6/22/2007 New York, NY staff NYDailyNews.com The man with the artificial voice box is a powerful speaker to smokers Scare-tactic television ads featuring a smoker who got throat cancer seem to be working, the health commissioner said Thursday. The city's annual community health survey found that 17.5 percent of adult New Yorkers smoked in 2006, down from 18.9 percent a year earlier. Nationwide, an estimated 21 percent of all U.S. adults smoke cigarettes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The drop marked the third time in four years that New York City's smoking rates have fallen. The overall trend began five years ago when the city began a campaign to tax, ban, and frighten smokers into quitting. When the city first implemented its $1.50 per pack cigarette tax in 2002, about 21.6 percent of New Yorkers smoked. Mayor Michael Bloomberg followed up the hefty tax with a ban on smoking in most indoor public spaces in 2003. Before those two changes, smoking rates had been stagnant for a decade. The city's progress appeared to stall somewhat in 2005, when the percentage of New Yorkers smoking didn't change significantly from the prior year. Health officials responded with the $10 million anti-smoking advertising campaign. Health Commissioner Thomas R. Frieden credited the ads Thursday with encouraging more people to quit, especially the television spots featuring cancer patient Ronaldo Martinez. The series of ads, originally made by Massachusetts health officials, showed Martinez speaking with an artificial voice box and cleaning the [...]

6/21/2007 Memphis, TN staff CancerConsultants.com According to an article recently published in The Lancet, Scandinavian moist snuff (snus) increases the risk of developing pancreatic cancer. However, it has not been confirmed that snus increases the risk of oral or lung cancer. Snuff is classified as a carcinogen; however, its use is increasing in several different populations. The use of snus and its association with the risk of specific cancers is not well understood. In order to gain a better understanding of this association, researchers from Sweden recently conducted a study to evaluate the incidence of cancer of the oral cavity, lung, and pancreas among snus users. This study included data from nearly 280,000 Swedish males who were asked about tobacco smoking or snus use between 1978 and1992. Approximately 126,000 of these males were never-smokers at the entry of the study, and the recorded data include men who never used tobacco. Healthcare records were followed until 2004. - The risk of developing pancreatic cancer was doubled among snus users. - The use of snus was unrelated to the risk of oral cancer or lung cancer. The researchers concluded that use of snus was related to an increased risk of pancreatic cancer, but no increased risk of oral or lung cancers. The authors stated, “Use of Swedish snus should be added to the list of tentative risk factors for pancreatic cancer.” Reference: Luo J, Ye W, Zendehdel K, et al. Oral use of Swedish moist snuff (snus) and risk for cancer of [...]

6/21/2007 Hickory, NC staff eMaxHealth.com Last year, the drug Sutent (sunitinib) made headlines for its effectiveness against kidney and gastrointestinal cancers. Now, radiation oncologist at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson in Philadelphia are hoping to find out if combining Sutent and radiation will help patients with a wide range of cancers. Adam P. Dicker, M.D., Ph.D., professor of radiation oncology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, and his co-workers are enrolling patients in a Phase 1 clinical trial aimed at looking for potential side effects in patients receiving small amounts of the combination treatment for a variety of cancers, such as brain tumors and prostate, lung, and head and neck cancers. The trial stemmed from laboratory studies conducted at Jefferson. Sutent works by inhibiting the action of various enzymes called tyrosine kinases that are involved in a tumor's blood supply. The drug halts the development of blood vessels growing into and feeding tumor growth, cutting its blood supply, as well as oxygen and nutrients. Both of these effects stop the tumor from growing. Dr. Dicker and his colleagues have laboratory data that indicate that when given together with radiation therapy, the combination will have a greater effect on tumors compared to either drug or radiation therapy alone. "The study combines standard of care radiation therapy with an exciting anti-angiogenic drug that has already shown patient benefit in some cancers," explains Dr. Dicker. "It's the first time that this drug has been combined with radiation therapy. According to [...]

6/21/2007 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada staff Vancouver Sun (www.canada.com/vancouversun) The PHS Community Dental Clinic on the Downtown Eastside received a $280,000 grant from the province Tuesday to support screening for oral cancer. The money, presented by Community Services Minister Ida Chong, will also support the clinic's work to help people quit smoking and provide a healthy nutrition program. Downtown Eastside residents are 60 times more likely to test positive for oral cancer than the general population. If detected early, oral cancer has an 80-per-cent survival rate. The grant will allow the PHS Dental Clinic to hire additional dentist time and clear a backlog of patients.

6/20/2007 London, United Kingdom Kathleen Armstrong MLWMagazine.com A blood test designed to diagnose mental health illnesses such as depression and schizophrenia took centre stage at the recent 2007 Medical Futures Innovation Awards, winning the overall award for the mental health and neurosciences category. Consultant psychiatrist Dr Sabine Bahn and Professor Chris Lowe accepted the award on behalf of their research team at the Institute of Biotechnology at Cambridge for the Psynova - Blood Test for Mental Illness, which uses novel biomarkers to identify those who are predisposed to mental illness, well before they present with symptoms. Bahn and Lowe established Psynova Neurotech in 2005 as a vehicle to commercially develop and exploit novel biomarkers for neuropsychiatric disorders. Working closely with the Cambridge Centre for Neuropsychiatric Research (CCNR) and the Institute of Biotechnology (IOB), they have put together a database of comprehensive data on biomarkers specific to schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The overall award for cancer innovation went to Dr Nicholas Coleman, a scientist from Cambridge whose team of researchers has identified a novel marker that is present in cancer cells but not in normal cells. They believe their new system will pick up certain cancers - such as cervical, bowel or lung cancer - earlier and more accurately. Coleman and his team have undertaken a series of academic studies to clinically validate MCM (minichromosone maintenance proteins) testing as a method for identifying cancer and precancer, mainly relating to cervical smears. Further clinical validation studies will look at its application for [...]

6/20/2007 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Keith Gerein Edmonton Journal (www.canada.com/edmontonjournal) Academic researchers who receive funding from the tobacco industry are no longer welcome at the University of Alberta's School of Public Health. Members of the school's faculty council voted overwhelmingly in favour of that directive Friday, declaring their opposition to grants like the $1.5-million US deal accepted by one of their colleagues. "The issue here is a perception of a conflict of interest with the mission of the school of public health," said Roger Palmer, the school's dean. The school is the third group on campus to approve a tobacco funding ban, and it actually employs a researcher who has received money from such companies. Carl Phillips, a health policy expert, has been at the centre of the controversy since he came to the U of A in 2005 with a lucrative, five-year grant from the makers of smokeless tobacco brands Skoal and Copenhagen. The focus of his research is to examine the health effects of chewing tobacco compared with smoking. Some see the issue as one of academic freedom, a principle that asserts scholars should have the ability to pursue projects of their choice and unpopular causes, without fear of losing income or job promotions. Others see the issue in terms of institutional integrity. They suggest that restricting such freedom is justifiable in certain cases, especially instances when the values of higher learning are seen to be tainted. "Tobacco is uniquely hazardous to human health and the industry has a [...]

6/20/2007 Buffalo, NY Arlene Furlong American Dental Association (www.ada.org) The greater the bone loss from periodontal disease, the greater the risk of tongue cancer, new research suggests. Scientists at the University at Buffalo and Roswell Park Cancer Institute calculated that the risk of tongue cancer due to chronic gum disease increased fivefold with every millimeter of alveolar bone loss, regardless of smoking status. The scientists compared bone loss in 51 white men with tongue cancer to 54 white men without, all of whom were treated at the cancer institute between 1999 and 2005. Measurements of alveolar bone loss from panoramic radiographs were taken in all patients by the same periodontist, who did not know the cancer status of study patients. After eliminating the potential effects of age, smoking status and the number of existing teeth, persons with chronic gum disease were 5.2 times more likely to have tongue cancer with every millimeter of bone loss than those without gum disease. The results showed that other conditions of the teeth—decay, fillings, crowns and root canals—ad no significant effect on the incidence of tongue cancer. Dr. Mine Tezal, Ph.D., and colleagues hypothesize periodontal viruses and bacteria could be toxic to surrounding cells and produce changes that lead directly to oral cancer, or could indirectly contribute to cancer through inflammation."We have presented preliminary data suggesting an independent association between history of periodontitis and the risk of tongue cancer," the study's authors wrote in the May issue of The Archives of Otolaryngology: Head and [...]

6/20/2007 London, England staff medicexchange.com Molecular messages and signals circulating in blood or contained in cells lining the airway can identify early stage cancer, according to research reported at the 2007 Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research. Scientists looking to apply basic science knowledge to medical practice are developing tests that diagnose, predict or monitor cancer risks, without invasive tissue sampling. Such tests could benefit all, particularly underserved populations, such as the poor, who often wait until symptoms appear before seeing a doctor. A simple oral rinse could detect the early development of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, according to researchers at the University of Miami's Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. Their strategy involves the detection of CD44, a protein biomarker for HNSCC tumors, combined with the detection of cancer-related altered DNA, and could reliably distinguish cancer from benign diseases. Currently, only 50 per cent of head and neck cancer patients are cured of the disease. While late-stage HNSCC has a poor prognosis, cure rates exceed 80 per cent if caught early enough. "Head and neck cancers are devastating for all patients. They are particularly challenging for the poor and disadvantaged, who often do not have the adequate, regular care that makes early detection more likely," said Elizabeth Franzmann, M.D., assistant professor of otolaryngology at Miami. "Our study has shown that an oral rinse test, simple enough to be administered at any community health center, is likely to detect cancer about 90 per cent of the time." [...]

6/20/2007 London, United Kingdom press release medicexchange.com Just as the clarity of high definition television has transformed the entertainment world, Siemens Medical Solutions is redefining the quality of molecular imaging with the introduction of high definition positron emission tomography. At the 2007 Society of Nuclear Medicine Annual Meeting (SNM), held June 2-6 in Washington, DC, Siemens unveiled HD-PET, the world’s first and only high definition PET technology to offer consistently sharper and clearly defined images across the entire field of view. “As the leading innovator in molecular imaging, Siemens raises the bar in innovation yet again by adding high definition to the Biograph TruePoint family of hybrid PET/CT systems,” said Michael Reitermann, president, Molecular Imaging, Siemens Medical Solutions. “The clarity of HD-PET will provide greater specificity and accuracy and will enable physicians to more confidently delineate small lesions – including those in lymph nodes, abdomen, head and neck, and brain– to provide earlier, more targeted treatment.” Changing the whole picture The clarity achieved by HD-PET is the result of a unique and proprietary technology that optimizes the elements of image uniformity, resolution and contrast – that together change the whole picture. “The uniform resolution provided by HD-PET throughout the field-of-view is a significant step in improving PET image quality,” said David Townsend, PhD, director, Molecular Imaging and Translational Research Program, University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine, who has worked with Siemens while testing the new HD-PET technology. “Historically with PET imaging, intrinsic image quality has been known to degrade [...]

6/20/2007 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Susan Lazaruk Edmonton Journal (www.canada.com/edmontonjournal) The state of Vermont is asking the B.C. courts to compel two University of British Columbia professors to testify in a lawsuit the state has launched against cigarette maker R.J. Reynolds and its claims of a safer "smokeless" cigarette. Dr. James Hogg and Dr. Stephan van Eeden have refused to voluntarily disclose the results of their 1990s research into Eclipse cigarettes to state prosecutors suing R.J. Reynolds for fraudulent advertising in the marketing of a cigarette that heats but doesn't burn tobacco. Reynolds promotes Eclipse as the "better way to smoke" and the U.S. ads say they "may present less risk of cancer, bronchitis and possibly emphysema," and "produce less inflammation in the respiratory system." It also claims: "The toxicity of its smoke is dramatically reduced," and the results backing the claims "have been presented at scientific meetings or published in scientific journals." R.J. Reynolds cites a research article called: "A Safer Cigarette? A Comparative Study. A Consensus Report", which was published in 2000 in the journal Inhalation Toxicology and written by co-principal investigators Hogg and van Eeden. The study, conducted at five medical centres, including UBC, was funded by R.J. Reynolds. State prosecutors said the article misrepresents the results, which haven't been published in a peer-reviewed academic journal. The state wants the two doctors to testify because they allegedly have relevant evidence as to whether switching to Eclipse does, as R.J. Reynolds claims, present smokers with the "next best choice" [...]