HPV Vaccination Could Reduce the Number of Screening Procedures

The National Journal By Sophie Quinton Widespread vaccination against cervical cancer could reduce the need for burdensome screenings, U.S. and Finnish researchers said on Tuesday. A study published in the journal Lancet Oncology show that GlaxoSmithKline’s Cervarix vaccine, which protects against two strains of human papillomavirus, or HPV, was more than 93 percent effective in preventing precancerous lesions in women who had never been infected and completely protected young women from the strains of virus targeted by the vaccine. The vaccine also reduced cancer risk for women who had already been infected by HPV, but was far less effective. A second study found that Cervarix can protect against rarer strains of HPV that also cause cancer. Neither study looked at Gardisil, the other licensed HPV vaccine, which protects against four strains of HPV—including the two targeted by Cervarix. The efficacy of vaccination adds fuel to two debates: how often women need to undergo cervical cancer screenings, and how important it is to reach girls—and boys—with HPV vaccinations before they become sexually active. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, American Cancer Society, and other clinical groups have agreed that the pap smear—the screening for cervical cancer—does not need to be done every year for most women, and suggest that screenings begin at age 21. For vaccinated women, the need for screening might be further reduced. “Provided that organised vaccination programs achieve high coverage in early adolescents before sexual debut, HPV vaccination has the potential to substantially reduce the incidence of cervical [...]

2011-11-08T20:47:32-07:00November, 2011|Oral Cancer News|
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Why HPV vaccination of boys may be easier

Source: www.npr.org/blogs/health Author: Richard Knox When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended a half-dozen years ago that preteen girls be vaccinated against human papillomavirus, two things happened. A lot of parents and some conservative groups were jarred by the idea of immunizing young girls against a sexually transmitted virus. And uptake of the vaccine has been poor — only about a third of 13- to 17-year-old girls have gotten the full three-shot series. Now, in the wake of a CDC expert panel's recommendation to extend vaccination to 11- and 12-year-old boys, there's reason to think things might be different this time. "There's been a surprisingly muted reaction," says Dr. Don Dizon, a Brown University oncologist. "We tend to believe that girls are chaste and are going to 'save themselves for marriage.' But, you know, sexual activity is something that's almost expected of boys." Seventeen-year-old Connor Perruccello-McClellan agrees. The idea that teenage girls might have sex is "just a touchy issue, a taboo, I guess," he says. "It's just not as accepted for girls." Perruccello-McClellan, a senior at Providence Country Day School in Rhode Island, is among the 1 percent of U.S. males who have already been vaccinated against HPV. That's because Rhode Island has one of the nation's most aggressive campaigns to vaccinate schoolchildren against nine different infections, including HPV. Still, like most people, he thought HPV vaccine protects only against cervical cancer — a notion that may have abetted the double standard associated with it. Cervical cancer [...]

2011-11-07T14:46:21-07:00November, 2011|Oral Cancer News|
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The Oral Cancer Foundation Helps Sponsor HPV/Oral Cancer Study

Source: Jada.org An increase in the incidence and survival of oropharyngeal cancer in the United States since 1984 can be attributed to the human papilloma-virus (HPV) infection, say researchers in an article published online Oct. 3 in Journal of Clinical Oncology. The results of previous studies have shown that oropharyngeal cancers can be divided into two separate diseases with distinct causes: HPV-negative cancers, which are associated with tobacco and alcohol use; and HPV-positive cancers, which are linked to certain types of HPV, a sexually transmitted virus. Patients with HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer tend to be younger than and to have better survival rates than patients with HPV-negative cancer. To determine HPV infection’s role, researchers led by Anil K. Chaturvedi, PhD, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md., tested for HPV infection 271 archived samples of cancerous oropharyngeal tissue collected between 1984 and 2004 at three population-based cancer registries located in Hawaii, Iowa and Los Angeles in the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Residual Tissue Repositories Program. By using a variety of molecular assays, researchers found that the proportion of oropharyngeal cancers that were HPV-positive—particularly among men—increased over time, from 16.3 percent for cancers diagnosed from 1984 to 1989 to 72.7 percent for cancers diagnosed from 2000 to 2004. They also found that the incidence of HPV-negative oropharyngeal cancers declined by 50 percent between 1988 and 2004, likely due to declines in smoking and tobacco use. According to senior author Maura Gillison, MD, PhD, a professor of [...]

2011-11-01T09:48:55-07:00November, 2011|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|
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Possible Link Between HPV and Heart Disease

Source: CVTNews.ca We already know HPV, or human papillomavirus, can cause cervical cancer. It's also known to cause some kinds of oral cancer. But could HPV also cause heart disease? An intriguing new study is drawing a link. The study found that women who are known to be infected with cancer-causing strains of the virus may be at increased risk for cardiovascular disease and stroke -- even when they have none of the usual heart disease risk factors. The study authors say their research is one of the first to investigate a potential link between heart disease and HPV, which is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections. The Public Health Agency of Canada estimates that more than 70 per cent of sexually-active Canadian men and women will have a sexually transmitted HPV infection at some point in their lives. They say they began the study because they wanted to know why some people have heart attacks even though they have none of the usual risk factors, like high cholesterol or high blood pressure. About 20 per cent of patients with heart disease lack risk factors, which has left open the possibility that underlying "nontraditional" causes might be involved in the disease. If there is indeed a link between the virus and heart disease, it could have a number of implications. It would mean that doctors would have to monitor patients with HPV to help prevent heart attack and stroke. As well, there is the possibility that the HPV vaccine [...]

2011-10-26T10:59:28-07:00October, 2011|Oral Cancer News|
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New Therapies and Prognostic Techniques Highlighted in Head and Neck Cancer

The Asco Post D. Neil Hayes, MD, MPH, of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, described efforts to position the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor cetuximab (Erbitux) in head and neck cancer treatment. Surprisingly negative results came from the phase III Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) 0522 trial (N = 940), which showed no benefit to adding cetuximab to the radiation/cisplatin platform for front-line therapy of advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.1 At 2 years, progression-free survival was approximately 64% in both arms; overall survival was 79.7% with chemoradiation (P = .68) and 82.6% with the addition of cetuximab (P = .17). Rates of locoregional relapse and distant metastases were also similar. Cetuximab increased grade 3/4 mucositis (43% vs 33%;P < .004), in-field skin toxicity (25% vs 15%;P < .001), and out-of-field skin reactions (19% vs 1%;P < .001), but toxicity beyond 90 days was similar between the arms. "RTOG 0522 was the study of the year in head and neck cancer. Unfortunately, it was flat-out negative," Dr. Hayes noted. No differential effect emerged by p16 (HPV status). "While 70% of patients had oropharynx tumors (suggesting HPV positivity), tissue collection was lacking in half the patients. Our ability to make inferences with this amount of missing data is very limited," Dr. Hayes said. Even as a negative study, RTOG 0522 is practice-changing. "Many physicians have been treating with this regimen, assuming this study would be positive," he said. "But we now have no data to support this." Cetuximab Equivalent [...]

2011-10-18T09:58:29-07:00October, 2011|Oral Cancer News|
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Oral cancers on rise due to HPV

Source: gargoyle.flagler.edu Author: staff Many Flagler College students are reconsidering human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines due to the growing number of head and neck cancers in the United States caused by the HPV virus. According to a new study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the number of cases of oropharyngeal cancer, which are cancers of the tonsils, throat and base of the tongue, have been rising since the mid-1980s. “I got all three shots because I was influenced by my doctor and my mom because it seemed like a good way to protect myself,” said student Courtney Fusilier. “I think people should get it if they don’t want to die from those types of cancer.” The causes of oral cancers function within two categories: cancer caused by tobacco and alcohol and cancer caused by the sexually transmitted virus, HPV, researchers said. Researchers now believe that 70 percent of oropharyngeal cancers are caused by HPV. “The HPV status of a patient’s tumor is the single greatest determinant of whether a person lives or dies after a diagnosis of local-regionally advanced oropharynx cancer,” Gillison said. According to Gillison, about 95 percent of the HPV-positive oropharynx cancers were caused by HPV16. This strain is specifically targeted by Gardasil and Cervarix, which are two vaccines on the market to prevent cervical cancer. Communication major Adair Findley believes the HPV vaccines should be taken for a good piece of mind. “HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection so I think it is important to [...]

2011-10-15T05:19:56-07:00October, 2011|Oral Cancer News|
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Is oral sex more dangerous than smoking?

Source: www.yourtango.com Author: TresSugar Oral sex might be the new smoking. New research has found that oral sex may cause more cases of throat cancer in men than smoking thanks to HPV transmissions. In 2004, HPV caused 2.6 cases of throat cancer per 100,000 people, compared to .8 cases per 100,000 people in 1998. At this rate, by 2020 HPV will result in more throat cancer in both men and women than cervical cancer. What's making the rate go up? A higher rate of going down. Cancer researchers told the New York Times that younger people are having more oral sex because they think it's safer than intercourse. In addition to increasing awareness about the risks associated with oral sex, there may be another solution already available. The HPV vaccines currently recommended for girls could probably help prevent throat cancer when given to boys. Vaccine companies would have to test the drugs for that purpose specifically, and then health professionals would have to convince parents to vaccinate their boys against HPV. But maybe that would be easier than it's been to vaccinate girls against a potentially deadly, yet common STD, since society doesn't have the same hang-ups with male sexuality.

2011-10-15T05:12:30-07:00October, 2011|Oral Cancer News|
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New HPV Study Proves Vaccine’s Effectiveness

Source: Cancer.gov A flurry of new research findings on a vaccine that prevents persistent infections by cancer-causing types of the human papillomavirus (HPV) has confirmed the vaccine's efficacy and opened new avenues for research. The results, published in three separate reports, suggest that the vaccine could be simpler to administer and more affordable than researchers had previously thought—and that the vaccine may also have unexpected benefits. All three studies originate from an ongoing clinical trial of Cervarix in Costa Rica. The new findings could help inform efforts to develop vaccination programs to prevent cervical cancer in countries around the world, the researchers said. "The results from our trial and from other trials are extremely promising for this vaccine," said Dr. Allan Hildesheim of NCI's Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics (DCEG), a leader of the trial. "And they suggest that the impact of the vaccine may go beyond cervical disease." HPV infections can lead to cancers of the anus, vagina, vulva, penis, and some oropharyngeal cancers, in addition to cervical cancer. Cervarix is one of two HPV vaccines currently approved by the Food and Drug Administration to prevent these infections; the other is Gardasil. One of the studies found that fewer than the prescribed three doses of Cervarix may offer the same protection as the full course. If confirmed, this could make vaccination easier to administer and more affordable, factors that are especially important in developing countries that have high rates of cervical cancer. A second study from the Costa [...]

2011-09-27T11:19:48-07:00September, 2011|Oral Cancer News|
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HPV Vaccine and Premarital-Sex Controversy

Source: The News Tribune Some perspective is needed on the controversy over the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine that arose after a recent Republican presidential debate. The best way to do that is to take sex out of the equation. Instead of preventing a sexually transmitted disease that can lead to cervical cancer in women and oral cancer in men, let’s say the HPV vaccine guarded against a fictional virus that caused breast cancer and prostate cancer. Wouldn’t most parents jump at the chance to decrease the chances of their children contracting those potentially deadly cancers? Only the most hard-core anti-vaccine holdout would say no. Which gets us back to the sex part of the HPV equation and why some otherwise rational people don’t think children should be inoculated against it. They oppose the HPV vaccine – Cervarix or Gardasil – because they fear that removing one of the consequences of premarital sex would encourage it. It’s a weak argument. The fear of STDs and pregnancy hasn’t put much of a damper on teens having sex, so it’s hard to see why the chance of developing cancer several years down the road would slow them down. They also know that smoking can cause lung cancer, but many still do it. Sometimes parents have to do things to protect kids from themselves – and teens from their hormones. Most young people will not wait until marriage to have sexual relations; parents who think not getting their children vaccinated against HPV will deter [...]

2011-09-27T10:32:53-07:00September, 2011|Oral Cancer News|
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HPV links to throat cancer in males

Source: www.thesimmonsvoice.com Author: Emese Nemeth Whether it is your first year or you are returning to college, there are always emails and pamplets about immunizations. While some vaccines are mandatory for public safety and health, vaccines such as Gardasil (also known as Silgard) for the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) are not. While some may argue that it is relatively new vaccine and side effects may be uncertain, the benefits are starting to out-weigh the risks. Gardasil was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2006 to vaccinate against the four most common strains of HPV: types 6, 11, 16 and 18. Seventy percent of cervical cancer is caused by types 16 and 18. Types 16 and 18 are also known to cause HPV induced cancer of the anus, vulva, vagina and penis. The other two types, 6 and 11 are known to cause ninety percent of genital wart cases. More recently, HPV has been linked to induce throat cancer, specifically, oropharyngeal cancer. The American Society of Clinical Oncology also believes that "the annual occurrence of HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer among men will surpass that of cervical cancer among women by the year 2020." Why throat cancer is more prevalent in men is still unclear, but throat cancer still affects both sexes with 6,700 cases of HPV-positive oropharynx cancers in 2010. While cervical cancer is on the decline due to regular pap smears, throats are only examined due to pain or unusual symptoms. Although Gardasil does not claim to prevent throat [...]

2011-09-23T16:21:46-07:00September, 2011|Oral Cancer News|
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