3/25/2008 Washington, DC press release EurekAlert.com Easy-access body fluid may provide less invasive diagnosis thanks to proteomics One day soon patients may spit in a cup, instead of bracing for a needle prick, when being tested for cancer, heart disease or diabetes. A major step in that direction is the cataloguing of the “complete” salivary proteome, a set of proteins in human ductal saliva, identified by a consortium of three research teams, according to an article published today in the Journal of Proteome Research. Replacing blood draws with saliva tests promises to make disease diagnosis, as well as the tracking of treatment efficacy, less invasive and costly. Saliva proteomics and diagnostics is part of a nationwide effort to create the first map of every human protein and every protein interaction, as they contribute to health and disease and as they act as markers for disease states. Following instructions encoded by genes, protein “machines” make up the body’s organs and regulate its cellular processes. Defining exact protein pathways on a comprehensive scale enables the development of early diagnostic testing and precise drug design. In the current study, researchers sought to determine the “complete” set of proteins secreted by the major salivary glands (parotid, submandibular (SM) and sublingual (SL)). Recent, parallel efforts that mapped the blood (plasma) and tear proteomes allows for useful comparisons of how proteins and potential disease markers are common or unique to different body fluids. “Past studies established that salivary proteins heal the mouth, amplify the voice, develop [...]

3/24/2008 East Liverpool, OH Jeremy Lydic TheReviewOnline (www.reviewonline.com) As part of an on going drug and alcohol awareness program, students were educated on the less-than-finer points of tobacco. Kristen Ours, who works as a nurse at both Daw Middle School and East Liverpool City Hospital, gave a presentation on smoking and smokeless tobacco to Daw students Thursday. To demonstrate the harmful effects of smoking, a “smoking doll” was used to help students visualize what happens to a human’s lungs while smoking. The doll would “puff” on a lit cigarette, causing the smoke and tar to stain the plastic receptor tube under the doll’s head. Ours and Wellsville D.A.R.E. officer Marsha Eisenhart, also passed around photos of healthy lungs, lungs afflicted from cigarette smoke, and lungs suffering from emphysema. In addition to the harmful effects, Ours discussed reasons why children start smoking, citing peer pressure and a desire to look “grown up.” She also encouraged the students to talk to their parents about smoking, especially if the parents themselves smoke. “You can’t order your parents to stop smoking, but you can encourage them to quit,” Ours said. “If they choose to quit, be their biggest supporter.” Along with the doll, Ours showed students a sealed jar of tar from cigarettes. The thick, black substance was the amount of tar a person could intake from one year of smoking 20 cigarettes a day, Ours said. Smokeless tobacco was also discussed, because Eisenhart said snuff and dip tobacco is becoming more and more [...]

3/22/2008 Chennai, India staff MedIndia.com Persons with periodontitis who also are infected with human papillomavirus (HPV) are at increased risk of developing tongue cancer, new research conducted at the University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine has shown. Periodontitis is a chronic inflammatory disease that destroys connective tissue and bone supporting the teeth. It has been associated with various systemic diseases, including diabetes and heart disease. Researchers from UB and Roswell Park Cancer Institute published the first study showing an association between long-standing periodontitis and risk of tongue cancer in the May 2007 issue of Archives of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery. Studies conducted elsewhere have found that HPV is an independent risk factor for a subset of head and neck cancers. The UB researchers now have shown that the two infections appear to work in tandem to boost the chances of developing tongue cancer. Mine Tezal, D.D.S., Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Oral Diagnostic Sciences, UB dental school, and research scientist at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, presented results of this research today (April 4, 2008) at the 2008 American Association of Dental research meeting in Dallas, Texas. Evidence of periodontitis-HPV synergy has important practical implications," said Tezal, "because there is a safe treatment for periodontitis, but no treatment for HPV infection. If these results are confirmed by other studies, this has a tremendous relevance in predicting and intervening in the initiation and prognosis of HPV-related diseases, including head and neck cancers." The study involved 30 patients [...]

3/20/2008 Alexandria, LA Farrah Reyna NewsChannel5 (kalb.com) Cancer of the esophagus is one of the fastest growing cancers in the United States. That’s why researchers in Seattle are hoping new technology in the form of a tethered endoscope will make screening for throat cancer cheaper and faster, and more likely to be covered by all insurance companies. Biomedical engineer Eric Seibel is about to swallow a small camera the size of pill. Each swallow of water is pushing a one-pixel camera lower into his esophagus. A tether controls where it goes as it takes 30 color pictures per second on its way to his stomach. He said, “We have a little scanner and we scan very low-powered laser light to get the high resolution imaging.” Researchers believe this new endoscope will be cheaper to use and more effective at screening the digestive tract for pre-cancerous conditions like Barrett’s esophagus –or- throat cancer. Doctor Seibel said, “To look for something right above your stomach at the bottom of your esophagus, that’s where you get heart burn and that’s where a lot of the esophageal cancers start. And what you would like to have is a little tether and a camera to look right at that point, make that diagnosis, confirm that diagnosis and then just pull it out.” Normal endoscopes require patients to be sedated. This new technology is faster and cheaper because patients are awake. Karen Murray, a gastroenterologist said, “If someone is having a lot of heartburn pain and [...]

3/19/2008 Hickory, NC staff www.huliq.com Researchers from the Dental Institute and the Nutritional Science Research Division, led by Professors Saman Warnakulasuriya and Victor R Preedy have published new research findings which herald a significant advance in understanding how alcohol may cause oral (mouth) cancer. Oral cancer affects around 4,600 people in the UK per year and the disease is more common in Scotland. It is a highly lethal disease and five year survival is around 50 per cent. At least three people die of or with oral cancer every day in the UK. Saman Warnakulasuriya, Professor of Oral Medicine & Experimental Pathology at King’s, and lead researcher in the project says: ‘We are very excited by this discovery. Alcohol is a major risk factor for oral cancer. We have so far not been able to explain exact mechanisms how alcohol causes cancer of the mouth'. Through study of a group of alcohol misusers the researchers have found that a break down product of alcohol – acetaldehyde can be detected in oral mucosal cells, and thereby provide a marker for alcohol metabolism. The research team at King’s worked in collaboration with Professor Onni Niemela and Professor Seppo Parkkila at the University of Tampere, Finland. Dr Onni Niemela, a Professor of Laboratory Medicine at the University of Tampere, comments: ‘This product (acetaldehyde) identifies cells that are damaged by the alcohol, and through the study of these cells we can see how the damage may trigger diseases such as cancer in alcohol misusers’. [...]

3/18/2008 Little Falls, NJ Judith Groch MedPageToday (www.medpagetoday.com) Although head and neck cancer patients had improved mental health scores a year after diagnosis and treatment, their quality of life, particularly the ability to eat, had declined markedly, a study here found. Treatment, especially a feeding-tube still in place at one year, and the effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy, were major factors in diminished quality of life at follow-up, David L. Ronis, Ph.D., of the University of Michigan here, and colleagues reported in the March issue of Archives of Otolaryngology--Head & Neck Surgery. But there was a modest improvement in mental health after a year. Treatments tend to produce pain, disfigurement, and eating and communication problems, the researchers noted. Many patients become disabled, and about one-third continue to smoke, while half are depressed. It is likely, the researchers said, that the improvement in mental health the researchers found is a consequence of low baseline levels because anxiety and depressive reactions to a cancer diagnosis are common. Thus, there may be some "floor effect" for mental well-being that occurs near the time of diagnosis, and patients are likely to improve in most cases. In the survey of more than 300 patients, about 43% of patients with newly diagnosed head and neck cancer had smoked in the month prior to treatment (baseline). Smoking at baseline was highly correlated with decreased quality-of-life scores at baseline and at one year of follow-up, the researchers said. Even after controlling for baseline quality of life, those [...]

3/18/2008 Harrisburg, PA press release EarthTimes (www.earthtimes.org) Approximately 35,000 Americans are diagnosed with oral cancer each year and nearly 8,000 people died of these cancers in 2007 alone. Early detection is an integral part in battling the disease and can even help identify precancerous cells before they become cancerous. The Pennsylvania Dental Association (PDA) stresses that regular dental checkups play an essential part in the early detection of oral cancer. The term oral cancer refers to cancers located in any part of the mouth, including the lips, gum tissue, tongue and the soft or hard palate, or in the pharynx, the top part of the throat. Adults over the age of 40 are more susceptible to oral cancer and the disease historically affects twice as many men than women. However, there has been a nearly five-fold increase in incidence in oral cancer patients under the age of 40. Individuals who use any form of tobacco products, especially when combined with the use of alcohol, are at a greater risk for developing oral cancer. "All patients should be screened for oral cancer whether they fall into one of the high-risk categories or not," said Dr. John Meci, a PDA member and general dentist from Coplay. "Additionally, patients who do not have their own teeth should have their dentures checked periodically for proper fit and their mouth examined for precancerous or cancerous lesions." While you should visit the dentist twice a year for regular checkups, dentists recommend that you check your mouth [...]

3/17/2008 web-based article Karl Kingsley et al. BMC Public Health, March 10, 2008; 8(1): 87 Background: Downward trends have been observed in oral cancer incidence and mortality in the US over the past 30 years; however, these declines are not uniform within this population. Several studies have now demonstrated an increase in the incidence and mortality from oral cancers among certain demographic groups, which may have resulted from increased risks or risk behaviors. This study examines the underlying data that comprise these trends, to identify specific populations that may be at greater risk for morbidity and mortality from oral cancers. Methods: Oral cancer incidence and mortality data analyzed for this study were generated using the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program. Results: While oral cancer incidence and mortality rates have been declining over the past thirty years, these declines have reversed in the past five years among some demographic groups, including black females and white males. Sorting of these data by state revealed that eight states exhibited increasing rates of oral cancer deaths, Nevada, North Carolina, Iowa, Ohio, Maine, Idaho, North Dakota, and Wyoming, in stark contrast to the national downward trend. Furthermore, a detailed analysis of data from these states revealed increasing rates of oral cancer among older white males, also contrary to the overall trends observed at the national level. Conclusions: These results signify that, despite the declining long-term trends in oral cancer incidence and mortality nationally, localized geographic areas exist where the incidence [...]

3/17/2008 web-based article staff American Medical Network (www.health.am) The results of a study in the International Journal of Cancer confirm an association between smoking and cancers of the stomach and esophagus, and suggest that moist snuff, a popular form of smokeless tobacco in Scandinavia known as “snus,” raises the risk of these cancers as well. Dr. Kazem Zendehdel, of the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, and colleagues examined the occurrence of esophageal and stomach cancers in a group of male Swedish construction workers who were followed for up to 33 years. A total of 336,381 subjects provided information on tobacco smoking and snus use between 1971 and 1993. Follow-up through 2004 was accomplished through linkage to various nationwide registers. Fifty-eight percent of the workers reported current or former smoking, and 28 percent reported snus use. Tobacco smoking raised the risk of stomach and esophagus cancers by as much fivefold. Although snus use appeared to be safer, it still increased the risk of stomach cancer slightly and raised the odds of esophagus cancer by more than threefold. Although there is still some uncertainty about the cause and strength of these associations, and if they can be extended to other populations, “we conclude that at present, Scandinavian snus cannot be considered to be without a (cancer) risk,” Zendehdel and colleagues conclude. Source: International Journal of Cancer, March 2008.

3/14/2008 Gathersburg, MD Lisa Richwine and Kim Dixon www.reuters.com The widespread use of anemia drugs sold by Amgen Inc and Johnson & Johnson should be sharply restricted for cancer patients amid serious safety concerns, a U.S. advisory panel said on Thursday. The Food and Drug Administration panel recommended against giving the medicines to patients with potentially curable cancers who are undergoing treatment, or to patients with advanced breast cancer or head and neck cancer. "How long do patients have to continue to be exposed to a drug that we are not sure is safe?" said Dr. Judith Kramer of Duke University and a panel member. The FDA typically takes the advice of its expert panels. The recommendations come after eight studies found evidence of tumor growth or shorter survival for some patients given high doses of the drugs, which include Amgen's top-selling product Aranesp and J&J's Procrit. Tens of thousands of cancer patients take the drugs for anemia caused by chemotherapy. Anemia, or low levels of red blood cells, causes fatigue and weakness. The drugs, known as erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs), are genetically engineered forms of a protein that boosts production of red blood cells. The injectable medicines also are sold for patients with kidney disease. The panel rejected, in a 13-1 vote, a more extreme option of recommending a complete withdrawal of all approved uses for cancer patients. The panel is saying "if you want to cure a patient with chemo, don't kill them with an ESA," King said. Amgen [...]