cancer – Page 4 – Oral Cancer News

Here’s why the drug that helped Jimmy Carter get ‘cancer-free’ is such a big deal

Source: www.businessinsider.comAuthor: Lydia Ramsey Former US President Jimmy Carter announced on Sunday that his latest brain scan showed no sign of cancer, a few months after revealing that he had been diagnosed with melanoma that had spread from his liver to his brain. Carter was being treated with a cancer drug called Keytruda that uses the immune system to fight off cancerous cells. Keytruda, made by pharmaceutical company Merck, was originally approved by the FDA in September 2014 to treat melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer that can also show up in other organs of the body, as it did in Carter's case. In someone with melanoma, certain proteins called PD-1 stop the immune system from doing its job and fighting the cancerous cells. Keytruda works by getting in the way of those proteins, allowing the immune system to access the cancer cells. Then, with the help of radiation therapy, which works to shrink tumors by killing cancer cells, it can knock the cancer out. The drug is delivered intravenously every three weeks, costing about $12,500 a month. And the drug isn't just being used in cases like Carter's. Keytruda, which got approved to treat a form of lung cancer in October, is also being explored to treat a number of other cancers, including head and neck, breast, and bladder cancers and Hodgkin lymphoma. It's also not the first cancer immunotherapy drug. Scientists have been seriously exploring using the immune system to battle cancerous cells for decades as an alternative to chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery. But it's taken a long time for [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2015-12-09T10:45:24-07:00December, 2015|Oral Cancer News|

A cancer on the rise, and the vaccine too late for Gen X

Source: www.cnn.comAuthor: Martha Shade (CNN)The vaccine given to prevent cervical cancer in women could end up saving men's lives, too. Evidence is mounting that the HPV vaccine is also effective in preventing other HPV-related cancers, including those of the head and neck. Although most people who get HPV do not develop cancer, rates of HPV-related head and neck cancers are dramatically rising for men aged 40 to 50, according to Dr. Maura L. Gillison, the Jeg Coughlin Chair of Cancer Research at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center. When Gillison recently gave a presentation showing the increasing rate of HPV-related head and neck cancer among men, her audience was shocked. "I've never shown a slide where the audience gasps," she said. Related: Yes, oral sex can lead to cancer "The risk of getting this cancer is strongly related to when you were born. If you are currently a 40- to 45-year-old man, your risk of getting this cancer is dramatically higher than a 40- to 45-year-old man three or four decades ago," Gillison said. Today's 40- to 50-year-old men have had more sexual partners and have engaged in more oral sex than previous generations, according to experts, significantly raising their risk of an HPV-related head and neck cancer. Actor Michael Douglas made headlines in 2013 when he announced he was battling an HPV-related cancer and that he got it from performing oral sex. Douglas was 68 when he was diagnosed, but many of the men being diagnosed with these [...]

Charlotte Parker2015-11-05T11:21:19-07:00November, 2015|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

Researchers Find Hookah Smoking Can Lead to Serious Oral Conditions – Equivalent To Smoking 100 Cigarettes

Source: www.multivu.comAuthor: PR Newswire CHICAGO, Oct. 28, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2.3 million Americans smoke tobacco from pipes, and many of those who smoke waterpipes, or hookahs, believe it's less harmful than cigarettes. However, research published in The Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA) suggests hookah smoking is associated with serious oral conditions including gum diseases and cancer. "We found that waterpipe smoking is associated with serious health problems affecting the head and neck region," said study author Teja Munshi, B.D.S., M.P.H of Rutgers University. "The public needs to know they are putting themselves at risk. They should be made aware of the dangers of smoking hookahs." The authors conducted a literature review that focused on waterpipe smoking and head and neck conditions. They found waterpipe smoking to be associated with gum diseases, dry socket, oral cancer and esophageal cancer among other conditions. According to the World Health Organization, smoking a hookah is the equivalent of smoking 100 cigarettes, based on the duration and number of puffs in a smoking session. "This study sheds light on the common misconception that smoking from a waterpipe is somehow safer than smoking a cigarette," said JADA Editor Michael Glick, D.M.D. "Whether you are smoking a cigarette, an e-cigarette, a cigar, or tobacco from a waterpipe, smoking is dangerous not only to your oral health but to your overall health." The American Cancer Society is hosting The Great American Smokeout on November 19, 2015, an annual event that encourages [...]

Charlotte Parker2015-10-29T12:32:23-07:00October, 2015|Oral Cancer News|

Vaccine clears some precancerous cervical lesions in clinical trial

Source: www.sciencedaily.comAuthor: Mark L Bagarazzi, MD et al. Scientists have used a genetically engineered vaccine to successfully eradicate high-grade precancerous cervical lesions in nearly one-half of women who received the vaccine in a clinical trial. The goal, say the scientists, was to find nonsurgical ways to treat precancerous lesions caused by HPV. "Every standard therapeutic option for women with these lesions destroys part of the cervix, which is particularly relevant for women of childbearing age, who may then be at risk for preterm birth due to a weakened cervix," says Cornelia Trimble, M.D., professor of gynecology and obstetrics, oncology, and pathology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and first author of the new report, which appears online Sept. 17 in The Lancet. "A vaccine able to cure precancerous lesions could eventually be one way women can avoid surgery that is invasive and can also harm their fertility." High-grade cervical lesions, termed CIN2/3, occur most often in women 40 or younger, according to Trimble, a member of Johns Hopkins' Kelly Gynecologic Oncology Service and Kimmel Cancer Center. Because the lesions can progress to cancer, they are usually removed by surgery, freezing or laser. The procedures are successful in removing the precancerous areas in approximately 80 percent of women, says Trimble. Less troublesome lesions, called low-grade dysplasia, are usually monitored by physicians rather than immediately removed because they pose less of a risk for cancer and usually regress on their own. For the study, the scientists used a vaccine, originally developed [...]

Charlotte Parker2015-09-21T17:41:30-07:00September, 2015|Oral Cancer News|

FDA Grant Forwards Listeria-Based Throat Cancer Vaccine

Source: www.targetedonc.comAuthor: Sandra Kear An experimental immunotherapy for human papillomavirus-, or HPV-, related throat cancers, which is driven by the Listeria bacteria (that wreaks havoc when ingested), may now move forward due to a $1.1 million dollar grant from the FDA to researchers at Baylor College of Medicine. “Immunotherapy, such as axalimogene filolisbac, which targets HPV proteins expressed in cancer cells is a great example of using a cancer’s own unique biology against it.” said principal investigator Andrew Sikora, MD, PhD, leader of the head and neck cancer program in the NCI Comprehensive Designated Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center and an associate professor of otolaryngology at Baylor College, in an interview with Targeted Oncology. "This is hopefully the first step toward development of more targeted treatment approaches that reduce side effects and cancer treatment-related morbidity by uniquely targeting only virus-infected cells.”  The Listeria-based HPV immunotherapy, axalimogene filolisbac (ADXS11-001), is developed by Advaxis, and functions by stimulating an immune response against HPV proteins, thus killing infected cells. The drug is currently being evaluated in phase I-II study3 alone or in combination with MedImmune’s durvalumab, in patients with cervical or HPV-positive head and neck cancer. The study has three arms: axalimogene filolisbac alone, durvalumab alone, and the two drugs combined. Primary outcomes established for the study are: number of subjects with adverse events (AEs) in each dose level, number of subjects with AEs in the combination dose, and progression-free survival. Patients must have measurable disease by RECIST criteria, as well [...]

Charlotte Parker2015-09-17T09:22:55-07:00September, 2015|Oral Cancer News|

NYU’s Bluestone Center Receives a $369,250 High Priority, Short Term Project Award from NIDCR to Study Oral Cancer Pain

Source: www.nyu.edu/newsAuthor: Christopher James Drs. Yamano and Schmidt have developed a novel non-viral gene delivery method, and the proposed studies are designed to test whether this could be used to treat cancer pain effectively and safely. Up to 90% of cancer patients suffer from pain, with oral cancer ranked consistently as one of the most painful cancers. The quality of life for oral cancer patients is the lowest of any patients suffering from cancer because the intense uncontrolled pain interferes with necessary oral functions including eating, talking and swallowing. “Oral cancer pain is more severe, and the opioid requirement is higher, than pain from any other cancer,” said Dr. Brian L. Schmidt, DDS, MD, PhD, professor in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, and director of NYU’s Bluestone Center for Clinical Research and the NYU Oral Cancer Center. “And in the end, pharmacological agents used to treat cancer pain often lack anatomical specificity and produce off-target effects that create additional suffering.” “Gene therapy is emerging as an exciting prospect and alternative to opioids for the treatment of cancer pain,” said Dr. Seiichi Yamano, DDS, PhD, DMD, MMSc, assistant professor of prosthodontics at NYU College of Dentistry. “We seek to eliminate oral cancer pain by reversing epigenetic changes using gene therapy and set the stage for a new class of medicines that selectively disrupt nociceptive signaling with limited off-target effects.” To further their research, the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), part of the National Institute of Health (NIH) [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2015-07-29T10:45:41-07:00July, 2015|Oral Cancer News|

The Cost of Cancer Drugs

Source: www.cbsnew.comAuthor: Lesley Stahl The following is a script of "The Cost of Cancer Drugs" which aired on October 5, 2014, and was rebroadcast on June 21, 2015. Lesley Stahl is the correspondent. Richard Bonin, producer. Cancer is so pervasive that it touches virtually every family in this country. More than one out of three Americans will be diagnosed with some form of it in their lifetime. And as anyone who's been through it knows, the shock and anxiety of the diagnosis is followed by a second jolt: the high price of cancer drugs. They are so astronomical that a growing number of patients can't afford their co-pay, the percentage of their drug bill they have to pay out-of-pocket. As we first reported in October, this has led to a revolt against the drug companies led by some of the most prominent cancer doctors in the country. Dr. Leonard Saltz: We're in a situation where a cancer diagnosis is one of the leading causes of personal bankruptcy. Dr. Leonard Saltz is chief of gastrointestinal oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering, one of the nation's premier cancer centers, and he's a leading expert on colon cancer. Lesley Stahl: So, are you saying in effect, that we have to start treating the cost of these drugs almost like a side effect from cancer? Dr. Leonard Saltz: I think that's a fair way of looking at it. We're starting to see the term "financial toxicity" being used in the literature. Individual patients are going into [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2015-06-22T11:00:30-07:00June, 2015|Oral Cancer News|

Professional Rodeo Competitors Join Fight Against Oral Cancer

Source: www.upr.orgAuthor: Melissa Allison The number of oral cancer deaths related to tobacco use is on the rise nationwide according to the Oral Cancer Foundation. Brian Hill is the founder of the OCF and a survivor of the disease. Cody Kiser encourages the youth to not start using tobacco to help secure good health. Oral Cancer Foundation “Up until about (the year) 2000 this was primarily a disease of older men who had smoked a lot or chewed tobacco during their lifetime,” Hill said. “About that point in time we started to see a shift in the cause of the disease.” Hill said tobacco is still a primary cause of oral cancers and adds that the oral human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) is new etiology that has forced the number of cases to accelerate. According to an October 2014 study by Johns Hopkins researchers the HPV16 causes cancers of the mouth and throat and that any form of tobacco use increases the risk of the virus. The research suggests as few as three cigarettes a day can increase the risk of infection by almost one-third. Hill created the foundation in 1999 to promote change by educating the public about risk factors that contribute to the disease. Among those risks is the use of spit tobacco. “The world of rodeo has been the realm of sponsorship by the tobacco industry for decades,” Hill said. “With the nicotine content in a can of dip equaling approximately that of 80 cigarettes, this addiction [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2015-06-17T10:23:34-07:00June, 2015|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

A Disorder That’s Hard to Swallow

Source: www.usnews.comAuthor: Anna Medaris Miller Ed Steger’s last meal was a bowl of soup in Las Vegas. “I remember it all too clearly, as if it were yesterday,” he says. But it wasn’t yesterday – it was 2006. “Life is very different” now, says Steger, a 63-year-old former program manager in Houston. Steger was diagnosed with head and neck cancer in 2005. In addition to 36 rounds of radiation and eight regimens of chemotherapy, he underwent six surgeries, including one that replaced a portion of his pharynx and removed parts of his left jawbone, tongue, epiglottis and soft palate. “The part that makes it odd is that I’m alive after having four recurrences,” Steger says. The part that makes it distressing is that he can’t eat solid foods. “There are many case studies I’ve seen where patients have said [their] swallowing disorder is the worst part of their disease – and I believe this to be true,” says Steger, who’s president of the National Foundation of Swallowing Disorders. His daily diet consists of four 8-ounce cans of the nutritional drink Boost Plus, along with two to four bottled Starbucks Frappuccinos, which he buys at his local supermarket. “It’s a very boring diet that allows me to maintain my weight,” says Steger, who’s 5 feet 10 inches tall and 155 pounds. It’s unknown how many people have dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing, but the condition can be caused by any one of 30 diverse health events, Steger says. While his dysphagia is a result of surgery, other people [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2015-06-02T16:23:17-07:00June, 2015|Oral Cancer News|

Merck immunotherapy appears effective in head and neck cancer – study | Reuters

Source: www.firstpress.comAuthor: Bill Berkrot A Merck & Co drug that helps the immune system fight cancer was about twice as effective as the current standard therapy for patients with recurrent or advanced head and neck cancers, according to study data released on Friday. A quarter of the 132 patients who received the drug, Keytruda (pembrolizumab), saw their tumors shrink by at least 30 percent. Fifty-six percent of patients experienced at least some tumor shrinkage in the ongoing single drug Phase I study dubbed Keynote-012, researchers reported. "This is remarkable because we don't usually see this level of activity with new agents. We have a track record of failure," said Dr. Tanguy Seiwert, lead investigator of the study from the University of Chicago. Advanced head and neck cancer is currently treated with Eli Lilly's Erbitux, known chemically as cetuximab, which typically has a response rate of 10 percent to 13 percent. "The only thing that works is cetuximab and this looks at least twice as good," said Seiwert, who was presenting the Keytruda data at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago. ADVERTISING Merck shares rose more than 1 percent to $60.43 on the New York Stock Exchange. Keytruda and Opdivo from Bristol-Myers Squibb Co are at the forefront of a promising new class of drugs called PD-1 inhibitors that block a mechanism tumors use to evade the immune system. Keytruda is approved to treat advanced melanoma and awaits a decision for use in lung cancer. It is being [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2015-06-02T11:56:50-07:00June, 2015|Oral Cancer News|