Oral Cancer News – Page 263 – The Oral Cancer Foundation News Archive

Genetic variations indicate risk of recurrence, secondary cancer among head and neck cancer patients

Source: www.eurekalert.org Author: public release Eighteen single-point genetic variations indicate risk of recurrence for early-stage head and neck cancer patients and their likelihood of developing a second type of cancer, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reported at the American Association for Cancer Research Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference. The team examined 241 single nucleotide polymorphisms - variations of a single DNA building block in a gene - in eight genes involved in the creation of micro RNA (miRNA), small bits of RNA that regulate genes, and 130 miRNA binding sites on host genes where miRNAs exert their effects on regulating gene expression. "We focus on miRNA pathways because these small molecules regulate between one third and half of genes," said senior author Xifeng Wu, M.D., Ph.D., professor in M. D. Anderson's Department of Epidemiology in the Division of Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences. "Genetic variations in miRNA biogenesis genes and miRNA binding sites have been associated with the risk of having multiple solid tumors, so we hypothesized that these variations might be associated with the risk of recurrence or secondary primary tumors in these patients," Wu said. About 10 percent of patients have a recurrence, and 15-25 percent go on to develop secondary primary tumors. The team conducted a case-control study of 150 patients with recurrence or a second cancer and 300 patients without either. They found eighteen SNPs to be associated with recurrence/secondary cancer risk, including eleven SNPs in three miRNA biogenesis [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-12-08T18:30:22-07:00December, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Alcohol and tobacco use prediagnosis and postdiagnosis, and survival in a cohort of patients with early stage cancers of the oral cavity, pharynx, and larynx

Source: cebp.aacrjournals.org Authors: Susan T. Mayne et al. As more people begin to survive first cancers, there is an increased need for science-based recommendations to improve survivorship. For survivors of head and neck cancer, use of tobacco and alcohol before diagnosis predicts poorer survival; however, the role of continuing these behaviors after diagnosis on mortality is less clear, especially for more moderate alcohol consumption. Patients (n = 264) who were recent survivors of early stage head and neck cancer were asked to retrospectively report their tobacco and alcohol histories (before diagnosis), with information prospectively updated annually thereafter. Patients were followed for an average of 4.2 years, with 62 deaths observed. Smoking history before diagnosis dose-dependently increased the risk of dying; risks reached 5.4 [95% confidence interval (95% CI), 0.7-40.1] among those with >60 pack-years of smoking. Likewise, alcohol history before diagnosis dose-dependently increased mortality risk; risks reached 4.9 (95% CI, 1.5-16.3) for persons who drank >5 drinks/d, an effect explained by beer and liquor consumption. After adjusting for prediagnosis exposures, continued drinking (average of 2.3 drinks/d) postdiagnosis significantly increased risk (relative risk for continued drinking versus no drinking, 2.7; 95% CI, 1.2-6.1), whereas continued smoking was associated with nonsignificantly higher risk (relative risk for continued smoking versus no smoking, 1.8; 95% CI, 0.9-3.9). Continued drinking of alcoholic beverages after an initial diagnosis of head and neck cancer adversely affects survival; cessation efforts should be incorporated into survivorship care of these patients. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2009;18(12):3368–74) Authors: Susan T. Mayne1, [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-12-08T18:11:11-07:00December, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Quitting cigarettes completely or switching to smokeless tobacco: do US data replicate the Swedish results?

Source: Tob Control 2009;18:82-87 doi:10.1136/tc.2008.028209 Authors: S-H Zhu et al. Background: Swedish male smokers are more likely than female smokers to switch to smokeless tobacco (snus) and males’ smoking cessation rate is higher than that of females. These results have fuelled international debate over promoting smokeless tobacco for harm reduction. This study examines whether similar results emerge in the United States, one of few other western countries where smokeless tobacco has long been widely available. Methods: US data source: national sample in Tobacco Use Supplement to Current Population Survey, 2002, with 1-year follow-up in 2003. Analyses included adult self-respondents in this longitudinal sample (n = 15 056). Population-weighted rates of quitting smoking and switching to smokeless tobacco were computed for the 1-year period. Results: Among US men, few current smokers switched to smokeless tobacco (0.3% in 12 months). Few former smokers turned to smokeless tobacco (1.7%). Switching between cigarettes and smokeless tobacco, infrequent among current tobacco users (<4%), was more often from smokeless to smoking. Men quit smokeless tobacco at three times the rate of quitting cigarettes (38.8% vs 11.6%, p<0.001). Overall, US men have no advantage over women in quitting smoking (11.7% vs 12.4%, p = 0.65), even though men are far likelier to use smokeless tobacco. Conclusion: The Swedish results are not replicated in the United States. Both male and female US smokers appear to have higher quit rates for smoking than have their Swedish counterparts, despite greater use of smokeless tobacco in Sweden. Promoting smokeless tobacco for harm reduction in countries with [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-12-08T18:01:12-07:00December, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

New figures on cancer in Europe show a steady decline in mortality but big variations

Source: www.sciencedaily.com Author: press release New figures on deaths from cancer in Europe show a steady decline in mortality between the periods 1990-1994 and 2000-2004. Deaths from all cancers in the European Union (EU) between these two periods fell by nine percent in men and eight percent in women, with a large drop among the middle-aged population. In a study published online in the cancer journal, Annals of Oncology on November 30, researchers found that there was an average 185.2 deaths per 100,000 of the population per year in men between 1990-1994 in 27 member states of the EU, but this fell to 168 deaths per 100,000 between 2000-2004. For women, the number of deaths fell from 104.8 to 96.9 per 100,000. The researchers, led by Professor Carlo La Vecchia (MD), head of the Department of Epidemiology at the Mario Negri Institute and associate professor at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Milan (Italy), and Professor Fabio Levi (MD), Head of the Cancer Epidemiology Unit at the Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois and University of Lausanne, (Switzerland), say that the persistent downward trend is driven largely by changes in tobacco consumption, with large falls in lung and other tobacco-related cancers in men. A steady decline in gastric cancers and, recently, declines in colorectal cancer have also contributed to the overall drop in mortality rates. However, the picture is variable across Europe and between sexes. For instance, where alcohol or tobacco consumption, or a combination of [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-12-08T09:00:11-07:00December, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Mayo Clinic and collaborators find vitamin D levels associated with survival in lymphoma patients

Source: www.eurekalert.org Author: press release A new study has found that the amount of vitamin D in patients being treated for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma was strongly associated with cancer progression and overall survival. The results will be presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology in New Orleans. "These are some of the strongest findings yet between vitamin D and cancer outcome," says the study's lead investigator, Matthew Drake, M.D., Ph.D., an endocrinologist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. "While these findings are very provocative, they are preliminary and need to be validated in other studies. However, they raise the issue of whether vitamin D supplementation might aid in treatment for this malignancy, and thus should stimulate much more research." The researchers' study of 374 newly diagnosed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma patients found that 50 percent had deficient vitamin D levels based on the commonly used clinical value of total serum 25(OH)D less than 25 ng/mL. Patients with deficient vitamin D levels had a 1.5-fold greater risk of disease progression and a twofold greater risk of dying, compared to patients with optimal vitamin D levels after accounting for other patient factors associated with worse outcomes. The study was conducted by a team of researchers from Mayo Clinic and the University of Iowa. These researchers participate in the University of Iowa/Mayo Clinic Lymphoma Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE), which is funded by the National Cancer Institute. The 374 patients were enrolled in an epidemiologic study designed to [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-12-07T16:58:37-07:00December, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Cervarix® vaccination against HPV lasts at least six years

Source: professional.cancerconsultants.com Author: staff Researchers affiliated with the GlaxoSmithKline Vaccine HPV-007 Study Group have reported that Cervarix® [human papillomavirus (HPV)-16/18 AS04-adjuvanted vaccine] has “high and sustained immunogenicity, and a favorable safety” profile for up to 6.4 years following administration. The details of this study appeared in an early online publication in the Lancet on December 3, 2009.[1] Cervarix is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the prevention of cervical pre-cancers and cervical cancer associated with HPV types 16 and 18. It is approved for use in girls and women between the ages of 10 and 25 years. Human papillomaviruses consist of more than 100 different viruses. Some types of HPV cause warts on the hands or feet; others cause genital warts; and some have been linked with cancer, most notably cervical cancer. The types of HPV most commonly linked with cervical cancer are HPV 16 and HPV 18, but several other high-risk types contribute to cancer as well. The types of HPV that cause cervical cancer or genital warts are transmitted sexually. HPV infection is extremely common and generally occurs soon after an individual becomes sexually active. Although most infections resolve on their own, some persist and can lead to precancerous or cancerous changes to the cervix, vulva, vagina, penis, and anus. HPV infections have also been linked with some head and neck cancers. The first HPV vaccine to be approved in the United States was Gardasil®, which protects against HPV types 6 and 11 (linked to [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-12-07T16:52:12-07:00December, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Drinking epidemic ‘fuels surge in cancer’

Source: www.dailymail.co.uk/health Author: Jenny Hope Round-the-clock drinking and cut-price alcohol are to blame for an 'appalling' rise in cancers, experts warned today. Cases of cancer of the mouth have gone up by half in the past decade, with a 43 per cent rise in liver tumours. There have also been big rises in breast and colorectal cancer. Many experts are blaming alcohol consumption, which has doubled in the UK since the 1950s and has been fuelled by Labour's decision to relax licensing laws. They are calling for tougher measures to crack down on 2 for 1 offers and price-cutting by supermarkets, as well as the current 24-hour drinking culture. The latest official figures, obtained from parliamentary questions by the Liberal Democrats, show almost 5,000 in England are diagnosed each year with oral cancers - a 53 per cent increase on 3,225 cases in 1997. There was a 20 per cent jump in cancer of the gullet (oesophagus) from 5,397 to 6,487. Both types of cancer are linked to heavy drinking, with a fourfold rise in risk for men consuming more than seven drinks a day and women having five drinks or more a day. Liver cancer cases went up over the same period from 1,925 to 2,754 - with this cancer two and half times more likely to affect heavy drinkers compared with people who do not drink. Female breast cancer cases rose 33 per cent from 28,618 to 38,048. Heavy drinkers run a 60 per cent extra chance of [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-12-07T15:11:03-07:00December, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Evaluation of in vitro assays for assessing the toxicity of cigarette smoke and smokeless tobacco

Source: aacrjournals Author: Staff Requests for reprints:Peter G. Shields, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, 3800 Reservoir Road Northwest, LL (S) Level, Room 150, Washington, DC 20057-1465. Phone: 202-687-0003. E-mail: [email protected] Abstract Background: In vitro toxicology studies of tobacco and tobacco smoke have been used to understand why tobacco use causes cancer and to assess the toxicologic impact of tobacco product design changes. The need for toxicology studies has been heightened given the Food and Drug Administration's newly granted authority over tobacco products for mandating tobacco product performance standards and evaluate manufacturers' health claims about modified tobacco products. The goal of this review is to critically evaluate in vitro toxicology methods related to cancer for assessing tobacco products and to identify related research gaps. Methods: PubMed database searches were used to identify tobacco-related in vitrotoxicology studies published since 1980. Articles published before 1980 with high relevance also were identified. The data were compiled to examine (a) the goals of the study, (b) the methods for collecting test substances, (c) experimental designs, (d) toxicologic end points, and (e) relevance to cancer risk. Results: A variety of in vitro assays are available to assess tobacco smoke that address different modes of action, mostly using non–human cell models. However, smokeless tobacco products perform poorly in these assays. Although reliable as a screening tool for qualitative assessments, the available in vitro assays have been poorly validated for quantitative comparisons of different tobacco products. Assay batteries have not been developed, although they exist for nontobacco assessments. Extrapolating data from in [...]

Charlotte Parker2009-12-07T15:03:33-07:00December, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Maker of Camels buys cigarette replacement seller

Source: townhall.com Author: staff Cigarette maker Reynolds American Inc. has reached a deal to acquire a Swedish company whose nicotine gum, pouches and spray help people stop smoking, the second-largest U.S. tobacco company said Wednesday. The acquisition will let Reynolds offer products that can "reduce the risks of diseases and death caused by tobacco use," CEO Susan M. Ivey said in a statement. Niconovum AB's products are sold outside the U.S. under the Zonnic brand. They could help the maker of Camel cigarettes and Grizzly smokeless tobacco keep growing as tax increases, health concerns, smoking bans and social stigma cut into demand for cigarettes. The deal, which Reynolds expects to conclude by the end of the year, would be worth about $44 million. The Associated Press reported last month that the companies were in talks. Karl Olov Fagerstrom, an expert on smoking cessation and nicotine dependence, formed Niconovum in 2000, according to its Web site. Reynolds, which is based in Winston-Salem, N.C., said it will fund product development and testing required for Niconovum to enter markets outside of Sweden and Denmark. It intends to keep Niconovum's headquarters in Sweden and retain its leaders. Under the Camel brand, Reynolds has introduced moist smokeless tobacco and snus _ small pouches like tea bags that users stick between the cheek and gum. Reynolds also has introduced dissolving tobacco _ finely milled tobacco shaped into orbs, sticks and strips _ in test markets.

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-12-04T05:07:29-07:00December, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Papillomavirus silences innate immune response

Source: www.sciencedaily.com Author: staff In the 1980s, Harald zur Hausen and his co-workers discovered that specific types of human papillomavirus (HPV) cause cervical cancer. Scientists soon found out how these pathogens cause cells to degenerate. It is known today that the main culprits are viral proteins E6 and E7. Both proteins switch off different cellular control functions, thus promoting cell growth. Professor Dr. Frank Rösl and his co-workers at DKFZ have now discovered another mechanism by which the E6 oncoprotein of high-risk HPV16 promotes carcinogenesis. The oncogene silences production of an immune protein called interferon-kappa. Interferons are proteins which are part of our immune system and are responsible primarily for stimulating the immune response to viruses and tumors. Interferons are produced by white blood cells and other cell types. Interferon-kappa is relevant for HPV infections, because it is produced mainly in cells of the skin and mucosa (keratinocytes) which are the preferred hosts of the viruses. If interferon-kappa is not working in cells, other proteins involved in immune defense also cease to function properly. Dr. Bladimiro Rincon-Orozco of Rösl's team has now shown for the first time that HPV16 switches off the interferon-kappa gene by biochemical modification of DNA. Such alterations of the genetic material are called epigenetic mutations. Studying HPV infected cells in a culture dish, the research team observed that interferon-kappa is epigenetically silenced. They were later able to confirm this result in cervical cancer tissue samples. "Interferon-kappa is an important part of what is called [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-12-03T18:05:10-07:00December, 2009|Oral Cancer News|