4/3/2007 web-based article Helen Pearson Nature Magazine (www.nature.com) Internet trade pre-empts clinical trial An experimental cancer drug shrinks tumours in rats with no apparent side effects. The scientists behind the study plan to do a clinical trial in humans, but it could take years to complete. Meanwhile, dying patients begin taking the unapproved drug and collect their results on the web. Both groups desperately want to save lives: but which is the right route to follow? This scenario has been playing out in recent weeks for a compound called dichloroacetate (DCA). It taps into long-running issues about whether terminally ill patients should be able to get access to drugs that have not yet had formal approval. Researchers fear that those taking the drug could suffer unanticipated side effects; patients argue they don't have the luxury of waiting for clinical trials to find out. In January this year, Evangelos Michelakis at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, and his colleagues reported that DCA has seemingly remarkable anticancer properties (S. Bonnet et al. Cancer Cell 11, 37–51; 2007). DCA is a small molecule that blocks an enzyme in mitochondria — the energy-production centres in cells — causing more glucose to be metabolized in the mitochondria rather than by a different pathway in the cytoplasm. The compound has been in clinical trials for years as a treatment for certain mitochondrial diseases, but it has not yet been approved. Mitochondria also control cell suicide, and Michelakis wondered whether cancer cells were suppressing these [...]

4/3/2007 Houston, TX Eric Berger Houston Chronicle (chron.com) As they completed the "book of life" earlier this decade, scientists with the Human Genome Project declared they had struck upon the path leading toward eventual cures for most diseases. By scribbling down all 3 billion DNA letters of the genetic code, the scientists reasoned, they could ferret out the defective genes in sick patients that explained why diseases such as cancer flourished and ultimately killed their hosts. But less than a decade later, a related science called epigenetics may have begun eclipsing traditional genetics. In epigenetics, it is factors such as diet and smoking, rather than inheritance, that influence how genes behave. A deepening understanding of this process has led to the development of drugs to rehabilitate cancer cells — by wiping away their bad memories — instead of bombing them into submission. "There are more people working now on the epigenetics of cancer than the genetics of cancer," said Jean Pierre Issa, a professor at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. That's a claim not every cancer researcher would support, but it's clear that interest in epigenetics has skyrocketed in recent years. A decade ago, at major cancer meetings, there would be a handful of presentations on epigenetics. Today there are hundreds. And epigenetic therapies now have moved beyond the lab and into the clinic, treating patients. "It's impossible to pick up any scientific journal today and not find at least one epigenetics paper," said Peter Jones, director [...]

4/2/2007 Istanbul, Turkey D Karacetin et al. J BUON, January 1, 2004; 9(1): 23-6 Purpose: Radiotherapy (RT) for head and neck cancer typically involves the major salivary glands bilaterally and can cause acute and chronic xerostomia and mucositis. The degree of xerostomia has been reported to depend on the radiation dose and the salivary gland volume irradiated. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of the radioprotector amifostine to improve xerostomia and mucositis in head and neck cancer patients who received RT. Patients and Methods: A total of 53 patients with head and neck cancer entered this prospective randomized study. Patients were randomly assigned to undergo RT or RT plus short intravenous (i.v.) infusion of amifostine 210 mg/m(2) before each RT fraction. Results: No statistically significant difference was seen between the 2 arms in terms of mucositis. Acute xerostomia occurred in 31 (93.9%) patients in the amifostine arm and all of the patients in the RT-alone arm (p <0.05). Grade 3 acute xerostomia occurred in 13 (39.3%) patients in the amifostine arm, and in 9 (45%) patients in the RT-alone arm (p=0.04). Late xerostomia occurred in 19 (57.5%) patients in the amifostine arm, and in 14 (70%) patients in RT-alone arm (p=0.03). Conclusion: The administration of amifostine in head and neck cancer patients receiving RT improved significantly acute and late xerostomia, while did not offer protection in the prevention of mucositis. Further prospective studies are needed in order to better define the role of this agent. Authors: D Karacetin, B [...]

4/2/2007 web-based article staff Medical News Today (www.medicalnewstoday.com) Zinc sulfate, a supplement thought to be helpful in regaining the sense of taste for some head and neck cancer patients after radiation therapy, has been found to have no significant impact on preventing or curing taste alteration, according to a study released today in the International Journal for Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, the official journal of The American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO). Taste alteration is a common side effect for head and neck cancer patients after radiation therapy. For these patients, usual food flavors taste bland or different, with a few patients losing the sensation of taste altogether. Losing taste sensation can lead to a significant change in eating habits, causing some patient to avoid certain unappealing foods, sometimes leading to additional weight loss at a time when good nutrition is critical. Previous academic studies have suggested that the use of zinc sulfate could help patients regain their sense of taste more quickly after radiation therapy. Doctors in this phase three, multi-institutional, double-blind, placebo-controlled study found that giving patients a zinc sulfate vitamin supplement had little to no effect on the sense of taste for the patients in the study. Over the course of three years, 173 patients were treated for head and neck cancer with traditional radiation therapy. Patients were divided into two groups, one group treated with zinc, the other with placebo. Both groups experienced similar degrees of taste alteration, but doctors reported that there was no significant [...]

4/1/2007 San Antonio, TX Don Finley MySA.com Slightly fewer than half of all patients diagnosed with head and neck cancer live five years from the moment the doctor delivers the bad news. But those who do survive two or three years out have a better chance of living another five. Doctors just weren't sure exactly how much better that chance was — until now. A San Antonio-led group of researchers has calculated those "conditional" survival rates — the five-year survival odds beginning a year or more after diagnosis — for head and neck cancers (excluding brain cancer), which account for 3 percent to 5 percent of all cancers. Such information has been available for breast, lung, brain, prostate and gastrointestinal cancers, but not head and neck cancer. "Head and neck cancer remains a disease where we still have a lot of progress to make," said Dr. Clifton David Fuller, a radiation oncology resident at the University of Texas Health Science Center and the lead author of the study that appears in the current issue of the American Cancer Society journal, Cancer. "Comparatively, few resources are devoted to it." Head and neck cancers are heavily linked to smoking and alcohol consumption. They're most common in people over age 50. An estimated 39,000 Americans developed head and neck cancers last year. Head and neck cancer sites include the lip, tongue, throat, nasal cavity, middle ear and other places. Most tumors begin in the squamous cells that line the mucous membranes. To calculate [...]

3/31/2007 web-based article Barry F. Polansky, DMD Dental Economics (de.pennnet.com) In one of my favorite audio programs “The Strangest Secret” by Earl Nightingale, the speaker recounts the following incident: “Some years ago, a reporter asked the late Nobel prize-winning doctor, Albert Schweitzer, ‘Doctor, what’s wrong with men today?’ The great doctor was silent a moment, and then he said, ‘Men simply don’t think!’” Motivational speaker Jim Rohn suggests that all success begins with the development of a personal philosophy. Creating a philosophy requires lots of self-reflection and thinking. Henry Ford said, “Thinking is the hardest work there is.” Thinking is hard work because most efforts produce nothing at all, but if you spend time in thought, eventually an idea will come that could change a person’s life forever. On the exhibit floor of the Jacob K. Javits Center at the Greater New York Dental Meeting, I was discussing a new technology, the VELscope from LED Medical Diagnostics. A mini-crowd was gathered around the booth, giving rapt attention to a salesman describing a technology that has been around for awhile, but primarily in the hands of dermatologists. The salesman was doing a nice job of describing the mechanics of how the VELscope - an imaging device - could help dentists detect intraoral tissue changes at an early stage, thereby preventing oral premalignant lesions (OPL) from progressing to dysplasia and eventually to invasive forms of carcinoma, such as squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). The salesman went on to point out that the incidence [...]

3/30/2007 San Francisco, CA press release University of California San Francisco News Release Massage and acupuncture are effective in decreasing pain and depression following surgery in cancer patients, according to a UCSF study. The findings of the randomized controlled clinical trial are reported in the March 2007 issue of the “Journal of Pain and Symptom Management.” “This pilot study confirmed that pain after surgery decreased when patients underwent a combination of massage and acupuncture. This is a significant finding because there are implications for further study to see if these therapies should be offered to hospitalized patients for symptom management,” said Wolf Mehling, MD, lead author and UCSF assistant professor of family and community medicine. The study compared the post-operative symptoms of pain, nausea and mood and the cost of symptom-related medications in two groups of hospitalized patients during the first three days after cancer-related surgery. One group underwent a combination of massage and acupuncture in addition to usual care, and one group had usual care alone. Usual care is defined as traditional treatment through medication. Study results showed a greater decrease in both pain and depressive mood in the group that underwent massage/acupuncture therapy along with usual care. The study was conducted at the UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Medicine. According to Mehling, 40 percent of people with cancer are treated with complementary and alternative medicine therapies. Although the measurable benefits of these therapies have been promising, there have been no conclusive results, he said. “The combination of massage [...]

3/29/2007 Madison, WI Naghma Khan et al. Cancer Res 2007;67(7):3475-82 To develop novel mechanism-based preventive approaches for lung cancer, we examined the effect of oral consumption of a human achievable dose of pomegranate fruit extract (PFE) on growth, progression, angiogenesis, and signaling pathways in two mouse lung tumor protocols. Benzo(a)pyrene [B(a)P] and N-nitroso-tris-chloroethylurea (NTCU) were used to induce lung tumors, and PFE was given in drinking water to A/J mice. Lung tumor yield was examined on the 84th day and 140 days after B(a)P dosing and 240 days after NTCU treatment. Mice treated with PFE and exposed to B(a)P and NTCU had statistically significant lower lung tumor multiplicities than mice treated with carcinogens only. Tumor reduction was 53.9% and 61.6% in the B(a)P + PFE group at 84 and 140 days, respectively, compared with the B(a)P group. The NTCU + PFE group had 65.9% tumor reduction compared with the NTCU group at 240 days. Immunoblot analysis and immunohistochemistry were used to determine effect on cell survival pathways and markers of cellular proliferation and angiogenesis. PFE treatment caused inhibition of (a) activation of nuclear factor-{kappa}B and I{kappa}B{alpha} kinase, (b) degradation and phosphorylation of I{kappa}B{alpha}, (c) phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2, c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase 1/2, and p38), (d) phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (p85 and p110), (e) phosphorylation of Akt at Thr308, (f) activation of mammalian target of rapamycin signaling, (g) phosphorylation of c-met, and (h) markers of cell proliferation (Ki-67 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen) and angiogenesis (inducible nitric oxide [...]

3/29/2007 Singapore Tan Hui Leng Singapore News (www.channelnewsasia.com) It was intended to shock, and it succeeded — so well, in fact, that a flood of complaints from parents has caused the Health Promotion Board (HPB) to reschedule the screening time of its anti-smoking advertising campaign on television. It will now only be aired from 8pm, when youngsters are less likely to be watching TV. The 30-second commercial, which first aired on all the four main language channels last week, is a graphic depiction of a woman afflicted with oral cancer. The camera zooms in on a tight shot of her face with a diseased tongue, decaying teeth and chapped lips riddled with sores. Said HPB’s chief executive, Mr Lam Pin Woon: "HPB has reviewed and revised our advertising timing and channels to minimise causing any alarm to young children." Housewife Leong Sow Chan was one of the peeved parents. Her nine-year-old daughter was so traumatised by the commercial the first time she saw it that she had a nightmare that night. "She started screaming at about 3am and woke my husband up. He had to attend to her," said Madam Leong. While she still does not think the commercial is in appropriate taste, she admitted that it "definitely turns me and my non-smoking family off. We are so disgusted we either switch channels when the ad comes on, or look away". Indeed, the preliminary results seem to prove the power of the shock tactics. According to the HPB, since last [...]

3/29/2007 Vancouver, WA press release PrimeNewswire (www.primenewswire.com) A draft version of this press release was released by mistake on March 12, 2007. Gentle Dental apologizes for this error and the misinformation included in that draft. What follows is the corrected version of the press release. Gentle Dental, a leading provider of comprehensive, convenient and high quality dentistry, announced that it is evaluating several technologies to aid in the early detection of oral cancer. Gentle Dental and its affiliated dentists in eight states recognize the importance of early oral cancer detection and have included visual and tactile screening for oral cancer during all exams for years. Recently new technologies have come to market that augment doctors abilities to see oral abnormalities at extremely early stages, increasing the effectiveness of their screening process. Gentle Dental is now evaluating two of these, the VELscope and ViziLite, in its offices. Statistics from the Oral Cancer Foundation (www.oralcancer.org) indicate that the incidence of oral cancer is on the rise. In 2006 the number of people in the U.S. diagnosed with oral cancer rose for the first time in 50 years, and the Foundation predicts that this number will rise again this year by 11%, with approximately 34,000 people in the U.S. being diagnosed with oral cancers. Oral cancer will cause over 8,000 deaths, killing about one person every hour of each day. According to the foundation, of those 34,000 newly diagnosed individuals only half will be alive in five years -- a number which has [...]