detection – Page 3 – Oral Cancer News

Aspen Dental announces donation to Oral Cancer Foundation

Source: www.prnewswire.com Author: press release Aspen Dental announced today that the company will donate $2,300 to the Oral Cancer Foundation as part of its commitment to oral cancer detection and treatment. The amount represents a $5 donation for every Vizilite Plus® screening conducted at Aspen Dental offices during Oral, Head, and Neck Cancer Awareness Week (April 12-18, 2010). Vizilite Plus is a blue-light, "glowstick" technology that helps detect oral cancer. According to the Oral Cancer Foundation, more than 35,000 Americans are diagnosed with oral or pharyngeal cancer each year, and oral cancer is responsible for approximately 8,000 deaths annually. Oral cancer is often discovered late in its development, which means that the death rate is particularly high. Aspen Dental has a longstanding commitment to oral cancer awareness. Most recently, Aspen Dental sponsored Oral Health America's National Spit Tobacco Education Program (NSTEP, www.nstep.org), at the Little League Baseball World Series in August 2009. The NSTEP program educates youth and their parents about the risks of smokeless tobacco use. About Aspen Dental One of the largest and fastest-growing providers of denture and dental care services in the U.S., Aspen Dental practices are committed to providing patients with affordable, high-quality care under the Aspen Dental brand, ranging from preventive care to general dentistry to restoration. Aspen Dental has grown from 13 offices and three states in 1998 to more than 235 locations in 20 states. More than 350 licensed dentists and 200 dental hygienists work with Aspen Dental throughout Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-04-21T12:54:01-07:00April, 2010|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

Study finds 231 new genes associated with head and neck cancer

Source: www.eurekalert.org Author: press release A Henry Ford Hospital study has identified 231 new genes associated with head and neck cancer, one of the most deadly cancers responsible for 2.1 percent of all cancer deaths in the United States. Previously, only 33 genes were reported associated with head and neck cancer. "These new genes should advance selection of head and neck-specific gene targets, opening the door to promising new molecular strategies for the early detection and treatment of head and neck cancer," says study lead author Maria J. Worsham, Ph.D., director of research in the Department of Otolaryngology at Henry Ford Hospital. "It also may offer the opportunity to help monitor disease progression and a patient's response to treatment." Results from the study will be presented Sunday, Oct. 4 at the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery Foundation Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO in San Diego. This year alone, more than 55,000 Americans will develop head and neck cancer, which includes cancers of the mouth, nose, sinuses, salivary glands, throat and lymph nodes in the neck; nearly 13,000 of them will die from it. According to the National Cancer Institute, 85 percent of head and neck cancers are linked to tobacco use. People who use both tobacco and alcohol are at greater risk for developing these cancers than people who use either tobacco or alcohol alone. Treatment for head and neck cancer varies based on the location and stage of the tumor, but most often includes surgery, radiation therapy [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-10-04T18:29:05-07:00October, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Zila warns of bankruptcy without more funding

Source: triangle.bizjournals.com Author: Angela Gonzales Zila Inc. continues to bleed red ink, but bandages have been put in place to help stem the flow. The Phoenix oral cancer diagnostics company released its fiscal third-quarter results Tuesday, showing a loss of $1.5 million on $5 million in revenue for the three months ended April 30. That compares with a $4.4 million loss on $6.8 million in revenue for the same period in 2008. For the first nine months of 2009, Zila lost nearly $30 million on revenue of $15.6 million, compared with $14 million in losses on $20 million in revenue. In its quarterly filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Zila said revenue has been negatively impacted by the economy and because of customer concern about its viability as an ongoing business. “Concerns about our financial viability have also contributed to an increased turnover in our field sales force and other key staff areas and have led to a reduction in our marketing effectiveness and our reach to new and existing customers,” the company said in its 10-Q. To stem the blood loss, Zila has continued salary reductions for a number of management personnel, reduced its field sales force by 15 percent, eliminated its employee stock purchase plan, furloughed certain manufacturing production personnel and reduced trade show expenditures. Still, the decline in revenue means Zila has been cutting into its cash reserves. As of April 30, the company had $3.1 million in cash and cash equivalents, compared with $2.5 [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-06-15T20:25:07-07:00June, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

U.S. cancer death rates continue to fall

Source: www.ajc.com Author: staff Some 650,000 people are alive today who wouldn't be were it not for advances in cancer prevention, detection and treatment over the past 15 years, new statistics show. The American Cancer Society's Cancer Statistics 2009 report finds an encouraging 19.2 percent drop in cancer death rates among men from 1990 to 2005, as well as an 11.4 percent drop in women's cancer death rates during the same time period. Overall, cancer death rates fell 2 percent per year from 2001 to 2005 in men and 1.6 percent per year from 2002 to 2005 in women. By comparison, between 1993 and 2001, overall death rates in men declined 1.5 percent per year and, between 1994 and 2002, 0.8 percent in women. "We continue to see a decrease in death rates from cancer in both men and women and this is mainly because of prevention - mostly a reduction in smoking rates; detection which includes screening for colorectal cancer, for breast cancer and for cervical cancer; and also improved treatment," said report author Ahmedin Jemal, strategic director for cancer surveillance at the American Cancer Society. "To put this in perspective, the number of lives saved is more than the population of Washington, D.C.," said Dr. Louis M. Weiner, director of the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University. "In my mind, that's a cause for some celebration. However, there are some sobering trends that we have to be aware of. The death rate for cardiovascular disease has dropped [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-05-27T14:47:13-07:00May, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Cancer ‘sniffing nose’ developed by an Israeli researcher

Source: www.deccanherald.com Author: staff A nose, that can sniff cancer at an early stage, thus, leading to wide variety of treatments enhancing a patients chances of recovery has been developed by the scientist at Israel Institute of Technology. The "sniffing nose" is very close to a dog's olfactory system, a media report here said. The artificial nose is developed on the grounds that dogs are capable of detecting cancer in earlier stages by sniffing the patient's breath and could also identify molecules created by a tumor that circulate through their blood to the lungs, and leave the body when they exhale. Results of clinical trials of the 'artificial nose ' done on some 100 persons -- 62 cancer patients -- reveals that it is capable of efficiently and accurately distinguishing between cancer patients and healthy people and could even detect the location and nature of the tumor. "These findings are impressive, but initial, and must be verified in research on a larger number of patients", Professor Abraham Kuten, Co-researcher and Director of the Rambam Medical Center Oncology Institute, told the news portal. The clinical trials were conducted at the Rambam Medical Center in Haifa by a team led by Dr Hossam Haick of the Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute The patients taking part in the experiment suffered from lung, breast, colon, prostate, head and neck cancer. The participants breathed into bags which were transferred to the Technion for testing and the results were compared to details of the patients' diseases according [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-02-19T10:46:46-07:00February, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

VELscope system featured on “The Doctors” television series

Source: www.dentaleconomics.com Author: staff LED Dental has announced that its VELscope Oral Cancer Screening System was featured on "The Doctors", a television program syndicated throughout the U.S. and Canada by CBS Television Distribution. The VELscope system received exposure in a segment focusing on the link between oral sex and oral cancer. The VELscope system was brought to the attention of "The Doctors" producers by Dr. Bill Dorfman, a frequent guest on the show and the cofounder of Discus Dental. Dr. Dorfman was also the featured dentist on "Extreme Makeover", a reality TV series on ABC. "The producers asked me what new oral cancer detection technologies the public needs to know about, and the first thing that came to mind was the VELscope," said Dr. Dorfman. "Now that we understand that oral cancer can be caused not just by tobacco and heavy drinking, but also by exposure to the sexually-transmitted human papilloma virus, dental practices need to take the lead in giving thorough oral cancer exams to all of their adult patients at least once a year." When Dr. Dorfman first became aware of the link between HPV and oral cancer, he began using an oral cancer screening technology that required rinsing with a vinegar-based solution and the use of messy blue dies. "Neither my patients nor I liked that technology, so I started to search for an alternative that was simpler, faster and less invasive, and that's when I discovered the VELscope system," said Dr. Dorfman. "Plus, in addition to [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2008-11-05T08:22:26-07:00November, 2008|Oral Cancer News|