New model proposed for predicting outcomes more accurately in HPV-related throat cancer patients

Source: www.news-medical.net Author: staff Researchers at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre are proposing a new model to enable doctors to predict outcomes more accurately for patients with throat cancers specifically caused by Human Papillomavirus (HPV). The findings are published online today in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Study investigators, Dr. Brian O'Sullivan, Lead, Head and Neck Cancer Site Group and Shao-Hui Huang, Research and Clinical Radiation Therapist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, have determined that a new model for classifying the most frequently seen throat cancers in our geographic location is needed. This classification incorporates individual patient factors including age and their smoking status with the traditional classification of the extent of disease, to offer a more personalized approach to predict outcomes and guide treatment. "Our study shows that the current model derived for smoking and alcohol related cancers is not suited for throat cancer caused by HPV, a burgeoning throat cancer population in the Western World, including Canada," says Huang. "This is the future of tumour staging. We need to consider the patient as a whole. Both individual factors, how extensive the disease is in the patient, and tumour biology should play a role in determining the best course of treatment." The purpose of a tumour staging system is to classify the disease into early, intermediate or advanced stage cancer. This classification helps determine treatment plans and can suggest what is likely to be the outcome. In recent years, it's been discovered that throat cancer caused by HPV behaves [...]

2015-02-11T07:56:14-07:00February, 2015|Oral Cancer News|
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Number of immune cells in tumors could soon help predict and treat cancers

Source: www.science20.com Authors: Emma King, University of Southampton and Christian Ottensmeier, University of Southampton Immune cells in the blood primarily defend us against infection. But we’re now learning that these cells can also keep us free from cancer. Patients with less efficient immune systems such as organ transplant recipients or those with untreated HIV, for example, are more susceptible to cancers. It is also becoming increasingly apparent that we can use immune cells to predict survival in people who do develop cancer. And that, in fact, there are immune cells within cancers. Head and neck cancer underway The number of immune cells inside a tumor can hugely vary: some patients have vast numbers while some have very few. In a recent study, we showed that in head and neck cancers, the survival of a patient depends on how many immune cells are within the tumor. This could be a valuable way of individualizing cancer treatments. Patients with lots of immune cells, for example, could be offered less toxic cancer treatment while those with few immune cells may need more aggressive treatment to improve their chances of survival. Not all immune cells within the tumor are able to “attack” the cancer. By looking at specific cell markers – proteins on the cell exterior that allow us to see whether, for example, cells are exhausted – we can determine which individual immune cells in the tumor will be effective in tackling the cancer, or if they are exhausted and not [...]

2014-09-26T06:21:57-07:00September, 2014|Oral Cancer News|
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Update on head and neck cancers, HPV: creating public awareness

Source: www.dentistryiq.com Author: Maria Perno Goldie, RDH, MS Public awareness of head and neck cancer (HNC) is limited, with the lack of awareness including the term head and neck cancer and common symptoms and risk factors, such as tobacco use and human papillomavirus (HPV).1 The online survey of 2,126 randomly selected adults in the United States. Most respondents lacked understanding of the organs or tissues affected by head and neck cancer, with 21% incorrectly identifying brain cancer as head and neck cancer. Only 0.8% of respondents identified HPV infection as a risk factor for mouth and throat cancer, but more were aware of the vaccine. The investigators projected that extensive HPV vaccination could prevent almost 9,000 cases of oropharyngeal cancer yearly. The conclusion was that self-reported and objective measures indicate that few American adults know much about HNC including risk factors such as tobacco use and HPV infection and common symptoms. Strategies to improve public awareness and knowledge of signs, symptoms, and risk factors may decrease the disease burden of HNC and are important topics for future research. The American Dental Association has a pamphlet titled “Get the Facts About Mouth and Throat Cancer.”2 Human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV-16) is a major contributory factor in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC). The detection of primary OPSCC is often delayed due to the complicated anatomy of the oropharynx. One study examined the possibility of HPV-16 DNA detection in pretreatment and posttreatment plasma and saliva and its possible role as a marker of [...]

2014-09-17T19:26:13-07:00September, 2014|Oral Cancer News|
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Many throat cancer patients can skip neck surgery

Source: medicalxpress.com Author: Fox Chase Cancer Center A new study shows that patients with human papillomavirus (HPV) – the same virus associated with both cervical and head and neck cancer – positive oropharyngeal cancer see significantly higher rates of complete response on a post-radiation neck dissection than those with HPV-negative oropharyngeal cancer. Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers presented the findings at the American Society for Radiation Oncology's 56th Annual Meeting on Wednesday, September 17. "For patients that achieve a complete response, neck surgery is probably unnecessary," says Thomas J. Galloway, MD, Attending Physician and Director of Clinical Research at Fox Chase and lead author on the study. After radiation and chemotherapy to remove tumors from the tonsils or back of the tongue, many head and neck cancer patients still have persistent lumps in their neck, albeit perhaps smaller than when they were first diagnosed. "The question is: Do we need to remove those lumps, as well, or can we just let them dissolve on their own?" asks Dr. Galloway. To investigate, he and his colleagues reviewed the medical records from 396 patients whose oropharyngeal tumors had spread to at least one lymph node. Within 180 days after completing radiation therapy, 146 patients underwent neck surgery. For 99 patients, their records indicated whether or not their tumors had likely been triggered by HPV. Interestingly, patients with HPV often respond better to treatment for their oropharyngeal tumors than those without. The researchers noted the same trend here – people who tested positive [...]

2014-09-17T18:59:34-07:00September, 2014|Oral Cancer News|
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HPV vaccine: Why boys are less likely to get it

Source: http://topnews.us/ Author: Prakash Sharma A Conservative MP's tongue and throat cancer alarm is reigniting the verbal confrontation over whether young people ought to get the HPV antibody free of charge. Amid his nine-month episode of cancer, Peter Kent says, specialists persuaded him its vital to inoculate young men against human papillomavirus. MP beats throat malignancy, urges HPV immunization for young men. Two sorts of HPV reason 70 per cent of cervical malignancy in ladies, as indicated by the Canadian Cancer Society. In men, the infection is in charge of a high rate of mouth, nose and throat growths, and also a few malignancies of the penis and anus. Young ladies between ages nine and 13 going to class anyplace in Canada can pick to get a free HPV inoculation. Just two regions, Alberta and Prince Edward Island, offer the same option to youngsters. Outside of those two areas, young men can in any case be immunized, yet just if their guardian or watchman decides to pay out-of-pocket. "Our huge concern is that its out there and that individuals aren't exploiting it," Dr. Robert Nuttall, the Canadian Cancer Society's executive of cancer control policy, said.

2014-09-09T07:22:58-07:00September, 2014|Oral Cancer News|
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Three shots that could stop cancer

Source: tucson.com Author: Meredith Wadman Not so long ago, when my sons still had smooth cheeks and children's voices, I had them vaccinated against human papillomavirus, the most common sexually transmitted disease. It was late 2011, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had just recommended that boys join girls in being vaccinated at age 11 or 12. I was certainly receptive: HPV, as it's commonly called, causes cervical cancer, cancer of the tonsils, cancer of the back of the tongue and, less often, cancers of the vulva, vagina, anus and penis. It seemed important to ensure that my kids were protected. Yet numbers released last month by the CDC show that my sons, now 14 and 15, are among a small minority of adolescent males who have been vaccinated. In 2013, just 14 percent of American boys ages 13 to 17 had received all three recommended doses of the HPV vaccine. (The CDC also recommends "catch-up" vaccination for males up to age 21.) Not that parents are rushing to have their girls vaccinated either, even though the CDC first recommended the vaccine for prepubescent girls in 2007 and virtually all insurers pay for it. In 2013, fewer than 38 percent of American girls between 13 and 17 had received the full three-dose course. It is heartbreaking to watch a safe, effective vaccine go unused. Consider this: The CDC estimates that increasing the vaccination rate of American girls to 80 percent would prevent 53,000 cervical cancers during the lifetimes [...]

2014-08-26T06:24:27-07:00August, 2014|Oral Cancer News|
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Finding better ways to treat, prevent HPV

Source: www.fhcrc.or Author: Diane Mapes - Fred Hutch News Service Twenty-nine years ago, scientists didn’t know what caused many of the genital-tract cancers they studied, much less how to stop them. Today, not only has human papillomavirus been pinpointed as the viral perpetrator behind nearly all genital-tract and some head and neck cancers, there’s now an incredibly effective vaccine that can prevent high-risk HPV infections from ever developing into cancer. “You can almost say on the street, ‘I’m doing HPV research’ and ordinary people will know what that is,” said Aaro Turunen, an HPV researcher from the University of Turku in Finland. “It’s a sexy subject, especially for the media.” While scientific advancements, public awareness and yes, media coverage, have grown exponentially in the last three decades, there is still much to learn and do – particularly with regard to getting the vaccine to the people who most need it, both here in the U.S. and around the world. That’s where the International Papillomavirus Conference, currently in its twenty-ninth year, comes in. The HPV2014 conference, now underway at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle, has drawn the brightest minds in HPV research, including nearly 1,300 basic scientists, public health researchers, physicians, providers and others dedicated to eliminating the suffering caused by the human papillomavirus. The goal of the conference is to share cutting-edge scientific advances in the field of HPV infection and disease and come up with new ways to collaborate to advance science and public health. The conference [...]

2014-08-26T06:18:49-07:00August, 2014|Oral Cancer News|
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The Cancer Cure Parents Aren’t Using

Source: washingtonpost.comAuthor: Meredith Wadman  Not so long ago, when my sons still had smooth cheeks and children’s voices, I had them vaccinated against human papillomavirus, the most common sexually transmitted disease. It was late 2011, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had just recommended that boys join girls in being vaccinated at age 11 or 12. I was certainly receptive: HPV, as it’s commonly called, causes cervical cancer, cancer of the tonsils, cancer of the back of the tongue and, less often, cancers of the vulva, vagina, anus and penis. It seemed important to ensure that my kids were protected. Yet numbers released last month by the CDC show that my sons, now 14 and 15, are among a small minority of adolescent males who have been vaccinated. In 2013, just 14 percent of American boys ages 13 to 17 had received all three recommended doses of the HPV vaccine. (The CDC also recommends “catch-up” vaccination for males up to age 21.) Not that parents are rushing to have their girls vaccinated either, even though the CDC first recommended the vaccine for prepubescent girls in 2007 and virtually all insurers pay for it. In 2013, fewer than 38 percent of American girls between 13 and 17 had received the full three-dose course. It is heartbreaking to watch a safe, effective vaccine go unused. Consider this: The CDC estimates that increasing the vaccination rate of American girls to 80 percent would prevent 53,000 cervical cancers during the lifetimes of girls who are now 12 and younger. When [...]

2014-08-25T11:08:26-07:00August, 2014|Oral Cancer News|
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Blood test could predict oral cancer recurrence

Source: www.livescience.com Author: Rachael Rettner, Senior Writer A new blood and saliva test that looks for traces of the human papillomavirus (HPV) can predict whether some people with oral cancers will have their cancer come back, early research suggests. It helps to know as soon as possible that cancer has returned, because tumors that are caught early are easier to treat. In the study, the researchers analyzed blood and saliva samples from 93 people with head and neck cancers; about 80 percent of these patients had cancers that tested positive for HPV. All of their cancers had previously been treated with surgery, radiation or chemotherapy. The researchers looked for fragments of DNA from HPV-16, a strain of the virus that is strongly linked with head and neck cancer. The virus may be found in cancer cells that linger in the body after treatment, the researchers said. Among people with HPV-positive tumors, the new test identified 70 percent of those whose cancer returned within three years, the researchers said. "Until now, there has been no reliable biological way to identify which patients are at higher risk for recurrence, so these tests should greatly help [to] do so," study researcher Dr. Joseph Califano, professor of otolaryngology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, said in a statement. Patients with head and neck cancer typically visit the doctor every one to three months during the first year after their diagnoses to check for cancer recurrence. But new tumors in the tonsils, throat and base [...]

2014-08-02T11:03:13-07:00August, 2014|Oral Cancer News|
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New immunotherapy drug shows promise for advanced head/neck cancer

Source: www.drbicuspid.com Author: DrBicuspid staff A new immunotherapy treatment, MK3475, known as pembrolizumab, from Merck has proved effective in some patients with advanced head and neck, according to the early findings of a study presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting in Chicago. The findings were presented by Tanguy Seiwert, MD, the associate director of the Head and Neck Cancer Program and assistant professor of medicine at the University of Chicago. In the phase IB study, a small number of patients with advanced head and neck cancer were treated with pembrolizumab, an anti-PD-1 antibody. The drug is part of an emerging class of medications that work by blocking the PD-1 protein, which is used by cancer cells to evade the body's immune system. When PD-L1 attaches to its receptor PD-1 on immune cells, tumors are able to hide from the immune system; drugs that target either PD-L1 or PD-1 inhibit this interaction. In the study presented at the ASCO meeting, 56 patients with advanced head and neck cancer whose tumors were assessed as positive for PD-L1 expression were evaluable for treatment response with pembrolizumab; 20 of the patients tested positive for human papillomavirus (HPV). The early findings showed a best overall response rate of 20%, with 29% of patients having stable disease. Similar overall response rates were observed in HPV-positive and HPV-negative patients. Tumor shrinkage was demonstrated in 51% of evaluable patients who had measurable disease with one postbaseline scan. The most common treatment-related adverse events [...]

2014-06-04T06:39:22-07:00June, 2014|Oral Cancer News|
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