9/19/2004 By DARLA CARTER The Marion Star, Gannett News Service It's a habit that can leave you with bad breath, mouth lesions and a disfigured face, yet an estimated 7.8 million Americans use smokeless tobacco. Tobacco use carries a risk of oral cancer, but users sometimes avoid seeing a dentist, who can detect early signs, says dentist Dr. Lee Mayer. "A lot of times they don't appear in a dentist's office about anything in their mouth until they either have a toothache, or they have some type of growth or something's going on, and they realize that there's a problem and they get scared," says Mayer, director of community dental health at the University of Louisville School of Dentistry. "This is especially true with the younger crowd." Nationally, 18- to 25-year-olds make up the largest percentage of people who use smokeless tobacco, according to the federal government's 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Smokeless tobacco includes snuff, finely ground tobacco that's held between the cheek and gum, and chewing tobacco, which is bulkier and comes in leaf and plug form, according to the National Cancer Institute. "It's one of those types of things you can do in secret, you know, and once you're hooked, you're hooked," Mayer says. "There's no telltale smoke from it, and like any tobacco product, it's highly addictive." Smokeless tobacco has been acceptable and common among certain populations, such as rural people, for a long time, Mayer says. It's also popular among some athletes, [...]

9/19/2004 American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology To help patients understand the importance of radiation therapy in the treatment of head and neck cancer, the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology has published the new patient information brochure Radiation Therapy for Head and Neck Cancer: A Patient's Guide to Understanding Treatment. "As a head and neck cancer specialist, I know how a cancer diagnosis can be overwhelming for patients and their families," said Louis Harrison, M.D., Co-chair of the ASTRO Communications Committee and a radiation oncologist at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York. "There have been many advances in radiation therapy to treat head and neck cancer in recent years. The patient literature available hasn't been able to keep up. We hope this brochure will help patients better understand the importance of radiation therapy in the treatment of their cancer." This year, about 62,000 Americans will be diagnosed with cancer of the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx and thyroid. Rates of head and neck cancer are nearly twice as high in men and are greatest in men over age 50. Many of these patients are not aware that radiation therapy is often combined with surgery and/or chemotherapy to treat cancers of the face, mouth and throat. To help patients understand their treatment options, ASTRO has taken the initiative in developing an up-to-date brochure that patients can use to talk with their healthcare providers when contemplating radiation therapy. The brochure also helps patients find support groups and information on [...]

9/16/2004 Paivi Lehtinen Innovations Report: Forum for Science, Industry & Business A Finnish research group has been the first in the world to publish an article in which BNCT (Boron Neutron Capture Therapy) treatment has had an excellent response in a patient with head and neck cancer for whom there was no other treatment available. The case report has been published in the June issue of the prestigious Radiotherapy and Oncology no. 72 (2004) pp. 83 – 84. BNCT treatment, which was developed for treating difficult brain tumours, has since last year also been given to patients with recurrent head and neck cancer for whom no other treatment is available. The treatment has been successful in improving the quality of life for patients with head and neck cancer. ”Further research in this area has been prompted by encouraging results from patients with maxillary sinus cancer,” says professor Heikki Joensuu, Helsinki University and the Department of Oncology at Helsinki University Central Hospital (HUCH). Joensuu is the Scientific Director of the BNCT research project funded by Boneca Corporation. ”The successful treatment of head and neck cancer using BNCT has been proven effective by magnetic pictures and PET. The current research phase I/II aims to investigate the tolerance of BNCT treatment as well as aiming to find the effect of the treatment on the life span of patients with glioblastoma”, Joensuu explains According to the Managing Director of Boneca Corporation, Markku Pohjola, the new research field is an excellent example of the high [...]

9/14/2004 by Doctor W. Gifford Jones Canada Free Press "Stick out your tongue", my dentist invariably requests during my regular dental checkup. I know that shortly he’ll examine my teeth. But for the moment he’s looking for any sign of cancer of either the tongue or the rest of the oral cavity. But what happens if your dentist or doctor detects a malignancy? What I learned over a scotch-and-soda should alarm all of us. Cancer of the tongue is one of the more common types of mouth cancer. It’s curable in about 80 per cent of cases when diagnosed early. Malignancies of the tongue start as a small lump or a thick white patch. Over time this lump turns into an ulcer that has a firm, raised rim and a delicate center that bleeds easily. If the cancer is not treated it spreads to the gums, lower jaw, lymph nodes and the floor of the mouth. Eventually the tumour blocks the throat making swallowing and breathing difficult. If there’s been a growth on the tongue for more than a couple of weeks a biopsy is done to see if cancer is present. This can usually be done under local anesthesia. Most tongue cancers are treated by surgery, which may include post-operative radiation and/or chemotherapy. Usually, however treatment of advanced cancers of the tongue necessitate a radical surgical resection requiring some reconstruction of the tongue, a demanding eight-hour operation. And that’s why I’m writing this particular column. I recently attended a [...]

9/14/2004 South Florida By Shannon Shelton The Sun-Sentinel Pat Sullivan faced the fiercest of opponents during his college career at Auburn and won the 1971 Heisman Trophy for his fearless resolve as quarterback. "When he stepped in that huddle, whether it was fourth-and-1 or fourth-and-20, we believed in Pat Sullivan," said former Auburn teammate and close friend Terry Henley. With the same determination, Sullivan, now an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at UAB, declared to an audience of 500 at a Monday Morning Quarterback Club gathering last October in Birmingham that he was prepared to conquer his latest foe. He had been diagnosed with oral cancer a month earlier, something he attributes to his 25 years of using smokeless tobacco. "I will defeat this thing," Sullivan said. And Henley didn't doubt him for a second. "When he said he was going to whip this, we believed him," Henley said. "If there's a foxhole and he's in, I want to be in there with him." Barely a year after his cancer diagnosis, Sullivan has returned to the Blazers' football program and will attempt to lead UAB to an upset over Florida State on Saturday in Tallahassee. He shows few signs of the ravages of the intensive round of chemotherapy and radiation treatments that caused him to drop 50 pounds and lose his hair. The radiation burned his throat so much that doctors were unable to insert a feeding tube during a bout with pneumonia. A two-inch scar on the left side [...]

9/14/2004 Christine Syng-ai, A. Leela Kumari and Ashok Khar Molecular Cancer Theraputics Curcumin, a well-known dietary pigment derived from Curcuma longa, inhibited growth of several types of malignant cells both in vivo and in vitro. However, its mechanism of action still remains unclear. In this study, we have focused primarily on the cytotoxic effects of curcumin on three human tumor cell lines and rat primary hepatocytes. Curcumin induced apoptosis in MCF-7, MDAMB, and HepG2 cells in a dose-dependent and time-dependent manner. Apoptosis was mediated through the generation of reactive oxygen species. Attempts were made to establish the role played by endogenous glutathione on the apoptotic activity of curcumin. Depletion of glutathione by buthionine sulfoximine resulted in the increased generation of reactive oxygen species, thereby further sensitizing the cells to curcumin. Interestingly, curcumin had no effect on normal rat hepatocytes, which showed no superoxide generation and therefore no cell death. These observations suggest that curcumin, a molecule with varied actions, could be developed into an effective chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic agent. Source: Mol Cancer Ther. 2004;3:1101-1108, American Association of Cancer Research

9/12/2004 QUEEN'S PARK, Canada by ROB FERGUSON TORONTO STAR Nurse Lydia Biel, 55, used her inside knowledge to get an MRI when she was diagnosed with cancer in 1999, telling hospital officials she was “available for a cancellation anytime, anywhere.” When a dental oncologist confirmed she had tongue cancer, Lydia Biel went from a sense of denial — "I just thought she was a dentist" — to sensing a clock ticking. That's when the Toronto nurse began using her inside knowledge of the health system and working the phones, making sure she got an MRI quickly to map the malignant growth and get into surgery. She did not want to get stuck on a waiting list, after hearing news stories in the past about patients biding their time for weeks or months, or seeking treatment outside Canada for fear that waiting in line here could allow the cancer to grow too strong. Tomorrow, the premiers will meet in Ottawa with Prime Minister Paul Martin for a summit on health care; among the topics of discussion will be Martin's goal of cutting wait times for medical procedures. There is no firm data on how long patients wait for diagnosis and treatment of cancer in Ontario, although wait times for radiation treatment of tumours range from one to 12 weeks, depending on the type of cancer and where you live. Four weeks is generally considered the longest anyone should wait. "I massaged the system," recalls Biel in the 16th-floor waterfront condo she [...]

9/9/2004 Louisvill, KY By Linda Stahl The Courier-Journal Visiting expert says most cases can be avoided with diet and lifestyle changes Dr. Bernard Levin, one of the nation's foremost authorities on cancer prevention, will give a free public speech at the Hyatt Regency in Louisville tonight as part of a Norton Hospitals Foundation lecture series. Levin won the American Cancer Society's 2004 award for a career devoted to the early detection and prevention of cancer. At the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Levin has developed a broad research program that combines the study of behavior, genetics, chemotherapy and population groups to learn how to prevent cancer. He maintains that two-thirds of all cancers can be prevented through diet and lifestyle changes. In advance of his visit, we spoke with him in a telephone interview from his office in Houston. Here are excerpts from the conversation: What are the top six ways a person can reduce his risk and his family's risk of getting cancer? The first is related to tobacco. Stop or never start tobacco. Know your family history, because that could be very important in determining your own risk. The next is maintain a healthy weight. Keep physically active. The next is avoid unnecessary exposure to the sun. Age- and gender-appropriate screening. Q: What does the American public need to learn to help the United States reach its potential for cancer prevention? What seems to be our greatest area of ignorance? A: Health literacy. I mean by [...]

9/2/2004 by Sarah L. Zielinski Journal of the National Cancer Institute A new study reports that head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) that harbor transcriptionally active human papillomaviruses (HPV) have a different pattern of genetic changes than tumors without HPV. These patterns suggest that infection with HPV may play a role in the development of HNSCC, according to the study, which appears in the July 7 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. HPV is known to cause most cases of cervical cancer. Some studies have suggested that the virus may also play a role in the development of HNSCCs, and HPV DNA has been detected in the tumors of 10% to 20% of HNSCC patients. In addition, active HPV DNA can be found in the tumors of HNSCC patients who do not drink or smoke-factors that have been associated with an increased risk of HNSCC. It is believed that HPV infection is an independent risk factor, but an interaction with exposure to tobacco smoke can not be excluded. The mechanism by which HPV might cause HNSCC is not known. To find a possible mechanism of HPV carcinogenesis, Boudewijn J. M. Braakhuis, Ph.D., of the VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and colleagues looked at HPV DNA and RNA and genetic alterations in the tumors of 143 patients with HNSCC. HNSCCs that had transcriptionally active HPV DNA (i.e., specific viral genes were expressed in the tumor cells) had a distinct genetic pattern in which there was [...]