12/25/2007 Boston, MA William D. Foulkes, M.B., Ph.D. New England Journal of Medicine Volume 357:2539-2541 The gene known variously as p53, TP53, and Trp53 is currently featured in nearly 45,000 published articles listed in PubMed — a remarkable number suggesting that the protein product of this gene, p53, is one of the most important molecules in biology. When it was discovered in 1979, the p53 phosphoprotein (molecular mass, 53 kD) was postulated to have "a crucial role in the modulation of the transformed state."1 This idea has found support in innumerable studies, including the one reported on by Poeta et al. in this issue of the Journal (pages 2552–2561), in which somatic mutations in TP53 were associated with a poor outcome after surgical treatment of squamous-cell carcinoma of the head and neck. In particular, mutations that resulted in a shortened, and presumably malfunctioning, p53 protein or that interfered with the DNA-binding domain of p53 were independent predictors of a poor prognosis. So what is p53, and why is it important in cancer? The p53 protein functions primarily as a multitarget transcription factor. This means that it controls the expression of a wide range of genes with disparate functions. Additional cancer-related functions continue to be discovered, but thus far, its known functions include cell-cycle regulation, senescence, apoptosis, repair of DNA damage caused by genotoxic agents, angiogenesis, and regulation of oxidative stress.2 Such a broad range of relevant functions places p53 in a controlling position with respect to many cancer-related processes. With [...]

12/25/2007 web-based article staff Biocompare (www.biocompare.com) An international team of researchers led by Mayo Clinic have designed a technique that uses the body’s own cells and a virus to destroy cancer cells that spread from primary tumors to other parts of the body through the lymphatic system. In addition, their study shows that this technology could be the basis for a new cancer vaccine to prevent cancer recurrence. The technology combines infection-fighting T-cells with the vesicular stomatitis virus that targets and destroys cancer cells while leaving normal cells unharmed. The study, which has not yet been replicated in humans, is significant because it describes a potential new therapy to treat and prevent the spread of cancer in patients. “We hope to translate these results into clinical trials. However, until those trials are done, it’s difficult to be certain that what we see in mouse models will clearly translate to humans. We’re hopeful that will be the case,” says Richard Vile, Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic specialist in molecular medicine and immunology and the study’s principal investigator. In primary cancers of the breast, colon, prostate, head and neck and skin, the growth of secondary tumors often pose the most threat to patients, not the primary tumor. The prognosis for these patients often depends upon the degree of lymph node involvement and whether the cancer has spread. Dr. Vile and colleagues theorized that they could control the spread of cancer through the lymphatic system (bone marrow, spleen, thymus and lymph nodes) by manipulating [...]

12/25/2007 Moberly, MO Janet Morales Moberly Monitor (/www.moberlymonitor.com) At age 14, Don Young's parents divorced. He was naturally upset and turned to friends to help fill the void. Many of these friends were smokers so to fit in and be part of the cool crowd he took up the bad habit too. He told his “Smoker's Story” and that of other smokers and tobacco chewers to the students at Westran High School with the aid of an electro-larynx since he no longer has a larynx (vocal chords) due to the cancer caused by years of smoking. “I didn't like it the first time,” said Young of his initial smoking experience. “It burned my tongue and throat. The doctor said that is a way the body tells you it doesn't belong. But I didn't listen to my body and my body got adjusted to it.” At age 48, Young thought his sore throat was the result of a cold. After it persisted, his wife Kay urged him to see a doctor. A nodule was found in his throat and removed. “Cigarettes were my best friend,” said Young. “I went everywhere with them. I smoked right up to the hospital to get my biopsy.” Young was assured the cancer was completely removed. Young had tried to quit smoking before but “that was enough to scare me”. He and his wife both threw away all their cigarettes, never to smoke again. But the doctor had been wrong. Three months after the first procedure, [...]

12/22/2007 United Kingdom staff Cellular- News (www.cellular-news.com) A new medical study is reporting that cell phone use raises the risk of mouth cancer. Five years of heavy use increased the chances of developing a tumor by around 50 percent compared with people who had never used a mobile phone. Previous studies into the links between phones and cancer have generated conflicting results with the vast majority claiming to have found no evidence of serious health risks, although some have found increases in cancer rates around the ear. The lifestyles of 402 people with benign mouth tumors and 56 with malignant tumors were compared to a control group of 1,266 people. Those who used mobile phones were more likely than normal to develop parotid gland tumors. The parotid is the largest of the salivary glands and sits at the back of the mouth not far from the ear. Long-term users of mobile phones tended to develop tumors on the same side of the head as the phone was normally held. People who used mobile phones in rural areas, where the phone has to work harder to make contact with the nearest base station, were found to be at greater risk. The cause of the heightened risk was not established. Most studies have looked at the way the electromagnetic fields created by phones warm tissue; however, the levels of the fields are thought too small to have a heating effect. Instead, some researchers believe the fields have the power to disrupt chemical [...]

12/22/2007 Augusta, GA staff www.wjbf.com About 15 years ago we learned that HPV, the human papilloma virus, causes cervical cancer. Now, researchers say, that could be just the beginning. They're looking into an HPV risk for other, or second cancers. Camille Ragin, Ph.D., M.P.H., Epidemiologist, "We realized that these cervical cancer patients, when we looked at these second cancers, they were primarily at an increased risk of developing head and neck cancers and also lung cancer." Women aren't the only ones at risk. Five years ago, Johns Hopkins researchers found HPV in oral cancer, and most of the patients were men. Maura Gillison, M.D., Head & Neck Oncologist, "To our surprise, it turned out HPV was in a significant number of these cancers, and they seemed to have distinct characteristics that made them different from cancers that were, that didn't have HPV in them." Most of the cancers started in the tonsils and were not associated with smoking or drinking. Dr. Gillison, "What was critical was just the number of oral sexual partners you've had in your lifetime." Findings from the studies could raise new questions about the HPV vaccine used to prevent cervical cancer. Dr. Gillison, "If the vaccine is shown to be effective in preventing oral HPV infection, then it would be indicated regardless of gender." Dr. Ragin, "That certainly cannot be ruled out because there are so many other cancers in men, anal cancers and other types of cancers, penile cancers that are in men, that are [...]

12/22/2007 New York, NY Gina Kolata New York Times (nytimes.com) Within the next few months, researchers at three medical centers expect to start the first test in patients of one of the most promising — and contentious — ideas about the cause and treatment of cancer. The idea is to take aim at what some scientists say are cancerous stem cells — aberrant cells that maintain and propagate malignant tumors. Although many scientists have assumed that cancer cells are immortal —that they divide and grow indefinitely — most can only divide a certain number of times before dying. The stem-cell hypothesis says that cancers themselves may not die because they are fed by cancerous stem cells, a small and particularly dangerous kind of cell that can renew by dividing even as it spews out more cells that form the bulk of a tumor. Worse, stem cells may be impervious to most standard cancer therapies. Not everyone accepts the hypothesis of cancerous stem cells. Skeptics say proponents are so in love with the idea that they dismiss or ignore evidence against it. Dr. Scott E. Kern, for instance, a leading pancreatic cancer researcher at Johns Hopkins University, said the hypothesis was more akin to religion than to science. At stake in the debate is the direction of cancer research. If proponents of the stem-cell hypothesis are correct, it will usher in an era of hope for curing once-incurable cancers. If the critics are right, the stem-cell enthusiasts are heading down a [...]

12/22/2007 Torquay, England staff www.thisissouthdevon.co.uk Life saving surgery for people with cancer of the head and neck is to move from Torbay Hospital to Exeter, it has been revealed. Around 50 people a year are currently treated at Torbay Hospital for the disease, Torbay Council's Stronger Communities Scrutiny Board heard before giving the decision their blessing. Under the plans being brought in patients will still have initial consultancy and follow up appointments at the Shiphay site, but the actual operation will take place at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital. The scrutiny board heard there had been 'widespread professional debate' about the changes, along with future plans to have either Plymouth or Exeter as the one main centre for treatment. Guidelines say head and neck cancer centre services should be concentrated in centres serving one million people and at least 100 newly-diagnosed cases a year.

12/21/2007 Memphis, TN staff CancerConsultants.com According to an article recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine, mutations in the TP53 gene result in lower survival rates for patients diagnosed with squamous-cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Patients with this genetic mutation may benefit from certain therapeutic approaches. Head and neck cancers originate in the oral cavity (lip, mouth, tongue), salivary glands, paranasal sinuses, nasal cavity, pharynx (upper back part of the throat), larynx (voice box), and lymph nodes in the upper part of the neck. Worldwide, head and neck cancer is diagnosed in approximately 640,000 people annually and is responsible for approximately 350,000 deaths each year. Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck is the most common type of head and neck cancer; it originates in squamous cells. As more is understood about cancer, genetics has been recognized as a crucial factor in the disease’s development. One area of genetic research involves the p53 protein, which is produced by the TP53 gene. The p53 protein suppresses the abnormal growth of cancer cells. If mutations exist in the TP53 gene, abnormal p53 proteins are produced that often lack the ability to suppress the growth of tumors. Researchers from the United States and Italy recently conducted a clinical trial to evaluate the potential effects of a mutated TP53 gene on outcomes among patients with squamous-cell carcinoma of the head and neck. This trial included 560 patients who underwent surgery in an attempt to cure their disease. Mutations of [...]

12/20/2007 Baltimore, MD Suhail K. Mithani et al. Clinical Cancer Research 13, 7335-7340, December 15, 2007 Purpose: Alterations of the mitochondrial genome have been identified in multiple solid tumors and in many head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC). Identification of mitochondrial mutations in the salivary rinses of patients with HNSCC has potential application in disease detection. In this study, we used the MitoChip v2.0 mitochondrial genome resequencing array to detect minor populations of mitochondrial DNA in salivary rinses of patients with HNSCC. Experimental Design: Salivary rinses from 13 patients with HNSCC, whose tumors carried mitochondrial mutations, were collected before surgical resection. DNA isolated from salivary rinses and serial dilutions of DNA derived from HNSCC-derived cell lines with known mitochondrial mutations were sequenced using the MitoChip, and analyzed using a quantitative algorithm which we developed to detect minor populations of mitochondrial DNA from MitoChip probe intensity data. Results: We detected heteroplasmic populations of mitochondrial DNA up to a 1:200 dilution using MitoChip v2.0 and our analysis algorithm. A logarithmic relationship between the magnitude of assay intensity and concentration of minor mitochondrial populations was shown. This technique was able to identify tumor-specific mitochondrial mutations in salivary rinses from 10 of 13 (76.9%) patients with head and neck cancer. Conclusions: Minor populations of mitochondrial DNA and disease-specific mitochondrial mutations in salivary rinses of patients with HNSCC can be successfully identified using the MitoChip resequencing array and the algorithm which we have developed. This technique has potential application in the surveillance of patients [...]

12/18/2007 staff Medical News Today (www.medicalnewstoday.com) A new doctoral thesis from the Department of Environmental Medicine at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet demonstrates that consumers of Swedish moist snuff a smokeless tobacco called 'snus' run a higher risk of dying from cardiac arrest and stroke. Snus also increases the risk of high blood pressure, a known factor of cardiovascular disease. The use of snus has increased markedly in Sweden in the past few decades, so much so that it now accounts for half of all tobacco consumption in the country. Over 20 per cent of men between the ages of 18 and 79 are daily users. Consumers of snus absorb as much nicotine as smokers but are spared many of the toxic chemicals that are formed on smoking. Although snus does not seem to increase the risk of myocardial infarction, one of the studies reported on in this doctoral thesis shows that its consumers run a 30 per cent (approximately) higher risk of fatal heart attack than people who have never used the product. This greater risk is even higher for those who take more than 50 grams of snus a day. Amongst those who suffer non-fatal heart attacks, users of snus have a higher fatality rate in general than non-users, and from cardiovascular diseases in particular. The studies reveal no greater risk of stroke amongst users of snus; however, users were more likely to suffer a fatal stroke. Users also ran a higher risk of developing high blood [...]