cervical cancer – Page 11 – Oral Cancer News

Would the effect of HPV vaccination on non-cervical HPV-positive cancers make the difference for its cost-effectiveness?

Source: PubMed.gov Besides cervical cancer, the human papillomavirus (HPV) is found in other cancers and may be preventable with HPV vaccination. However, these other cancers are often not accounted for in cost-effectiveness analyses of HPV vaccination. This study estimates the potential maximum effect on the cost-effectiveness ratio (CER) of HPV vaccination in preventing non-cervical HPV-positive cancers. For the Dutch situation, a mathematical equation was used to estimate the maximum impact if all cancer cases of the penis, vulva/vagina, anus, oral cavity and oro-pharynx with HPV16/18 are prevented, in terms of number of life years gained, savings and improvement in the CER of the vaccination. For other countries and for future developments, we show how the impact on the CER varies depending on the incidence of cervical/non-cervical HPV 16/18-positive cancers, vaccine costs and clinical costs. If in the Netherlands all HPV 16/18-positive cancers are prevented by vaccination in women only, compared to if only HPV 16/18-positive cervical cancer is prevented, the life years gained increase with 14%, the savings increase with 18%, and the CER decreases with 13%. If vaccination prevents HPV-positive cancers in both men and women, these figures increase to 25%, 26% and 21%, respectively. In conclusion, if HPV vaccination fully prevents all non-cervical HPV-positive cancers, this would substantially increase its cost-effectiveness. The impact of the vaccination varies depending on the incidence of cervical/non-cervical HPV16/18-positive cancers, the vaccine costs and clinical costs. Observed combinations of these parameters in different countries show a decrease in the CER between 10% and [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-11-08T13:20:40-07:00November, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

GlaxoSmithKline Drops the Price of Cervarix

Source: PharmaLive MISSISSAUGA, ON, Oct. 25 /CNW/ - Today, GlaxoSmithKline Inc. (Canada), announced its plan to reduce the cost of CERVARIX™ by 30%. The cost reduction is in response to recent research that demonstrates the relatively high price of cervical cancer vaccines, coupled with a low understanding of their protective benefits topped the list of reasons why the majority of young Canadian women have yet to be immunized. Last week, research supported by The Society of Gynecologic Oncology of Canada (GOC), The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC), the Federation of Medical Women of Canada (FMWC), and the Society of Canadian Colposcopists (SCC) revealed that 9 out of 10 Canadian women aged 18 to 25 have not been vaccinated against cervical cancer. Half of young women polled (who do not have a private drug plan) cited cost as a barrier to obtaining the vaccine and 61% of mothers of young women agreed that cost was a deterring factor. In fact, 50% of non-vaccinated women aged 18 to 25 without vaccine coverage through their drug plan and 61% of mothers with daughters in this age group cited cost as a deciding factor. This is particularly relevant as 60% of Canadians do not have vaccine coverage through private insurance.1 As a patient-focused company, GlaxoSmithKline Inc. was concerned to learn that the cost of cervical cancer vaccines is deterring women from protecting themselves from a largely preventable disease that kills one Canadian woman every day.2 Effective today, October 25, 2010, the [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-10-26T13:57:51-07:00October, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Poll reveals patients are not mouth cancer-savvy

Source: Dentistry.co.uk Author: Staff The public are oblivious to signs of mouth cancer. A poll, commissioned to coincide with November's Mouth Cancer Action Month, reveals that one person in 10 claimed not to have even heard of the condition. Despite the much-publicised news of the battle actor Michael Douglas is currently having with advanced throat cancer, the survey, conducted by the British Dental Health Foundation and Denplan. oll reveals an alarming lack of awareness about the causes and symptoms of one of the UK's fastest growing cancers. The poll of more than 1,000 people suggests that there is only limited knowledge and understanding of this potentially deadly disease. Chief executive of the Foundation, Dr Nigel Carter, says: “After recent high profile coverage of the Michael Douglas case it is staggering to see that some people still have no awareness at all of the condition. 'The public need to be aware of the risk factors and whether they are in a high risk group and how they can self-examine or who they can turn to if they're concerned.' The results of the survey reveal that it is the older members of the public who are most aware of mouth cancer, with more than 96% of those interviewed saying that they had heard of it. Dr Carter adds: 'This sounds good as the majority of cases occur in the over 50s but now more young people are being diagnosed with mouth cancer it is important that everyone is aware of the problem. [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-10-26T12:37:32-07:00October, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

The Most Deadly HPVs in the World

Source: WebMD News Author: Daniel DeNoon Cervical Cancer-Causing Viruses ID'd in Worldwide Study Oct. 19, 2010 – Two human papillomavirus types included in HPV vaccines cause 71% of cervical cancers -- but there are six other cervical cancer-causing HPVs, an international study finds. Led by Spanish researcher Silvia de Sanjose, MD, the effort analyzed 22,661 tissue samples from 14,249 women from 38 countries in six continents. Researchers looked for any of the 118 known types of HPV. The samples included 10,575 cases of invasive cervical cancer -- for women, the second most common cancer in the world. HPV is believed to cause nearly all cervical cancers. Although the study detected HPV in only 85% of cervical cancers, de Sanjose and colleagues suggest that various problems (such as DNA degradation in samples) led researchers to miss HPV in the remaining 15% of cases. There are currently two HPV vaccines: Cervarix from GlaxoSmithKline and Gardasil from Merck. Both protect against HPV types 16 and 18; Gardasil also protects against the genital wart-causing HPV strains 6 and 11. The new study strongly supports use of these vaccines, as HPV 16 and HPV 18 account for 71% of invasive cervical cancers. HPV 16, HPV 18, and HPV 45 are found in 94% of cervical adenocarcinomas. HPV types 18 and 45 are found in much younger women with invasive cervical cancer, suggesting that these viruses are particularly deadly. HPV 16 is also linked to cancer in younger women. In addition to HPV 16, 18, and [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-10-26T12:24:24-07:00October, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Health Risks of Oral Sex- linked to Oral Cancer

Source: Women's Health Magazine Author: Alyssa Giacobbe Long known to cause cervical cancer, the pervasive but often silent human papillomavirus (HPV) has been finding its way into women's mouths Mische Eddins, 37, awoke with a head cold. Or what seemed like one anyway. Postnasal drip. Sore throat. Swollen lymph nodes. No biggie—it was the fall of 2007, and a seasonal bug was winding its way through Seattle. "I had just been bragging to my friends about how I'd managed to avoid getting sick," she says. "But I was healthy, so it all passed quickly." Everything, that is, except a swollen node on the left side of her neck, which, months later, hadn't gone away. Christmastime came, and the little bump was still there. Sans appointment, Mische walked into her doctor's office and left with a script for antibiotics. No improvement. She then bounced from M.D. to M.D., and finally, six months after that seemingly innocuous head cold, she had a PET/CT scan. The results were a total shock: Mische had stage III oral cancer, and the disease had spread from her tonsil to her lymph nodes. Within hours, her docs had scheduled a tonsillectomy and were talking about chemo and radiation. Someone suggested she prepare a will. "I was floored," she says. "A will?" A professional singer, Mische exercised almost every day, ate a mostly organic diet, didn't booze heavily, and never smoked as an adult. Even her doctors were stymied. Searching for answers, one physician tested Mische's cancer cells [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-10-26T10:04:27-07:00October, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Virus Behind Oral Cancer Epidemic

Study Shows 'Startling Increase' in Oral Cancer Is Linked to Sexually Transmitted HPV Source: WebMD Health News By: Daniel DeNoon Researchers warn of an ongoing epidemic of oral cancer caused by the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV). A study in Stockholm, Sweden, finds that cases of oral cancer -- primarily cancer of the tonsils -- increased sevenfold from 1970 to 2007. They find that while HPV caused only 54% of oral cancers from 1998-1999, it caused 84% of these cancers in 2006-2007. "It looks like HPV-positive oral cancers are rising quite sharply in the past 10 years, while HPV-negative oral cancers went down. That is why we say it is an epidemic," study leader Tina Dalianis, MD, PhD, professor of tumor biology at Sweden's Karolinska Institute, tells WebMD. HPV is a well-known cause of cervical cancer. But researchers have only recently begun to appreciate its role in oral cancer, says HPV-oral cancer expert Gypsyamber D'Souza, PhD, of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. "Yes there is a startling increase in the incidence of oropharyngeal cancer, and that increase is being driven by HPV," D'Souza tells WebMD. "But while many experts agree that there's an epidemic rise in HPV-related oral cancer, the cancer remains rare." The risk of developing oral cancer increases with the lifetime number of oral or vaginal sex partners, but many people with HPV-related oral cancer have five or fewer lifetime sexual partners. Men are more likely to get oral cancer than are women, and people with [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-10-18T09:25:43-07:00October, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

ACOG Endorses Guidelines on HPV Vaccination

Source: MedPage Today Author: John Gever The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is adding its weight to recommendations that 11- and 12-year-old girls be vaccinated against human papillomavirus (HPV) and that "catch-up" shots are a good idea for unvaccinated teens and young women up to age 26. In a new statement, ACOG's Committee on Adolescent Health Care also stressed that Pap smears are still necessary for women starting at 21, even if they've been vaccinated against HPV. Current vaccines do not protect against all viral strains, and vaccination does not clear preexisting infections. Two HPV vaccines are now available: a bivalent product (Cervarix) that protects against genotypes 16 and 18; and a quadrivalent product (Gardasil) that protects against the same two strains plus genotypes 6 and 11. The new statement, published online in Obstetrics & Gynecology, updates one issued in 2006 when the quadrivalent product was approved. The bivalent vaccine was approved last October. The federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has recommended that girls first receive HPV immunization at age 11 or 12, before becoming sexually active, and the ACOG committee said that was appropriate in most cases. "Depending on the circumstances, the vaccine can be given to individuals as young as age 9 years," the committee indicated. Vaccination before the start of sexual activity ensures maximal effectiveness, but ACIP has recommended catch-up vaccination for sexually active young women who have not received either product. The ACOG committee endorsed the recommendation, noting that the vaccines may even be given [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-10-13T16:40:03-07:00October, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

HPV ‘Epidemic’ Behind Increases in Oral Cancer

Source: MedPage Today Author: Crystal Phend Rising rates of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma may stem from a new epidemic of sexually-transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV), according to a review. The incidence of oral cancer has been on the rise over recent decades in the U.S. and some northern European countries, noted Torbjörn Ramqvist, of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, and Tina Dalianis, of the Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control in Solna, Sweden. The corresponding increase in the percentage of those tumors positive for HPV over the past 10 years isn't simply because of more sensitive testing, they wrote in the November issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases. For example, the Swedish Cancer Registry documented a 2.8-fold increase in tonsillar cancer around Stockholm from 1970 to 2002. Examination of all available tonsillar cancer samples indicated a rise in HPV-positive tumors over this period from 23% to 68%, with a further jump to 93% by 2007. Similar patterns were seen for tumors at the base of the tongue, the second most common type of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. "We suggest that this increase is caused by a slow epidemic of HPV infection–induced oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma," Ramqvist and Dalianis wrote in the paper. Changes in sexual patterns are likely to blame, "such as increased oral sex or increasing numbers of sex partners," they added. The HPV-positive rate is much higher -- at 45% to 100% -- in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas than for other types of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas, in which [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-10-13T16:37:25-07:00October, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

GSK European Commission amends licence for Cervarix

By: GlaxoSmithKline Source: PharmPro GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) confirmed today that the European Commission has granted Marketing Authorisation to amend the licence for its cervical cancer vaccine, Cervarix®. The approval from the European Commission is important as it recognises the extent of cervical cancer protection demonstrated by Cervarix®, which was not highlighted by the previous indication. The licence amendment is supported by data from the largest efficacy trial of a cervical cancer vaccine conducted to date, the PATRICIA study, and acknowledges that Cervarix® has shown efficacy beyond HPV 16 and 18, the two virus types contained in the vaccine. The summary of product characteristics (SPC) for Cervarix® will be updated to include the prevention of precancerous lesions and cervical cancer causally related to certain strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV) and will reflect data showing efficacy against the two vaccine types contained in the vaccine (HPV 16 and 18) and the three next most common cancer-causing virus types (HPV 31, 33 and 45).* Together these five HPV types (16, 18, 31, 33 and 45) account for 80 percent of all cervical cancers. * Vaccine efficacy is different for each of the HPV types 16, 18, 31, 33 and 45, and varies in different cohorts and endpoints. GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals (GSK Biologicals), GlaxoSmithKline’s vaccines business, is one of the world’s leading vaccine companies and a leader in innovation. The company is active in vaccine research, development and production with over 30 vaccines approved for marketing and 20 more in development - both in the prophylactic and therapeutic fields [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-09-17T09:07:55-07:00September, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Dispatch: get vaccinated!

Source: American Council on Science and Health Author: Staff According to U.S. researchers, there are an estimated 11,300 throat cancer cases attributable to human papilloma virus (HPV) annually, although the government does not formally track the incidence rate since the connection between HPV and throat cancer was only made in the past few years. The rate is expected to rise since people have more sexual partners now than in decades past. “Unfortunately, many people are unaware of the connection between HPV and throat cancer since it is so underreported. I’m especially concerned for kids who engage in oral sexual activities under the mistaken belief that this is ‘safe sex,’ and it’s not,” warns ACSH's Dr. Elizabeth Whelan. Though also alarmed by the increasing rate of throat cancer caused by infection with HPV, ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross was more perturbed to learn that drug makers are resistant to study the use of HPV vaccines — now used to prevent cervical cancer in women and anal warts in males — for the prevention of oral cancer. “I was disconcerted to read that the two manufacturers of the HPV vaccine, Merck and GlaxoSmithKline, are not interested in pursuing this topic of prevention,” laments Dr. Ross. “Since there is no easy way to detect pre-cancers in the oral cavity, a clinical trial could take 10 to 20 years to complete. However, it is obvious that eliminating the virus through the use of vaccination would stop our current epidemic.”

Charlotte Parker2010-07-25T20:14:29-07:00July, 2010|Oral Cancer News|