation therapy

Source: HighWire Medline Author: Am J Clin Oncol From the Departments of *Radiation Oncology and daggerOtolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of California Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA. PURPOSE:: An increasing proportion of patients with head and neck cancer have no history of smoking. The purpose of this analysis was to compare the clinical outcomes between patients without a history of smoking (never-smokers) and those with a previous history of smoking (ever-smokers) treated by radiation therapy. METHODS AND MATERIALS:: Seventy patients with newly diagnosed squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx or oral cavity without a previous history of smoking were matched to a control ever-smoker with a positive tobacco history (>10 pack-years) based on age, gender, ethnicity, Karnofsky Performance Status, primary tumor site, disease stage, primary treatment, radiation dose, and start date. Outcome was compared using Kaplan-Meier analysis. Normal tissue effects were graded according to the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group/European Organization for the Treatment of Cancer radiation toxicity criteria. RESULTS:: With a median follow-up of 33 months, lifelong never-smokers had an increased 3-year overall survival (86% vs. 69%), disease-free survival (82% vs. 65%), and local-regional control (85% vs. 70%) compared with the ever-smoker control population (P < 0.05, for all). These differences remained statistically significant when patients treated by postoperative or definitive radiation therapy were analyzed separately. The incidence of grade 3+ complications was also significantly lower among never-smokers compared with ever-smokers (10% vs. 29%, P = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS:: Prognosis differed significantly between never-smokers and ever-smokers with head and neck [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-07-20T14:11:01-07:00July, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Dysphagia, stricture, and pneumonia in head and neck cancer patients: does treatment modality matter?

Source: HighWire Medline Author: Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. OBJECTIVES: Dysphagia-related sequelae are common after head and neck cancer treatment. Our aims were 1) to document overall and site-specific dysphagia, stricture, and pneumonia rates in a Medicare population, 2) to calculate treatment-specific rates and adjusted odds of developing these complications, and 3) to track changes in rates between 1992 and 1999. METHODS: Head and neck cancer patients between 1992 and 1999 were identified in combined Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) registry and Medicare databases. Multivariate analyses determined odds of dysphagia, stricture, and pneumonia based on modality. RESULTS: Of 8,002 patients, 40% of experienced dysphagia, 7% stricture, and 10% pneumonia within 3 years of treatment. In adjusted analyses, patients treated with chemoradiation had more than 2.5-times-greater odds of dysphagia than did those treated with surgery alone. Combined therapy was associated with increased odds of stricture (p<0.05). The odds of pneumonia were increased in patients treated with radiation with or without chemotherapy. Temporally, the dysphagia rates increased 10% during this period (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Sequelae of head and neck cancer treatment are common and differ by treatment regimen. Those treated with chemoradiation had higher odds of experiencing dysphagia and pneumonia, whereas patients treated with any combined therapy more commonly experienced stricture. These sequelae represent major sources of morbidity and mortality in this population.

Charlotte Parker2010-07-20T11:56:04-07:00July, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Robot gives surgeons another weapon against throat cancer

Source: www.star-telegram.com Author: Jan Jarvis It started with hoarseness that refused to go away. Then swallowing became difficult. Within a month, Madonna Griffin could no longer eat. By the time she finally learned what was causing the hoarseness, she could barely breathe. It took Dr. Yadro Ducic just one look down her throat to identify the cause. A 2-inch tumor was growing in the 38-year-old Azle grandmother's larynx, blocking her airway. "I could look down her throat and see this big cancer," said Ducic, co-medical director of the Skull Base Center at Baylor All Saints Medical Center in Fort Worth. "But the voice box was obstructing the view." To remove the tumor, Ducic turned to the da Vinci Surgical System, which gave him a much better view of the throat from different angles. "The nice thing about the robot is you can see around the corner so you can operate around the corner," he said. "It allows you to take out things you can't otherwise." The May 21 operation is believed to be the first such throat surgery in North Texas using the da Vinci Surgical System and was performed less than six months after the federal Food and Drug Administration approved the procedure, according to Baylor All Saints officials. A week later, UT Southwestern Medical Center surgeons performed the same robotic surgery on a patient in Dallas. The transoral robotic surgery is an alternative to the conventional approach using lasers to remove throat tumors. For the nearly 13,000 people [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-07-20T07:28:47-07:00July, 2010|Oral Cancer News|