12/28/2006 Costa Mesa, CA Michelle Thompson Route2outsmartcancer.typepad.com Merry Christmas and warmest wishes for you and yours from sunny Costa Mesa, California. It is hard to believe I have actually arrived. Upon first waking this morning, in a momentary haze, I was thinking, "How many miles can I make today? How's the weather? The wind? And then it hit me, "I'm here!" And it is nothing short of a Christmas miracle. As I rolled in Christmas night, the sight of my brother John, standing in his driveway waving a checkered flag and holding a dozen yellow roses, is something I will treasure for the rest of my life. He is my true definition of courage, fighting the odds of a devastating disease. He is the one who deserves all the accolades, and yet he is cheering me on, just as he always has. Humbling is an inadequate word. I now know the true meaning of an overwhelming moment. Admittedly, with so many weeks and miles passing since leaving our parents' driveway in Glen Ellyn, it was surreal to arrive. Peddling the last 1/2 mile of the 2,441 mile journey with my sister Donna, I came around a bend and saw an enormous hand-stenciled banner, (compliments of my brother-in-law Charlie) that read "Congratulations Michelle, you made it!" After crashing through the finish line, there were many tears and hugs as John, his wife Tracy, my sister Donna, her husband Charlie, along with cheering neighbors filled the driveway. It was the perfect family [...]

12/28/2006 New York, NY staff Cancerpage.com Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection from oral sex may have increased rate of tonsillar cancer, a study from Sweden hints. Reports from both the US and Finland have documented a rise in the incidence of tonsillar cancer. This occurred in the absence of any increase in smoking or alcohol consumption, two well-known causative factors for the malignancy. This led Dr. Eva Munck-Wikland, from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, and colleagues to look for other epidemiologic trends that might explain the growing incidence of tonsillar cancer. HPV is known to be associated with tonsillar cancers. Whether an increase in HPV-positive cases drove the recent increase in incidence, however, was unclear. In their study, reported in the International Journal of Cancer, the investigators found that the incidence of tonsillar cancer rose by 2.8-fold in Sweden during the study period, 1970 to 2002. Cases of the disease in women rose by 3.5-fold, while cases in men increased by 2.6-fold. At the same time, the proportion of HPV-positive cases of tonsillar cancer increased 2.9-fold, the report indicates. In the 1970s, 23.3 percent of cases were HPV-positive compared with 68 percent in 2000 to 2002. This may be related to patterns of sexual behavior, with high-risk HPV-16 infections, not uncommon in the genital area, also becoming more common in the mouth due to an increase in oral sex, Munck-Wikland and colleagues note They hypothesize that an "epidemic" of HPV infection in the oral cavity, due to changed sexual habits, "may [...]

12/26/2006 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Abdulaziz Binahmed, Richard W Nason, and Ahmed A Abdoh Oral Oncol, December 13, 2006 The objective of surgical management of squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity is adequate resection with a clear margin. This study examines the significance of the positive surgical margin. An historical cohort of 425 patients from the cancer registry of the Province of Manitoba with squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity treated with surgery +/-radiotherapy was examined. A Cox's proportional hazard model was used to examine the independent effect of surgical margins on five-year survival. Seventy-two percent of tumors involved the tongue and floor of mouth, and 43% of patients presented with Stage III and IV disease. The 5-year absolute and disease specific survivals were 62% and 74.5% respectively. Survival was related to age >65 years (P=0.0177), T-Stage (P=0.0002), and N-Stage (P=0.0465). Patients with clear margins had a survival rate of 69% at 5 yrs (median survival >60 mos) compared to 58% with close (median survival >60 mos) and 38% with involved margins (median survival 31 mos, P=.0000). After controlling for significant prognostic factors, involved surgical margins increased the risk of death at 5 years by 90% (HR 1.9, 95% CI 1.2,2.9, P=0.0026). The status of the surgical margin is an important predictor of outcome. The surgical margin, in contrast to the other prognostic indicators, is under the direct control of the surgeon. Authors' affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Winnipeg, Man., Canada

12/26/2006 Tochigi, Japan H Ozawa et al Am J Otolaryngol, January 1, 2007; 28(1): 46-9 We report on 2 cases of hypothyroidism presenting clinical symptoms that occurred after radiotherapy for cancer of the head and neck and on the results of estimating thyroid function in patients with head and neck cancer who received radiotherapy. The first patient underwent total laryngectomy for laryngeal cancer without sacrificing the thyroid gland and partial gastrectomy for gastric cancer. Radiotherapy of the neck was carried out postoperatively. Two years later, the patient developed chest pain; pericardial effusion was detected, leading to a diagnosis of myxedema caused by hypothyroidism. The second patient received radiotherapy alone for laryngeal cancer. Two months later, low serum sodium concentration and anemia were detected in this patient. The cause of these changes was subsequently found to be hypothyroidism. Based on our experience with these 2 cases, we measured thyroid function in 35 patients who had undergone neck radiation for head and neck cancer at our hospital over the past 10 years. Hypothyroidism was observed in 13 of the 35 patients (37%). The prevalence of hypothyroidism was 46% (6/13) for patients treated with both radiation and surgery, as compared with 32% (7/22) for those who received radiation alone. The risk factors responsible for hypothyroidism were not evident from the statistical analysis of these cases. We believe that thyroid function should be evaluated periodically in patients who have undergone neck radiation because it is often difficult to diagnose hypothyroidism only from clinical symptoms. [...]

12/26/2006 Pennsylvania, USA Dr. Howard R. Tolchinksky www.centredaily.com As public smoking bans gain momentum throughout Pennsylvania, there is a growing concern within the health care community that smokers may be tempted to switch to smokeless tobacco products in situations where they are barred from lighting up. Big tobacco is paying attention. The industry is promoting new flavored chew and spit-free products that they market as being more convenient and socially acceptable than smoking or using traditional chew. These products repackage tobacco into a more socially acceptable but equally addictive nicotine delivery system. Increased public awareness of the hazards of smoking and smoking bans are cutting into the profits of leading cigarette manufacturers, which may be behind the industry’s increased focus on smokeless products. The impact is already being felt: smokeless tobacco sales in the United States topped $3 billion last year, while the number of cigarettes sold fell to the lowest level in more than 50 years. Many dentists and physicians are troubled by the industry’s new emphasis on smokeless tobacco. Some advertising may leave the impression that smokeless tobacco is somehow safer than smoking, or is a smart alternative for people who are trying to quit smoking. Sadly, neither is true. The amount of nicotine absorbed by the body from smokeless tobacco is three to four times higher than the amount delivered by a cigarette. A person who uses eight to 10 dips or chews a day ingests the same amount of nicotine as a heavy smoker who has [...]

12/19/2006 Milan, Italy Lisa Licitra et al. Journal of Clinical Oncology, Vol 24, No 36 (December 20), 2006: pp. 5630-5636 Purpose: Human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA tumors actively integrating the E6 and E7 oncogenes have a distinct biologic behavior resulting in a more favorable prognosis. To which extent the viral integration by itself, and/or the associated wild-type (wt) TP53 status, and/or a functional p16 contribute to prognosis is unclear. Patients and Methods: To clarify how the presence of high-risk (HR) -HPV, TP53, and p16INK4a status interact with clinical outcome, we considered a retrospective series of 90 consecutive oropharyngeal cancer patients treated primarily with surgery. Results: Seventeen (19%) patients showed integrated HPV 16 DNA (HPV positive), wt TP53 in all but two patients, normal p16INK4a in 15 assessable patients, and p16 expression in all 17 patients. Thirty-five patients (39%), two of whom were HPV positive, harbored TP53 mutations. p16INK4a deletion and p16 null immunophenotype occurred in 28 and 58 patients, respectively, and was similarly distributed in both patients with mutated TP53 (48% and 82%, respectively) and in patients with wt TP53 (46% and 77%, respectively). Statistical analysis showed that HPV-positive status significantly affects all investigated end points: overall survival (P = .0018), incidence of tumor relapse (P = .0371), and second tumor (P = .0152), whereas TP53 and p16INK4a status and p16 expression were not prognostic by themselves. Conclusion: Our molecular and clinical results are in agreement with previous findings but provide additional information into the biologic mechanisms involved in HR-HPV oropharyngeal [...]

12/17/2006 Vancouver, BC, Canada Miriam P. Rosin et al. Fifth AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, Nov 12-15, 2006 The genomic era has fueled a rapid emergence of new technology, with the potential for developing innovative approaches to detection, risk assessment and management of premalignant disease. A key missing link in the development of novel screening and intervention strategies has been our limited understanding of the natural history of the disease. Not all early disease will progress to cancer. To be effective in reducing cancer risk, molecular (and other) technologies need to target change in early lesions that is strongly associated with outcome - in other words, the likelihood of progression to cancer. This presentation will describe early results of an on-going Oral Cancer Prediction Longitudinal (OCPL) study located in British Columbia, funded by NIDCR for 8 years (1999 - 2008). This study is evaluating a set of innovative technologies alone and in combination to best correlate with outcome for oral premalignant lesions (OPLs). The plan is to use these devices to guide key clinicopathological decisions on patient risk and treatment. The long-term goal is to create a province-wide screening network in which these devices would act as a series of overlapping sieves that will in a step-by-step fashion progressively filter out patients in the community with high-risk OPLs and triage them to dysplasia clinics where higher-cost molecular tools will guide intervention. The design of the OCPL study is as follows. Approximately 500 patients are being followed [...]

12/17/2006 web-based article press release Biotechtalk.net Biomarkers to Play Key Role in Phase 3 Analyses Introgen Therapeutics, Inc. announced important new Advexin clinical data and regulatory updates. Advexin delivers the tumor suppressor p53 that targets a fundamental molecular cancer defect and selectively kills cancer cells. Expanded p53 biomarker studies confirmed with high statistical significance the survival benefit of Advexin therapy in patients with abnormal p53 function. The new results demonstrated that patients with the abnormal p53 biomarker in recurrent squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck were most likely to have a survival benefit from their use of Advexin therapy. The data was announced as Introgen prepares to initiate the analyses of Phase 3 clinical trial data in support of its registration of Advexin. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has agreed to Introgen’s plans for incorporating p53 and other biomarker analyses in the evaluation of its Advexin Phase 3 clinical trials in recurrent head and neck cancer. Introgen has now analyzed additional head and neck cancer patients for the abnormal p53 molecular biomarker predictive of Advexin activity. The prognostic p53 biomarker is detected in tumor tissues by a routine laboratory test. Tumor samples were evaluated for the abnormal p53 biomarker by an independent laboratory in 28 patients with recurrent head and neck cancer who were treated with Advexin during Phase 2 clinical trials. The results confirm and extend previous Advexin biomarker studies. The abnormal p53 biomarker was associated with statistically significant increases in tumor response and median [...]

12/17/2006 Ottawa, Ontario, Canada staff www.docguide.com Subject: Lack of Survival Benefit and Increased Incidence of Tumour Haemorrhage in Association with Iressa® in Patients with Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck (SCCHN) OTTAWA, CANADA -- December 12, 2006 -- AstraZeneca, following discussions with Health Canada, is informing health care professionals of new safety information regarding Iressa (gefitinib). Iressa is an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor. Although Iressa is indicated for the treatment of locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer in patients who have failed two prior chemotherapy regimens, its use has been restricted by Health Canada to patients who are currently benefiting from Iressa and whose tumours are EGFR expression status positive or unknown. For continued supply of the drug, patients have had to be registered by a pharmacist into the Iressa Patient Registry (IPR) program. Head and neck cancer is not an approved indication for Iressa, but patients with this diagnosis could have been registered if benefiting from therapy. This letter is to inform health care professional involved in the IPR, of the top-line results from an Iressa study in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) entitled: A phase 3 randomized, stratified, parallel-group, multi-centre, comparative study of Iressa 250 mg and 500 mg versus methotrexate for previously treated patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (1839IL/0704, IMEX). · IMEX trial results demonstrate lack of survival advantage for Iressa 250 mg and 500 mg versus methotrexate in patients [...]

12/17/2006 Minneapolis, MN Mike Enright Minnesota Daily (www.mndaily.com) Bill Whalen said his chewing tobacco days began as a football player at the University of Pennsylvania. Whalen regularly chewed a tin a day, which contains the same amount of nicotine as 60 cigarettes. It wasn't until getting married and having kids that he realized he had to stop. "I think every dipper, at some point in their life, realizes it's time to quit," Whalen said. But, when push came to shove, Whalen couldn't beat his addiction. "So I decided to come up with something that was going to be much better," he said. "Something that would allow me to dip … but take away all the carcinogens." Seven years later, Whalen is the CEO and founder of Blue Whale, LLC, and creator of what he calls a smokeless tobacco alternative, made from a blend of more than 20 different kinds of tea leaves. The product, Blue Whale Smokeless, which has been available in Texas since the end of September, is now on its way to Minnesota and should be available in select stores over the next several weeks, said Chris Giannini, the company's director of strategic marketing. And although Blue Whale is not the first smokeless tobacco alternative - others include Smokey Mountain, Bacc-Off and Golden Eagle - it is the only brand that contains nicotine. "The other ones are about as helpful as chewing gum," Whalen said. Blue Whale combines the best of both worlds, he said, because it has [...]