Oral Cancer News – Page 92 – The Oral Cancer Foundation News Archive

Blue Jays welcome City of Toronto’s proposed ban on chewing tobacco

Source: www.theglobeandmail.com Author: Robert Macleod and Jeff Gray For years, it was a right of passage at the Toronto Blue Jays’ spring training camp here. Manager John Gibbons would earnestly proclaim that he was finally giving up smokeless tobacco, a personal ban that would usually only last a couple of weeks before he would be seen “dipping” once again. It is a terrible habit, Gibbons will tell you, and that’s the reason he said he would support a City of Toronto proposal to prohibit the use of chewing tobacco at all public parks, baseball fields and hockey rinks. The prohibition would also apply at Rogers Centre, where many of the players openly use chewing tobacco. “Tobacco’s a nasty habit,” Gibbons said. “I did it for a long, long time. I’m not proud of that. And whatever they can do to get rid of it, especially kids from doing any of that, I’m all for it.” Toronto’s proposal to ban chewing tobacco is being spearheaded by Councillor Joe Mihevc, who is chairman of the city’s board of health. Mihevc says he intends to introduce a motion at the board’s March 21 meeting asking that officials study a potential ban that’s being supported by the Canadian Cancer Society and various anti-tobacco groups. “Professional athletes are role models for young people,” he said, “and we need to make sure they are not promoting bad habits or tobacco use as a part of sports culture.” Mihevc cited statistics that show a rising number of [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2016-03-02T14:45:39-07:00March, 2016|Oral Cancer News|

Having a partner increases cancer survival rates: Australian study

Source: www.theaustralian.com.au Author: Sean Parnell People diagnosed with cancer are more likely to die if they do not have a partner, according to a new Australian study. Researchers from Cancer Council Queensland and Queensland University of Technology examined 176,050 cases of the 10 most common cancers in Queensland, diagnosed between 1996 and 2012. They found the chance of death was 26 per cent higher for men who did not have a partner compared to those who did, and 20 per cent higher for women who did not have a partner, across all cancers. “The reasons for higher survival in partnered patients still remains unclear, but are likely to include economic, psychosocial, environmental, and structural factors,” CCQ professor Jeff Dunn said yesterday. “Having a partner has been linked to a healthier lifestyle, greater financial resources and increased practical or social support while undergoing treatment. “Support from a partner can also influence treatment choices and increase social support to help manage the psychosocial effects of cancer.” The increased risk varied depending on the type of cancer. For men without a partner, it ranged from 2 per cent for lung cancer to 30 per cent for head and neck cancer, while for women without a partner it ranged from 2 per cent for kidney and lung cancer to 41 per cent for uterine cancer. “Health professionals managing cancer patients should be aware of the increased mortality risk among unpartnered patients, and tailor follow-up treatment accordingly,” Professor Dunn said. Of the 176,050 patients analysed [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2016-03-02T14:39:44-07:00March, 2016|Oral Cancer News|

Imaging, physical examination find most recurrences of HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer

Source: www.oncologynurseadvisor.com Author: Kathy Boltz, PhD Posttreatment imaging at 3 months and physical examinations during the 6 months following treatment can detect most recurrences in patients treated with definitive radiation therapy for oropharyngeal cancer caused by human papillomavirus (HPV).1 This research was presented at the 2016 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium. A dramatic increase in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) cases associated with HPV has been reported by the American Cancer Society. Survival rates after definitive radiation therapy have also increased. This has led to the need to determine general time to recurrence and the most effective modes of recurrence detection, to guide standards for optimal follow-up care by oncology teams. This study examined 246 cases of HPV-positive or p16-positive non-metastatic OPSCC treated with definitive radiation therapy at a single, large-volume cancer center between 2006 and 2014. Follow-up care included a PET/CT scan 3 months after completing treatment and physical examinations every 3 months in the first year following treatment, every 4 months in the second year and every 6 months in years 3 through 5. Median follow-up care length for all patients was 36 months. Patient outcomes, including recurrence and survival rates, were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method from the end of radiation therapy. Most recurrences were detected either by persistent disease appearing on 3-month post-treatment imaging or by patients presenting with symptoms at follow-up examinations. Disease characteristics that increase the likelihood of recurrence include presenting with 5 or more nodes or having level 4 lymph nodes (P [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2016-03-02T14:35:28-07:00March, 2016|Oral Cancer News|

Cancer gene may aid researchers find how immune system can help treat cancer or predict outcomes

Source: immuno-oncologynews.com Author: Daniela Semedo, PhD University of Cincinnati scientists have recently discovered that DEK, a human gene known to cause cancer, can be detected in the plasma of patients with head and neck cancer. DEK may help clinicians understand how a person’s immune system can be used to treat cancer or predict outcomes for patients. The information, titled “The DEK oncogene can be detected in the plasma of head and neck cancer patients and may predict immune response and prognosis,” was presented via poster at the Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium Feb. 18-20 in Scottsdale, Arizona. “Head and neck cancer remains the sixth most common cancer worldwide,” said Trisha Wise-Draper, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor in the Division of Hematology Oncology at the UC College of Medicine, in a news release. Wise-Draper is a member of both the Cincinnati Cancer Center and UC Cancer Institute and she was the principal investigator on this study. “Although infection with the human papilloma virus, or HPV, has emerged as a factor for determining outcomes for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma [head and neck cancer], leading to less intense treatment strategies for patients, no plasma biomarkers exist to predict tumor response to treatment or possible relapse,” she said. “One potential plasma biomarker is programmed by the human DEK gene, which has been found to promote cancer. DEK RNA and protein are highly increased in tissue specimens from several tumor types, including head and neck cancer, breast cancer, and melanoma, and antibodies to [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2016-03-02T14:30:30-07:00March, 2016|Oral Cancer News|

Why a Cure For Cancer Is Possible

Source: www.fortune.comAuthor: Robert Mulroy Cutting drug prices is not out of the question. A crapshoot is defined as a risky or uncertain matter; something that could produce a good or bad result. President Obama’s moonshot on cancer is different in terms of its greater complexity and higher moral purpose — but unfortunately, not in its probability of success. The Audacity of Scope President Obama has asked Congress for $755 million to “focus” on immunotherapy, combination therapy, vaccines that prevent cancer causing viruses, and early detection techniques. According to Vice President Joe Biden, who will coordinate 13 government institutions in this research, “Our job is to clear out the bureaucratic hurdles, and let science happen.” It is hard not to welcome such an initiative. Cancer has deposed heart disease as the number one killer in 22 American states. Experts project the number of global cancer cases will double in the next 15 years. But we are better at projecting the demand for innovation than we are at producing it; and we are even better at making promises we can’t keep and polices that don’t work. President Roosevelt created the National Cancer Institute in 1937. Nixon declared a “war on cancer” with the National Cancer Act in 1971. The Bush administration spoke in 2003 of spending $600 million per year to rid the world of cancer by 2015. Obama and Biden made campaign promises to fight cancer in 2008, and should be lauded for trying to keep them, but their approach needs [...]

Charlotte Parker2016-03-01T10:52:43-07:00March, 2016|Oral Cancer News|

Immunotherapy Continues to Advance in Head and Neck Cancer

Source: www.onclive.comAuthor: Megan Garlapow, PhD Concomitant administration of motolimod with cetuximab (Erbitux) increases the innate and adaptive immune response in the blood and the tumor microenvironment in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), overcoming negative prognostic biomarkers of cetuximab therapy alone, according to the biomarker data from a recent phase Ib clinical trial that was presented at the 2016 Head and Neck Cancer Symposium. The trial was recently amended to add nivolumab to the combination of cetuximab and motolimod. Dr. Robert Ferris, MD PhD “We know that PD-1 and PD-L1 are overexpressed in head and neck cancer, and so it was somewhat irresistible to combine our baseline treatment of cetuximab and motolimod with the PD-L1 inhibition pathway. EGFR itself drives PD-L1, so combining cetuximab with anti-PD-1 inhibitor makes sense. So, we’ve amended this trial. We’re now accruing to treatment with cetuximab, motolimod, and the anti–PD-L1 nivolumab in this trial,” said lead author Robert Ferris, MD, PhD, professor, Departments of Otolaryngology, Radiation Oncology, and Immunology, Cancer Immunology Program, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. According to the authors of the phase Ib data presented at the symposium, the rationale for combining cetuximab with motolimod (VTX2337) as neoadjuvant therapy was that cetuximab induces cellular immunity that correlates with neoadjuvant clinical response. The phase I dose-escalation and safety of the combination had been established (NCT 01334177). This study of neoadjuvant cetuximab and motolimod had accrued 14 patients with HNSCC that was stage II-IV, resectable, and located in the oropharynx, [...]

Charlotte Parker2016-02-29T10:49:56-07:00February, 2016|Oral Cancer News|

Cancer-causing HPV plummeted in teens since vaccine, study finds

Source: www.cnn.comAuthor: Sarina Storres (CNN)The human papillomavirus vaccine was first recommended for adolescent girls in the United States in 2006. Since that time, the prevalence of the cancer-causing virus has been dropping among young women, according to a new study. Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention compared the rates of HPV infection in women 14 to 34 years of age during the years before the vaccine was recommended, between 2003 and 2006, with the most recent years for which data are available, 2009 to 2012. Among girls 14 to 19 years old, rates of infection with the four types of HPV included in the 4vHPV vaccine decreased from 11.5% to 4.3%. There was also a drop, although smaller, in women 20 to 24 years old, from 18.5% to 12.1%. Among the older groups, women ages 25 to 29 and 30 to 34, the prevalence of these HPV types did not change and was about 12% and 9%, respectively. "These results are very encouraging and show the effectiveness of the vaccine," said Dr. Lauri E. Markowitz, a medical epidemiologist at the CDC and lead author of the study, which was published Monday in the journal Pediatrics. "Eventually we expect to see decreases in HPV in older groups as women who were young (enough to get the vaccine) age," Markowitz added. Among the 14- to 24-year-old women in the study who were sexually active, rates of infection with the HPV types in the vaccine was only 2.1% among those [...]

Charlotte Parker2016-02-23T12:35:48-07:00February, 2016|Oral Cancer News|

NCCN Is ‘Vague,’ So Study Clarifies H&N Cancer Follow-up

Source: www.medscape.comAuthor: Nick Mulcahy Clinical guidelines can sometimes be slow to respond to epidemiology. Take the case of oropharyngeal cancers that are associated with human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. They are increasingly common in the United States and, as several studies have demonstrated, have better survival than cancers of this type that are not HPV-positive. Nonetheless, one of the beacons in oncology care, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), recommends the same follow-up care guidance for oropharynx squamous cell carcinoma whether it is associated with HPV or not, according to two experts. For post-treatment follow-up, including recurrence detection, "the NCCN guidelines are one-size-fits-all," said Jessica Frakes, MD, a radiation oncologist at the Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute in Tampa, Florida. She spoke during a press briefing at the Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium 2016 in Scottsdale, Arizona. "You are exactly right: the NCCN is fairly vague about when to perform imaging," said Christine Gourin, MD, an otolaryngologist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, who moderated the press briefing. Dr Frakes and her colleagues have stepped into this informational breach with a new study that might help clinicians gain clarity on the use of surveillance imaging in HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer and reduce its frequency. "The purpose of our study is to determine when these patients fail and when they have side effects so we know how to guide optimal follow-up," Dr Frakes explained. The study authors examined 246 cases of nonmetastatic HPV-positive oropharynx squamous cell carcinoma treated with radiation therapy at [...]

Charlotte Parker2016-02-23T12:17:36-07:00February, 2016|Oral Cancer News|

Study: HPV vaccine reduces HPV incidence in teenage girls

Source: www.upi.comAuthor: Stephen Feller Just over half of girls have received the HPV vaccination, but a new CDC study shows it has significantly reduced prevalence of the cancer-causing STI among females who have received the vaccine when compared with those who have not. Photo by Adam Gregor/Shutterstock WASHINGTON, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- The prevalence of human papillomavirus infection among teenage and young adult women is down nearly two-thirds since the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention started recommending vaccine in 2006, according to a new study. The study is the first to show a drop in prevalence among women in their 20s, and continues to show decreases seen in smaller studies during the last few years, but researchers say the effect could be much stronger. The vaccine is recommended by the CDC and other organizations for girls and boys starting at age 11, experts say, in order to protect children from HPV before they become sexually active and can become infected. Concerns that the vaccine would influence teens' sexual practices have also been unfounded, as research has shown the vaccine does not make children more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior, based on a the lack of an increase in other STI incidence among vaccinated girls. "It's just like putting on your seatbelt before turning on the car," Dr. Alix Casler, medical director of pediatrics for Orlando Health, told UPI. She suggests separating the adolescents' eventual discovery of sex from the effort to prevent life-threatening diseases. Recommendations [...]

Charlotte Parker2016-02-22T13:59:16-07:00February, 2016|Oral Cancer News|

ASTRO: Study maps distinct molecular signatures of HPV-positive throat cancer patients by smoking status

Source: www.dotmed.comAuthor: ASTRO Scottsdale, Ariz., February 18, 2016, ASTRO -- Throat cancer patients exposed to both human papillomavirus (HPV) and tobacco smoke demonstrate a pattern of mutations along several key cancer genes, according to research presented today at the 2016 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium. These distinct molecular profiles of heavy and light smokers who develop HPV-positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) may inform decisions related to treatment intensity by establishing additional prognostic criteria for this subset of patients. Researchers examined the molecular characteristics of OPSCC caused by HPV in an effort to determine which DNA mutations predict lower disease free and survival rates among HPV-positive throat cancer patients who smoke. Whereas most patients with OPSCC caused by HPV have an excellent prognosis for disease free survival, those who also smoke generally face more dire prognoses. The 66 cases of HPV-positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) in this study were split into heavy and light smoking behavior groups based on pack years. This metric of smoking frequency over long stretches of time is determined by multiplying the number of years a person has smoked by their average number of packs of cigarettes smoked per day. Forty of the 66 patients reported more than 10 pack years (e.g., more than one pack per day for 10 years or two packs per day for five years), and 26 patients reported fewer than 10 pack years. “Throat cancer patients who smoked and had a history of fewer than 10 pack years had significantly [...]

Charlotte Parker2016-02-22T12:34:20-07:00February, 2016|Oral Cancer News|