10/9/2006 Effingham, IL US Newswire Heartland Dental Care, a dental practice management group is committed to increasing the public's awareness about oral cancer and promoting the importance of annual oral cancer screenings. When found early, oral cancer is highly survivable. Unfortunately, too often early discovery of the disease does not take place, and nationally, 66% of the time it is found as a late stage killer. A simple, painless, 5-minute examination which finds the disease in its early stages, or even the pre-cancerous changes that take place in the mouth, can save lives. Dedicated HDC doctors and their staff made an all out effort this summer to help change this statistic, by focusing the combined power of their more than 175 home town dental practices on this issue. But they did more than help those in their own patient populations. The practices donated $10.00 from each screening fee to the Oral Cancer Foundation (OCF), a national non-profit charity dedicated to bringing down the death rate from this disease. At the end of their effort, HDC practices raised $31,480 for OCF by performing 3,148 oral cancer examinations during a two-month time period. The top six practices providing the most exams included Westfield Dental Center in Westfield, Ind.; 21st Century Dental in Charleston, Ill.; Effingham Dental Group in Effingham, Ill.; South Street Family Dental in Lafayette, Ind.; Creative Smiles in Champaign, Ill.; and Terre Haute Family Dental Care in Terre Haute, Ind. Brian Hill, the founder of OCF and a late stage [...]

10/8/2006 Oakland, CA Marla Cone LA Times (latimes.com) Destined for American kitchens, planks of birch and poplar plywood are stacked to the ceiling of a cavernous port warehouse. The wood, which arrived in California via a cargo ship, carries two labels: One proclaims "Made in China," while the other warns that it contains formaldehyde, a cancer-causing chemical. Because formaldehyde wafts off the glues in this plywood, it is illegal to sell in many countries — even the one where it originated, China. But in the United States this wood is legal, and it is routinely crafted into cabinets and furniture. As the European Union and other nations have tightened their environmental standards, mostly in the last two years, manufacturers — here and around the world — are selling goods to American consumers that fail to meet other nations' stringent laws for toxic chemicals. Wood, toys, electronics, pesticides and cosmetics are among U.S. products that contain substances that are banned or restricted elsewhere, particularly in Europe and Japan, because they may raise the risk of cancer, alter hormones or cause reproductive or neurological damage. Michael Wilson, a professor at UC Berkeley's Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, said the United States is becoming a "dumping ground" for consumer goods that are unwanted and illegal in much of the world. Wilson warned earlier this year in a report commissioned by the California Legislature that "the United States has fallen behind globally in the move toward cleaner technologies." The European Union, driven by [...]

10/5/2006 Washingoton, D.C. Carole Fakhry et al. J. Clin. Microbiol. doi:10.1128/JCM.01321-06 Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is an etiologic agent for both oropharyngeal and cervical cancers, and yet, little is known about the interrelationship between oral and cervical HPV infection. Therefore, we compared the prevalence and type distribution of oral and cervical HPV infection and evaluated infection concordance in a cross-sectional study within the Womens' Interagency HIV Study (WIHS) cohort. Oral rinse and cervical vaginal lavage samples were concurrently collected from a convenience sample of 172 HIV-positive and 86 HIV-negative women. HPV genomic DNA was detected by PGMY09/11 L1 consensus primer PCR and type specified by reverse line blot hybridization for 37 HPV types and B-globin. Only 26 of the 35 HPV types found to infect the cervix were also found within the oral cavity, and the type distribution for oral HPV infections appeared distinct from that for cervical infections ( p<0.001). Oral HPV infections were less common than cervical infections for both HIV-positive (25.2% vs. 76.9%, p<0.001) and HIV-negative (9.0% vs. 44.9%, p<0.001) women. Oral HPV infections were more common among women with a cervical HPV infection (25.5% vs. 7.9%, p=0.002). The majority of women (207, 93.7%) did not have a simultaneous oral and cervical infection by the same HPV type, however, the number of women who did (14, 6.3%) was significantly greater than would be expected by chance (p=0.0002). Therefore, the oral and cervical reservoirs for HPV infection are likely not entirely independent of one another. Authors: Carole Fakhry, Gypsyamber [...]

10/5/2006 New York, NY staff Reuters (today.reuters.co.uk) Men who consume high quantities of fruits, especially citrus fruits and juices, have a significantly lower risk of developing oral premalignant lesions, irregular tissue that has not yet developed into cancer, according to the findings published in the American Journal of Epidemiology. "Virtually all oral squamous cell carcinomas arise from a premalignant precursor," Dr. Kaumudi Joshipura, of Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, and colleagues write. "Epidemiologic studies have found that 16 to 40 percent of oral premalignant lesions transform to cancer," they note. Squamous cell carcinoma is the second most common form of skin cancer, and is primarily composed of epidermis, the cells that make up the outer layer of the skin. Squamous cell carcinoma is not serious if identified early and promptly treated. However, once advanced, it is harder to treat and a small percentage can spread to other parts of the body. The researchers examined fruit and vegetable consumption and the rate of oral premalignant lesions among 42,311 U.S. men enrolled in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. Food frequency questionnaires were used to assess diet every 4 years. A total of 207 cases of oral premalignant lesions occurred between 1986 and 2002. Citrus fruits, citrus fruit juice, and vitamin C-rich fruits and vegetables were associated with a significantly lower risk of oral premalignant lesions. Greater quantities of these foods in the diet were linked to a 30- to 40-percent lower risk. For example, the risk of oral premalignant lesions in [...]

10/5/2006 Instanbul, Turkey Jill Stein Doctor's Guide (www.docguide.com) The use of either an antiseptic mouthwash containing chlorhexidine or cryotherapy can reduce the duration of oral mucositis secondary to chemotherapy, researchers reported here at the 31st European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress. The mouthwash may be superior because cryotherapy cannot be used with infusional 5-fluorouracil or with chemotherapy that has a substantially longer half-live than 5-FU, researchers said in a presentation on October 2nd. Jens B. Sorensen, MD, chief of oncology, Finsen Centre, National University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark, presented results in 206 patients who had been randomized to 1 of 3 treatment arms: 1) mouth rinse containing 15 mL of chlorhexidine 0.1% for 1 minute thrice daily for 3 weeks; 2) saline mouth rinse with the same taste additive as in the chlorhexidine rinse for 1 minute thrice daily for 3 weeks; 3) cryotherapy with crushed ice for 10 minutes before to 35 minutes after chemotherapy. The trial included previously untreated patients with gastrointestinal cancer receiving bolus 5-FU 425 mg/m2 with leucovorin 20 mg/m2 daily over 5 days. Patient completed questionnaires that measured the severity and duration of mucositis after treatment. Mucositis grade III/IV was defined as impaired oral nutrition and the need for artificial nutrition. Mucositis grade 3/4 occurred in 13% of the chlorhexidine group, 33% of the placebo group, and 11% of the cryotherapy group. Median duration of mucositis was 3 days in the chlorhexidine group, 5 days in the placebo group, and 1 day in the cryotherapy [...]

10/3/2006 Web Resource, No City Listed press release TherapeuticsDaily (www.therapeuticsdaily.com) Cephalon Inc.'s Fentora (fentanyl buccal tablet) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat so called "breakthrough" pain in those who have cancer. This type of pain -- characterized by its rapid onset, intensity and short duration -- affects about 800,000 cancer patients, the American Cancer Society says. Fentora, an oral opioid, is partially absorbed through the cheek into the bloodstream, making it faster-acting than similar drugs absorbed through the gastrointestinal tract, Cephalon said in a statement. The drug was approved for people who are already tolerant of opioid therapy for persistent cancer pain. Side effects of opioids may include decreased respiration and circulation, nausea, and fatigue. Cephalon said it expects Fentora to be available in the United States during the first week of October.

10/3/2006 Scottsdale, AZ Richard Johnson Market Day (www.market-day.net) Radiation therapy (also called radiotherapy, x-ray therapy, or irradiation)is the use of a certain type of energy (called ionizing radiation) to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation therapy injures or destroys cells in the area being treated (the "target tissue") by damaging their genetic material, making it impossible for these cells to continue to grow and divide. Although radiation damages both cancer cells and normal cells, most normal cells can recover from the effects of radiation and function properly. The goal of radiation therapy is to damage as many cancer cells as possible, while limiting harm to nearby healthy tissue. There are different types of radiation and different ways to deliver the radiation. For example, certain types of radiation can penetrate more deeply into the body than can others. In addition, some types of radiation can be very finely controlled to treat only a small area (an inch of tissue, for example) without damaging nearby tissues and organs. Other types of radiation are better for treating larger areas. In some cases, the goal of radiation treatment is the complete destruction of an entire tumor. In other cases, the aim is to shrink a tumor and relieve symptoms. In either case, doctors plan treatment to spare as much healthy tissue as possible. About half of all cancer patients receive some type of radiation therapy. Radiation therapy may be used alone or in combination with other cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy or surgery. [...]

10/3/2006 Houston, TX staff MD Anderson Cancer Center (www.cancerwise.org) Genetic Fragments Turn Off Cancer Growth Switch In experiments with mice, researchers have determined how to embed molecular “off” switches into fatty spheres and send these tiny blobs down the bloodstream into ovarian cancer cells to stop tumor growth. Significance of results The therapy reduced the size of ovarian tumors by up to 98% in mice, and it was well tolerated, say senior authors Anil Sood, M.D., associate professor in M. D. Anderson’s Department of Gynecologic Oncology and Department of Cancer Biology, and Gabriel Lopez-Berestein, M.D., professor in the Department of Experimental Therapeutics. "We hope to develop this approach for clinical use in the future," Sood says. The study, reported in the Aug. 15 issue of the scientific journal Clinical Cancer Research, uses the freshest technologies developed in cancer research laboratories. These tools include spheres of fat known as nanoparticles and bits of RNA that can target genes involved in cancer growth and “silence” them. Background RNA is produced from activated DNA (the master genetic code) and serves as a template for producing proteins, the workhorses of cells. But researchers recently discovered that special fragments of RNA can reverse the DNA-RNA-protein process and turn off selected genes so that they cannot order the production of dangerous proteins. These are called “small interfering” RNA, or siRNA. This finding was followed by the discovery that siRNA can target cancer-promoting genes. Now researchers can artificially create the siRNA they want. Scientists have shown that [...]

10/2/2006 Surrey, British Columbia, Canada Jeff Nagel The Surrey Leader (www.surreyleader.com) A doctor at Surrey Memorial Hospital is the first surgeon in the province using a new laser cutting technique to remove challenging cancerous tumours of the upper throat. Armed with a laser and microscope, Dr. Don Anderson is literally at the cutting edge of the new treatment that hospital officials say is making a major difference in the lives of patients. "It's absolutely spectacular," said Dr. Peter Doris, the head of surgery at SMH. Lasers are commonly used to burn away easy-to-access tumours, he said. But European hospitals have started to use them as a microsurgery scalpel to precisely carve out tumours in hard to reach areas like the base of the tongue and voicebox. Until now those cancers required either radiation treatment or major surgery to split open the neck - often involving a tracheostomy that could leave the patient voiceless, being fed by a stomach tube and having to slowly re-learn how to swallow. With the minimally invasive microsurgery procedure now being performed by Dr. Anderson, those patients experience very little pain, are out of hospital in some cases overnight and usually have speedy and easy recoveries. "I guess I'm kind of the pioneer in B.C.," Anderson said. He's now performed about a dozen of the tumour removals on patients this year using the laser microsurgery after undergoing training in England and Germany. "They've done well," he said. "The patients are happy. And the hospitals are happy [...]

9/30/2006 Chapel Hill, NC staff Sudbury, UK Scientists have identified a gene that controls the development of taste buds. The gene, SOX2, stimulates stem cells on the surface of the embryonic tongue and in the back of the mouth to transform into taste buds, according to the researchers. "Not only did we find that SOX2 is crucial for the development of taste buds, but we showed that the amount of SOX2 is just as important," said Brigid Hogan, Ph.D., chair of the Duke University Medical Center Department of Cell Biology and senior member of the research team. "If there isn't enough SOX2 present, or if there is too much, the stem cells will not turn into taste buds." The researchers made their discovery in mice, but they believe the same process occurs in humans. According to the researchers, the findings will help scientists better understand how the behavior of certain stem cells is controlled. The SOX2 gene is already known to be crucial in controlling whether embryonic stem cells remain undifferentiated and whether stem cells in the brain, eye and inner ear differentiate into specialized nerve cells. Taste bud cells, much like skin cells, continually slough off and are replaced by new ones. So the findings provide insights into the interactions between SOX2 and tongue stem cells during embryonic development, as well as into how stem cells continue to operate in adults, the researchers said. The researchers published the findings in the October 2006 issue of the journal Genes and [...]