Oral Cancer News – Page 251 – The Oral Cancer Foundation News Archive

Public awareness level of oral cancer in a group of dental patients

Source: J Contemp Dent Pract, January 1, 2010; 11(2): E049-56 Authors: I Peker and MT Alkurt Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate levels of public awareness and knowledge about early signs and risk factors of oral cancer among a group of dental patients in Turkey. Methods and materials: This study included 1022 participants. Sociodemographic information of patients was obtained. A questionnaire about awareness and knowledge of oral cancer and early signs and risk factors related to the disease was completed by two examiners. Data were statistically analyzed with descriptive analyses, crosstabs and chi-square tests. Results: In total 60.7% of participants had never heard of oral cancer. While 79.2% of the participants were unaware of the early signs related to oral cancer, 29.9% of them were unaware of risk factors of the disease. There were no statistically significant differences between age, gender, and education levels for awareness of risk factors. Statistically significant differences were found between age and gender and no statistically significant difference was found between education levels for awareness of early signs. Conclusion: This study showed that public awareness and knowledge about oral cancer were insufficient in Turkey. Clinical significance: There is an important need to inform the public about oral cancer, its risk factors, and early signs of the disease. Media campaigns can be useful to raise oral cancer awareness.

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-03-23T18:21:56-07:00March, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Fluoroscopically guided balloon dilation for pharyngoesophageal stricture after radiation therapy in patients with head and neck cancer

Source: AJR 2010; 194:1131-1136 Authors: Hong-Tao Hu et al. Objective: The purpose of this article is to assess the safety and long-term efficacy of fluoroscopically guided balloon dilation for pharyngoesophageal strictures after radiation therapy in patients with head and neck cancers. Materials and methods: From April 1997 to February 2009, fluoroscopically guided balloon dilation was performed in 17 patients with pharyngoesophageal strictures caused by radiation therapy. Technical success, clinical success (decrease of at least one grade in dysphagia score and good contrast passage on 1-month follow-up esophagogram), recurrence of dysphagia, and complications related to the procedure were retrospectively evaluated. Results: All 17 patients underwent 41 balloon dilation procedures, with each patient undergoing one to seven procedures (mean, 2.4 procedures). The technical success rate was 100%, and clinical success was achieved in 64.7% (11/17) of the patients. Five patients (29.4%) showed no recurrence of dysphagia after one session of balloon dilation. Of 12 patients (70.6%) with recurrence of dysphagia, 10 underwent repeat balloon dilation and two underwent gastrostomy after the first session of balloon dilation. The maximum balloon diameters were 15 mm (n = 22), 20 mm (n = 16), and 25 mm (n = 3). As minor complications, three cases of type 1 esophageal rupture occurred in two patients (11.8%). There were no major complications. Conclusion: Although the recurrence rate was high with repeat balloon dilation, fluoroscopically guided balloon dilation seems to be a simple and safe primary treatment technique for pharyngoesophageal stricture due to radiation therapy in patients with [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-03-23T18:17:56-07:00March, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Experts warn that new “smokeless” tobacco products are still dangerous

Source: FOX21News Author: Tracee Tolentino DULUTH - The tobacco industry is offering new products and finding new ways to attract and keep customers. However, health advocates say the new products are just as dangerous, and the customers are getting younger and younger. "Most 6-year-olds, if you queried them, they would know who Joe Camel is," said Michele Hughes of the Douglas County Health Department. Now, with the introduction of new smokeless tobacco alternatives, there are new ways that young adults can get hooked to nicotine. “They’re out there as the ‘good guy’ or look, these aren't quite as harmful, but indeed these are deadly products that lead to a lifetime of addiction and this is an industry that is out for our youth,” said Pat McKone of the American Lung Association of Minnesota. Many new tobacco products are more appealing to younger customers, with bright packaging, candy flavors and the illusion of a "safer" nicotine delivery source. McKone warns that these products are tricks. The alternative products include forms of snuff, chewing tobacco, e-cigarettes or snus, which are spit-less tobacco pouches that users place under their upper lip. "These products are to enable people to keep using nicotine and nicotine delivery systems until they can get out to smoke," said McKone. The popularity of these products has increased as more states have adopted smoking bans for workplaces and businesses. Minnesota’s ban is already in place and in July, Wisconsin will follow suit. “80% of current adult smokers started between the [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-04-19T22:29:13-07:00March, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Busting the myth of the cervical cancer vaccine

Source: Temple University Press Editorial by: Gkramer Adina Nack, author of Damaged Goods? Women Living with Incurable Sexually Transmitted Diseases, draws on her expertise as a sexual health researcher to discuss the impact of human papillomavirus (HPV) on men and the need for gender-neutral STD vaccines. When I wrote my book, Damaged Goods? I focused on how living with contagious, stigmatizing, medically incurable (though highly treatable) infections transformed women’s lives – medically, socially and psychologically. I had included a discussion of the Gardasil vaccine, which had received FDA-approval and CDC recommendation for ‘routine’ use in girls and women (ages 9 to 26) back in 2006, and I had articulated some of my concerns about the delayed testing and approval process for ‘male’ Gardasil. A family of viruses, HPV is an ‘equal opportunity infector,’ so why have HPV vaccines not been equally accessible for men as well as women? In a recent interview on Huffington Post, several blog posts of my own, and my new feature article, “Why Men’s Health Is a Feminist Issue” (Ms. Magazine,Winter 2010), I investigate the substantial public health costs that result from HPV vaccines, such as Gardasil, not having been originally developed, tested and approved as gender-neutral vaccines. The narrow and inaccurate marketing of Gardasil as a female-only, “cervical cancer” vaccine has distracted us from public discourse about this family of sexually transmitted viruses that are not only a U.S. epidemic but also a global pandemic. In the U.S., HPV is estimated to affect 75% of adults and certain strains are known [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-03-23T22:33:02-07:00March, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Mike Strantz remembered for visions

Source: Thepilot.com Author: Howard Ward He was a commanding figure. He wore his hair long, his mustache bushy, and he was a big guy, ruggedly handsome. Mike Strantz didn’t look like a man who would go easily, and he didn’t. He fought the cancer with the same determination that he approached a property that dared him to build a golf course on it. I was fortunate enough to do two interviews with Strantz, shortly after the opening of Tobacco Road in Sanford, one of his architectural triumphs, and again while he was applying the finishing touches to Tot Hill, an amazing course laid out on a challenging piece of land in Asheboro. Both of those golf courses tell you a lot about Mike Strantz, the golf course designer. But his widow, the lovely Heidi, can tell you a lot more about Mike Strantz, the husband and father of two beautiful daughters. Heidi Strantz talked about her late husband and the love of her life during a meeting of the Carolinas Golf Reporters and the South Carolina Golf Ratings Panel last weekend at Seabrook Island Resort, and it was both inspirational and moving. “I thought I was marrying a golf course superintendent when I married Mike,” she recalled. “He had just graduated from the turfgrass school at Michigan, and we thought he would make a career of that.” Mike definitely knew how to make grass grow, and he enjoyed working the land. He was on the scene at Inverness during the [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-03-23T14:15:57-07:00March, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Epidermal growth factor receptor regulates beta-catenin location, stability, and transcriptional activity in oral cancer

Source: 7thspace.com/headlines Author: staff Many cancerous cells accumulate beta-catenin in the nucleus. We examined the role of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling in the accumulation of beta-catenin in the nuclei of oral cancer cells. Results: We used two strains of cultured oral cancer cells, one with reduced EGFR expression (OECM1 cells) and one with elevated EGFR expression (SAS cells), and measured downstream effects, such as phosphorylation of beta-catenin and GSK-3beta, association of beta-catenin with E-cadherin, and target gene regulation. We also studied the expression of EGFR, beta-catenin, and cyclin D1 in 112 samples of oral cancer by immunostaining. Activation of EGFR signaling increased the amount of beta-catenin in the nucleus and decreased the amount in the membranes. EGF treatment increased phosphorylation ofbeta-catenin (tyrosine) and GSK-3beta(Ser-9), resulting in a loss of beta-catenin association with E-cadherin. TOP-FLASH and FOP-FLASH reporter assays demonstrated that the EGFR signal regulates beta-catenin transcriptional activity and mediates cyclin D1 expression. Chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments indicated that the EGFR signal affects chromatin architecture at the regulatory element of cyclin D1, and that the CBP, HDAC1, and Suv39h1 histone/chromatin remodeling complex is involved in this process. Immunostaining showed a significant association between EGFR expression and aberrant accumulation of beta-catenin in oral cancer. Conclusions: EGFR signaling regulates beta-catenin localization and stability, target gene expression, and tumor progression in oral cancer. Moreover, our data suggest that aberrant accumulation of beta-catenin under EGFR activation is a malignancy marker of oral cancer. Author: Chien-Hsing LeeHsing-Wen HungPei-Hsin HungYi-Shing Shieh Source: Molecular Cancer 2010, 9:64

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-03-22T08:59:51-07:00March, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Tobacco usage affects risk of metastases of HPV-related oropharynx cancer

Source: professional.cancerconsultants.com Author: staff Researchers from the University of Michigan have reported that current tobacco users with advanced, human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive oropharyngeal cancer are at increased risk of disease recurrence. The details of this study were published in the February 15, 2010 issue of Clinical Cancer Research.[1] Human papillomaviruses are probably the sole cause of cancers of the cervix and have been associated with cancers of the vulva, vagina, penis, and rectum. Epidemiologic and molecular biology studies have also suggested that HPV infection may be associated with cancers of the head and neck. The overall frequency of HPV in benign and precancerous lesions ranges from 18.5% to 35.9%, depending upon the detection methodology. Researchers affiliated with an international study have also that reported that oral infection with HPV is associated with the development of head and neck cancers. These authors concluded that HPV infection increased the risk of oropharyngeal cancer in both users and non-users of alcohol and tobacco. These authors also suggested that the more prevalent practice of oral sex may explain the increased incidence of tonsillar and base-of-the-tongue cancers since 1973. Researchers from the University of Maryland and Harvard University have also reported that the better survival among White patients compared with African-American patients with oropharyngeal cancer appears to be due, at least in part, to the higher prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV)-related cancers in White patients. The current study evaluated the effect of tobacco usage on the outcomes of patients with HPV-related advanced oropharyngeal cancer. These authors [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-03-22T08:55:40-07:00March, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Effects of external irradiation of the neck region on intima media thickness of the common carotid artery

Source: 7thspace.com/headlines Author: staff Several studies have shown that common carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) is increased after radiotherapy (RT) to the head and neck. However, further studies are needed to define the exact mechanism of radiation-induced injury in large vessels, investigate the relationship between radiation dose and large vessel injury and evaluate the rate of progress of atherosclerosis in irradiated vessels. Objectives: To investigate whether external irradiation to the carotid area has any effect on IMT of the common carotid artery in a group of patients who received RT vs control group matched for age, gender and race. Methods: We studied 19 patients (10 male; 47.8 +/- 17.4 years) during a 5-month period (January 2009- July 2009); they had completed RT with a mean of 2.9 years before (range: 1 month-6 years) The mean radiation dose to the neck in the irradiated patients was 41.2 +/- 15.6 Gy (range: 25-70 Gy). Common carotid IMT was measured with echo-color Doppler. Nineteen healthy adult patients (10 male; 47.8 +/- 17.6) were recruited as a control group. Results: IMT was not significantly higher in patients when compared to the control group (0.59 +/- 0.16 vs 0.56 +/- 0.16 mm, p=0.4). There was no significant difference between the two groups in relation to the absence (p= 0.7) or presence (p= 0.6) of vascular risk factors. Although the difference did not reach statistical significance (p=0.1), the irradiated young patients (age [less than or equal to] 52 years) had IMT measurements higher (0.54 +/- 0.08 mm) [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-03-21T10:46:21-07:00March, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Needed: HPV vaccine, simple screening test, for women and men

Source: jhu.edu/~gazette Author: Valerie Mehl, Johns Hopkins Medicine A call to explore a broader use of human papillomavirus vaccines and the validation of a simple oral screening test for HPV-caused oral cancers are reported in two studies by an investigator at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins. Leading HPV expert Maura Gillison, the first to identify HPV infection as the cause of certain oral cancers and who identified multiple sex partners as the most important risk factor for these cancers, reports her latest work Nov. 3 in the journal Clinical Cancer Research and in a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention monograph. The CDC report on HPV-associated cancers appears online Nov. 3 and in the Nov. 15 supplement edition of Cancer. In the CDC report, believed to be the first and most comprehensive assessment of HPV-associated cancer data in the United States, investigators analyzed cancer registry data from 1998 to 2003 and found 25,000 cancer cases each year occurred at cancer sites associated with HPV infection. In additional analysis, Gillison and colleagues at the National Cancer Institute identified HPV infection as the underlying cause of approximately 20,000 of these cancers. Gillison and her team found that approximately 20,000 cases of cancer in the United States each year are caused by HPV infection. Oral cancers are the second most common type of HPV- associated cancers and are increasing in incidence in the United States, particularly among men. Add to that anal, penile, vaginal and vulvar cancers that are [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-03-19T21:39:40-07:00March, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

With cancer, let’s face it: words are inadequate

Source: nytimes.com Author: Dana Jennings We’re all familiar with sentences like this one: Mr. Smith died yesterday after a long battle with cancer. We think we know what it means, but we read it and hear it so often that it carries little weight, bears no meaning. It’s one of the clichés of cancer. It is easy shorthand. But it says more about the writer or speaker than it does about the deceased. We like to say that people “fight” cancer because we wrestle fearfully with the notion of ever having the disease. We have turned cancer into one of our modern devils. But after staggering through prostate cancer and its treatment — surgery, radiation and hormone therapy — the words “fight” and “battle” make me cringe and bristle. I sometimes think of cancer as a long and difficult journey, a quest out of Tolkien, or a dark waltz — but never a battle. How can it be a battle when we patients are the actual battleground? We are caught in the middle, between our doctors and their potential tools of healing and the cell-devouring horde. We become a wasteland, at once infested by the black dust of cancer and damaged by the “friendly fire” of treatment. And ordinary language falls far short of explaining that keen sense of oblivion. As a patient, it’s hard to articulate how being seriously ill feels. In a profound way, we are boiled down to our essential animal selves. We crave survival. We long [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-03-18T14:19:46-07:00March, 2010|Oral Cancer News|