HPV – Page 54 – Oral Cancer News

Liverpool scientists working on vaccine for mouth cancer

Source: www.liverpoolecho.co.uk Author: Liza Williams ONE central project the scientists and doctors are working on is a vaccine for mouth cancer. Liverpool researchers have found some cases are caused by the HPV virus – the same bug which causes cervical cancer. They have discovered that two-thirds of tonsil cancer tumour samples showed evidence of the HPV-16 gene. The work is particularly important because the researchers are also seeing the rates of tonsil cancer doubling in non-smokers and non-drinkers – two of the main causes of the disease. They have found a DNA test helps to predict whether a patient has HPV. This could be used to decide which treatment is best for the patient, because both chemo and radiotherapy are more successful in patients with the virus. They are now developing a clinical trial for a HPV vaccine for head and neck cancer, like the jab given to teenage girls to prevent cervical cancer.

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-01-04T08:31:39-07:00January, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Oropharyngeal cancer, human papilloma virus, and clinical trials

Source: Journal of Clinical Oncology, Vol 28, No 1 (January 1), 2010: pp. 1-3 Author: Danny Rischin As advances in our understanding of the molecular biology of cancer have evolved in recent years, cancers that were once considered to be relatively homogeneous diseases are now being recognized as comprising distinct subtypes. These subtypes may differ in etiology, molecular profile, sensitivity to treatment, and prognosis. Examples include luminal (mainly estrogen receptor–positive), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2–positive, and basal breast cancer subtypes1; non–small-cell lung cancer associated with EGFR2 or EML4-ALK3 mutations; and melanoma associated with BRAF (V600E)4 or c-KIT mutations.5 In head and neck cancer, we have traditionally combined squamous cell carcinomas of the oral cavity, oropharynx, larynx, and hypopharynx in clinical trials. This has been justified on the basis of similar etiology (tobacco and alcohol) and similar sensitivity to radiotherapy and systemic therapy. However, it has also been recognized that there are differences in clinical behavior, treatment outcome, and prognosis with regard to primary site. Although surgery has remained the primary treatment for oral cavity cancers, organ preservation with primary chemoradiotherapy has been widely used over the last two decades for cancers of the oropharynx, larynx, and hypopharynx. It has become apparent over this same time period that a new subtype of oropharyngeal cancer resulting from human papilloma virus (HPV) has emerged.6 The proportion of HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer has steadily increased, and in many countries, this subtype now represents the majority of new oropharyngeal cancers.7,8 HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer differs from [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-12-30T13:03:03-07:00December, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Tongue reconstruction

Source: www.wsoctv.com/health Author: staff Tongue cancer accounts for about 25 percent of all oral cancers. According to the National Cancer Institute, about 10,530 cases of tongue cancer will be diagnosed in the U.S. this year. Although the cancer can occur at any age, it’s most commonly diagnosed in older people, with a median age at diagnosis of 61. Men are affected about twice as often as women. Two important risk factors for tongue cancer are smoking and drinking. For people who smoke and drink, the risk may be up to 100 times that of those who neither smoke nor drink. Another risk factor for tongue cancer is HPV (human papillomavirus) infection. Douglas Chepeha, M.D., Microvascular Reconstructive Surgeon with the University of Michigan, says doctors are also seeing cases of tongue cancer in young and older women who neither smoke nor drink. The reasons for these cases are not clear. Overall five-year survival rates for tongue cancer are about 59.5 percent. However, the cancer has the potential to spread fairly quickly. If the cancer is detected when the condition is still localized, 5-year survival rates are over 77 percent. Once the cancer spreads regionally, survival rates drop to about 55 percent. Thus, early diagnosis is important. Patients who develop a sore on the tongue that doesn’t heal or bleeds easily should see a physician for evaluation. Treating Tongue Cancer: Reconstruction After Surgery Tongue cancer typically occurs on one side of the tongue. The main treatment is surgery, which can require removal [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-12-19T23:14:42-07:00December, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Cervarix® vaccination against HPV lasts at least six years

Source: professional.cancerconsultants.com Author: staff Researchers affiliated with the GlaxoSmithKline Vaccine HPV-007 Study Group have reported that Cervarix® [human papillomavirus (HPV)-16/18 AS04-adjuvanted vaccine] has “high and sustained immunogenicity, and a favorable safety” profile for up to 6.4 years following administration. The details of this study appeared in an early online publication in the Lancet on December 3, 2009.[1] Cervarix is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the prevention of cervical pre-cancers and cervical cancer associated with HPV types 16 and 18. It is approved for use in girls and women between the ages of 10 and 25 years. Human papillomaviruses consist of more than 100 different viruses. Some types of HPV cause warts on the hands or feet; others cause genital warts; and some have been linked with cancer, most notably cervical cancer. The types of HPV most commonly linked with cervical cancer are HPV 16 and HPV 18, but several other high-risk types contribute to cancer as well. The types of HPV that cause cervical cancer or genital warts are transmitted sexually. HPV infection is extremely common and generally occurs soon after an individual becomes sexually active. Although most infections resolve on their own, some persist and can lead to precancerous or cancerous changes to the cervix, vulva, vagina, penis, and anus. HPV infections have also been linked with some head and neck cancers. The first HPV vaccine to be approved in the United States was Gardasil®, which protects against HPV types 6 and 11 (linked to [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-12-07T16:52:12-07:00December, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Papillomavirus silences innate immune response

Source: www.sciencedaily.com Author: staff In the 1980s, Harald zur Hausen and his co-workers discovered that specific types of human papillomavirus (HPV) cause cervical cancer. Scientists soon found out how these pathogens cause cells to degenerate. It is known today that the main culprits are viral proteins E6 and E7. Both proteins switch off different cellular control functions, thus promoting cell growth. Professor Dr. Frank Rösl and his co-workers at DKFZ have now discovered another mechanism by which the E6 oncoprotein of high-risk HPV16 promotes carcinogenesis. The oncogene silences production of an immune protein called interferon-kappa. Interferons are proteins which are part of our immune system and are responsible primarily for stimulating the immune response to viruses and tumors. Interferons are produced by white blood cells and other cell types. Interferon-kappa is relevant for HPV infections, because it is produced mainly in cells of the skin and mucosa (keratinocytes) which are the preferred hosts of the viruses. If interferon-kappa is not working in cells, other proteins involved in immune defense also cease to function properly. Dr. Bladimiro Rincon-Orozco of Rösl's team has now shown for the first time that HPV16 switches off the interferon-kappa gene by biochemical modification of DNA. Such alterations of the genetic material are called epigenetic mutations. Studying HPV infected cells in a culture dish, the research team observed that interferon-kappa is epigenetically silenced. They were later able to confirm this result in cervical cancer tissue samples. "Interferon-kappa is an important part of what is called [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-12-03T18:05:10-07:00December, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Should your son get the HPV vaccine?

Source: www.nbc-2.com Author: staff TAMPA: David Hastings is back to helping his wife Jo at their Cuban restaurant outside Saint Petersburg. He's grateful to be here after a very close call. "One morning I was shaving and I noticed this side of my neck was swollen," Hastings explained. The diagnosis: stage four oral cancer. Until then, David was a healthy non-smoker who exercised regularly. "Picture a male drinking and smoking everyday for years and years. That's who gets my cancer. I kept saying people, that's not me." It turns out David's cancer was caused by the human papillomavirus or HPV, a virus he didn't even know he carried. Nancy: "So David's case is not rare?" Dr. Anna Giuliano: "No! Not at all!" From her office at the Moffit Cancer Center in Tampa, Dr. Anna Giuliano is leading an international study on HPV in men. Right now the virus is best known for causing cervical cancer in women. But that is about to change. "Cervical cancer is going down and HPV related head and neck cancer is going up," she explained. Dr. Giuliano says every year between 6 and 8 thousand head and neck cancers in men are HPV-related. "Now we have very definitive evidence that HPV causes cancer in men; the most important being head and neck cancers, penile cancer and anal cancer," she told NBC2. In October, the FDA approved the use of the HPV vaccine Gardasil in males ages 9-26. But Dr. Giuliano worries misinformation will keep young [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-11-28T07:19:04-07:00November, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

After being diagnosed, Zenk Pinter is an oral cancer spokesperson

Source: www.acorn-online.com Author: Susan Wolf Colleen Zenk Pinter of Redding, an actor who stars as Barbara Ryan on As the World Turns, has partnered with the Oral Cancer Foundation, Yale New-Haven Hospital and Roswell Park Cancer Institute to be a spokesperson for oral cancer. Ms. Pinter was diagnosed with oral cancer in March 2007 and is now cancer-free. “I had no risk factors for this ‘old man’s cancer,’ she said, but her doctors said hers was probably due to human papilloma virus (HPV), which is most often associated with cervical cancer. HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the country, and it is estimated that about 70% of American men and women will be infected at some point in their lives. According to Ms. Zenk Pinter, a growing number of women are being diagnosed with oral cancer, from one in 10 to now a 50-50 split. “The difference is HPV,” she said. She is a proponent of the Gardasil® vaccine against HPV for both girls and boys. It doesn’t help if only half of the population (girls) is being vaccinated. Why boys? “Simple. HPV is sexually transmitted.” Physicians and researchers advocate that the vaccine be given to both sexes, Ms. Zenk Pinter said. During her speech at New York University School of Dentistry graduation, where she received the 2009 Harry S. Strusser Memorial Award for Public Service and Outstanding Contributions to Public Health, Ms. Zenk Pinter implored the graduating doctors and surgeons to thoroughly check their patients for [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-11-28T07:11:44-07:00November, 2009|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

“French” kissing ups risk of oral HPV infection

Source: The Journal of Infectious Diseases Author: Staff NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Oral sex and open-mouthed "French" kissing increase the risk of acquiring oral infections of human papillomavirus, or HPV, a study shows. "Performing oral sex is not without risks," Dr. Maura L. Gillison told Reuters Health. It is associated with gonorrheal pharyngitis - a sexually transmitted infection of the tonsils and back of the throat that immediately causes symptoms, she noted, and now is associated with mouth HPV infections that are silent "yet may lead to oral cancer 10 to 20 years later." Gillison from The Ohio State University, Columbus, and colleagues explored whether sexual behaviors were associated with the odds of oral HPV infection in 332 adults and in 210 college-aged men. They found that 4.8 percent of the adults and 2.9 percent of college-aged men had oral HPV infection. Among adults, the odds of oral HPV infection were significantly elevated among current tobacco smokers and among individuals who reported having either more than 10 oral or more than 25 vaginal sex partners during their lifetime. Similar risk factors applied to the college-aged men. For them, having at least six recent oral sex or open-mouthed kissing partners were independently associated with increased odds of developing oral HPV infection. For the 28 percent of college-aged men who reported never having performed oral sex, having at least 10 lifetime or at least five recent open-mouthed kissing partners was associated with a significantly higher risk of developing oral HPV infection. [...]

Charlotte Parker2009-11-09T12:12:19-07:00November, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Comparative prognostic value of HPV16 E6 mRNA compared with in situ hybridization for human oropharyngeal squamous carcinoma

Source: Journal of Clinical Oncology, 10.1200/JCO.2009.23.1670 Author: Wei Shi et al. Purpose: A significant proportion of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC) are associated with the human papilloma virus (HPV), particularly HPV16. The optimal method for HPV determination on archival materials however, remains unclear. We compared a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assay for HPV16 mRNA to a DNA in situ hybridization (ISH) method, and evaluated their significance for overall (OS) and disease-free (DFS) survival. Patients and Methods: Matched, archival biopsies from 111 patients with OSCC were evaluated for HPV16 using a qRT-PCR for E6 mRNA and ISH for DNA. Immunohistochemistry for p16, p53, and epidermal growth factor receptor were also performed. Results: HPV16 E6 mRNA was positive in 73 (66%) of 111 samples; ISH was positive in 62 of 106 samples (58%), with 86% concordance. P16 was overexpressed in 72 samples (65%), which was strongly associated with HPV16 status by either method. E6 mRNA presence or p16 overexpression were significantly associated with superior OS; E6 mRNA, HPV16 ISH, or p16 were all significantly associated with DFS. On multivariate analysis adjusted for age, stage, and treatment, positive E6 mRNA was the only independent predictor for superior OS; for DFS, p16 expression or HPV16 status determined by either method was significant. Conclusion: The prevalence of HPV16 in OSCC ranges from 58% to 66%, in a recently treated Canadian cohort. Classification of HPV-positivity by HPV16 E6 mRNA, HPV16 ISH or p16 immunohistochemistry (IHC) is associated with improved DFS. However, the latter two [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-11-05T07:30:00-07:00November, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

HPV vaccination: inaccurate assumptions about oropharyngeal cancer

Source: BMJ 2009;339:b4525 Author: Erich M Sturgis et al. Excerpt from article: The article by Kim and Goldie on the cost effectiveness of including boys in a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme made assumptions about oropharyngeal cancers that are inaccurate.1 The prevalence of HPV in oropharyngeal cancer used in the article (31%) is based on worldwide estimates,2 but its prevalence in the US, where the research was done, is much higher.3 4 Source data for the review article referenced by the authors give the US specific HPV prevalence as 47% (42% for types 16/18),2 5 and other more recent high quality studies from the US have found rates as high as 72%.3 Furthermore, a recent population based study within the Colorado SEER registry found an HPV prevalence rate of 79% for oropharyngeal cancers diagnosed after 1994.4 Authors: Erich M Sturgis, associate professor1, Kristina R Dahlstrom, doctoral student2 Author affiliations: 1 Department of Head and Neck Surgery and Department of Epidemiology, University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, USA, 2 University of Texas School of Public Health, Houston, Texas, USA

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-11-04T15:30:17-07:00November, 2009|Oral Cancer News|