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" [...]

6/17/2007 web-based article John Spangler M.D. ABC News (www.abcnews.go.com) Stop smoking by using smokeless tobacco? Except for a very vocal minority of tobacco experts, most tobacco researchers would not recommend this. Nonetheless, with the blessing of this vocal minority, this is exactly what tobacco giant Philip Morris intends to do in August. This summer Philip Morris will introduce a tobacco product called snus (pronounced, snoose) in the Dallas/Fort Worth area to test market its appeal to adult smokers. And some tobacco experts are applauding this effort. Snus is a form of tobacco developed in Sweden that seems to be less risky than American smokeless tobacco products such as moist snuff (like Skoal), chewing tobacco (like Red Man) or dried, powdered snuff (Dental, Tube Rose, Peach and other brands). Using snus for smoking cessation falls under the banner of "harm reduction," and has some support in the field of tobacco control. Such an approach seems appealing: By reducing a smoker's dependence on cigarettes, switching to smokeless tobacco (particularly snus) potentially reduces the risk for a whole host of smoking-related illnesses. Harm reduction has been used successfully in other addictions: methadone administration for heroin addicts, for example, or clean needle exchanges for injecting drug users. But residual tobacco-related health risks remain when a smoker quits by using smokeless tobacco, and these risks are not trivial when compared to quitting totally. Less Risk Is Still Risk Although smokeless tobacco is much less risky than cigarettes, nonetheless mouth cancer and poor oral health definitely [...]

6/16/2007 MP Copper et al. Clin Otolaryngol, June 1, 2007; 32(3): 185-9 Objectives: Multiple primary tumours are a common problem in the head and neck cancer patients. Curative surgery or radiotherapy of these tumours can be very mutilating or even impossible. This study aims at evaluating meta-tetrahydroxy-phenyl chlorin-mediated photodynamic therapy for second or multiple primary tumours in the head and neck. Design: Retrospective study of all patients with second or multiple primary tumours treated by photodynamic therapy over a 10-year period. Setting: All patients were treated in the Netherlands Cancer Institute, a tertiary referral centre for the head and neck cancer patients. Participants: A total of 27 patients with 42 the second or the multiple primary head and neck tumours were treated by photodynamic therapy (0.15 mg/kg meta-tetrahydroxy-phenyl chlorin). Main outcomes measures: Cure rates. Results: Twenty-eight of 42 tumours were cured (67%). Cure rates for stage I or in situ disease were 85%versus 38% for stage II/III. Conclusions: Cure rates for photodynamic therapy of the multiple primary head and neck tumours were lower than previously described for first primaries, but were still very encouraging for this difficult patient population. The high cure rate obtained in stage I multiple primaries emphasises the importance of a meticulous follow-up of patients treated for the head and neck cancer to detect new tumours at a curable stage. Authors: MP Copper, M Triesscheijn, IB Tan, MC Ruevekamp, and FA Stewart Authors' affiliation: Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

6/16/2007 Zurich, Switzerland Natalie Drabe et al. Psychooncology, June 5, 2007 The diagnosis of cancer not only affects the lives of patients but also the lives of their relatives. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of psychiatric disorders and quality of life (QoL) among wives of patients treated for head and neck cancer (HNC). We examined 31 wives of patients treated for HNC from January 1998 to December 2004 (meantime since diagnosis 3.7 years) by questionnaires with regard to quality of life (WHOQOL-BREF), quality of the relationship (Dyadic Adjustment Scale), and affective symptoms (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, HADS). Prevalence of psychiatric morbidity was measured by the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). Results indicated that QoL and satisfaction with the relationship were comparable to the normal population. HADS mean scores showed no clinically relevant levels of depression and anxiety. A high prevalence of psychiatric disorders (38.7%, particularly agoraphobia) was found in the MINI. Wives diagnosed with an anxiety disorder reported significantly lower QoL compared to those without. The results of this study suggest that agoraphobia is a frequent psychiatric disorder seen in wives of HNC patients. Diagnosis of HNC can have a strong impact on the mental health of the spouse and should be taken in account in counselling of HNC patients. Authors: Natalie Drabe, Diana Zwahlen, Stefan Buchi, Hanspeter Moergeli, Roger A Zwahlen, and Josef Jenewein Authors' affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland

6/16/2007 New York, NY staff Forbes.com Uninsured Americans or those with certain types of public health insurance are more likely to have oral or breast cancer diagnosed at an advanced stage, compared to people with private insurance whose disease is caught earlier. That's the conclusion of two studies in the July 15 issue of the journal Cancer. They were produced by American Cancer Society researchers who analyzed data from a nationwide cancer database. The analysis of oropharyngeal cancer patient data found that patients with no health insurance were more likely than those with private insurance to be diagnosed with advanced disease, the largest tumors or invasive disease that had spread to regional lymph nodes. Patients with public health insurance, particularly Medicaid for low-income families, were also more likely than those with private insurance to have more advanced cancer, the largest tumors and lymph node involvement, the study found. The analysis of breast cancer patient data revealed that uninsured patients and those covered by Medicaid were almost 2.5 times more likely to be diagnosed with advanced disease than patients with private insurance. Improved access to regular medical care and cancer screening programs for the uninsured and underinsured could help reduce these disparities, the authors of both studies said. In an accompanying editorial, Dr. Richard C. Wender, president of the American Cancer Society and chairman of the department of family medicine at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, wrote that having "a usual primary care clinician, a trusted source of care, also known [...]

6/10/2007 Burnsville, MN Brooke M. Walsh ThisWeekOnline (www.thisweek-online.com) No one thought Amy Gust, of Farmington, had oral cancer when she developed a persistent sore spot along her gum line in May 2006 — as a 37-year-old woman who rarely drank or smoked, she didn’t fit the perceived profile of someone who would contract oral cancer. But after months of mouthwash and exams, Amy was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the gingiva, “which is basically a cancer of the gums,” she said. What she, her dentist and doctor now know is that, as the 6th most common cancer in the United States, oral cancer affects many outside the perceived risk group. About 34,000 people are projected to be diagnosed with oral cancer — including cancer of the mouth, inner lip, tongue, salivary glands, pharynx, larynx and sinuses — in the U.S. in 2007, which is an 11 percent increase in new diagnoses since 2006. “Of them, 50-percent won’t be alive in five years, and that’s because it’s not being diagnosed early —it’s already spread places,” Amy said. It was in May 2006 that Amy first noticed what she thought was something stuck deep between her teeth. “It didn’t hurt or anything, it just felt like I had food caught,” she said. A week later, at her regular six month dental check up she pointed it out to her dentist, who performed an oral cancer screening — examining her face, neck and mouth both internally and externally, visually and through touch, [...]

6/10/2007 Chicago, IL staff United Press International (www.upi.com) More than 92 percent of Illinois dentists provide oral cancer examinations, but some are not performing the procedures thoroughly. Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago say dentists are not doing all they should be doing to detect oral cancers in their patients. Lead researcher Charles LeHew had more than 500 dentists in 19 Illinois counties respond to the 38-item questionnaire that was used to gauge the extent of their knowledge of oral cancer prevention and early detection. The majority of dentists correctly identified squamous cell carcinoma, the most common form of oral cancer, as well as the most common sites for oral cancer and the most-common types of early lesions, but many were not able to answer those questions correctly, according to the study published in the Journal of Public Health Dentistry. Moreover, dentists lacked the knowledge needed for risk assessment and counseling. Some dentists incorrectly identified tobacco or alcohol as the least important risk factor for oral cancer, when in fact they are the two most important, according to LeHew.

6/10/2007 Little Rock, AK staff TodaysTHVH.com State health officials hope to keep Arkansas kids from using spit tobacco. They set up shop at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock Friday for the 6th annual Spit Tobacco Prevention Night. Kids signed a pledge never to use spit tobacco http://homepage.westmont.edu/make_account/images/pic/photoshop-cs5.html. Some won prizes like Ipods and DVD players. The slogan for the prevention campaign is chew, dip and die. "It causes mouth cancer and throat cancer. You lose your teeth. It causes gum disease. Think about what's in spit tobacco, cyanide, arsenic, formaldehyde, things that you wouldn't put in your mouth," said Dr. Lynn Mouden with the Department of Health and Human Services. Minor league baseball prohibits the use of spit tobacco or smoking.

6/8/2007 London, England staff Economist.com Drugs directed at precise molecular targets are helping cancer patients live longer. They have yet, however, to fulfil all expectations. Researchers have been promising a revolution in cancer treatment for a long time. More effective and less toxic drugs are expected to replace old-fashioned chemotherapies. The approach is called targeted molecular medicine and the idea is to substitute the blunderbuss of chemotherapy with the sharp-shooting of a chemical that interrupts a single molecular pathway—one that is crucial for the survival of cancer cells, but not normal cells. The problem is that this pathway will vary from cancer to cancer. You therefore have to find out which pathway is crucial in a cancer before you can make the drug. And once armed with the drug, you have to devise tests that reveal what type of cancer someone has, in order to find out whether the drug will work in his case. Even then, there is no guarantee it will work well—as three large clinical trials unveiled at this week's meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, in Chicago, sadly demonstrate. It is not that any of the trials failed, exactly: all added weeks or months to the lives of those taking the new therapies. It is rather that physicians were hoping for years of extra life. There are useful lessons to be learned from these trials. Unfortunately, the main one is that molecular medicine is harder than it looks. The tumours treated in the three [...]