HPV – Page 7 – Oral Cancer News

Liquid biopsy accurately detects HPV+ oropharyngeal cancer recurrence

Source: www.medpagetoday.org Author: Zeena Nackerdien PhD, CME Writer, MedPage Today In general, HPV-positive OPSCC has a favorable prognosis as compared with HPV-negative disease, which has supported efforts to de-intensify treatment regimens to reduce exposure to potentially toxic therapies. Positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) imaging 3 months after definitive treatment is standard for response assessment in many cases. However, the disease will recur in up to 25% of patients, depending on clinical risk factors and tumor biology. The latency period prior to OPSCC recurrence is 2 years for many patients, but rare case reports have described latency periods exceeding 5 years. Currently, National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines recommend surveillance of patients with HPV-associated OPSCC every 1 to 3 months for the first year, every 2 to 6 months for the second year, every 4 to 8 months for years 3 to 5, and then once a year thereafter. Because the oropharynx can be a difficult anatomic location to evaluate -- a process that may be further obscured by treatment-related tissue changes -- radiologic imaging studies have been used in cancer surveillance for this disease. According to study findings published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, a blood test for tumor-associated HPV-DNA had near-perfect accuracy for identifying OPSCC patients at high risk of recurrence after treatment. The findings have clear and immediate implications for clinical practice, including earlier initiation of salvage therapy for patients with recurrent disease, reported Bhishamjit S. Chera, MD, of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center in Chapel [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2020-04-30T08:53:02-07:00April, 2020|Oral Cancer News|

Which cancers have increased over the past decade?

Source: www.mdlinx.com Author: Naveed Saleh, MD, MS, for MDLinx The incidence of cancers at the level of the oral cavity and pharynx increased between 2007 and 2016, according to a recent report by researchers from the CDC published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. This rise occurred despite respective decreases in the incidence of cancers at various anatomic sites. Cancers of the oral cavity and pharynx make up 3% of cancers diagnosed in the United States each year, with risk factors including tobacco use, HPV infection, and excessive alcohol intake. “The overall increase appears to be driven by increases in cancers of the tonsil, base of tongue, oropharynx, and other cancers of the oral cavity and pharynx, which are HPV-associated, as well as by those of gum and anterior tongue,” wrote the authors. Breaking down the numbers On average, the incidence rates for cancers of the oral cavity and pharynx combined increased by 0.6% per year between 2007 and 2016, with specific increases as follows: Oral cavity and pharynx (3.4%) Base of tongue (1.8%) Anterior tongue (1.8%) Gum (1.9%) Tonsil (2.4%) Oropharynx (1.9%) For the following cancers, however, incidence rates decreased: Soft palate and uvula (−3.7%) Hard palate (−0.9%) Floor of mouth (−3.1%) Lip (−2.7%) Hypopharynx (−2.4%) Nasopharynx (−1.3%) Of note, the incidence of cheek and other mouth and salivary gland cancers remained unchanged.

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2020-04-26T12:43:31-07:00April, 2020|Oral Cancer News|

Novel intervention looks to improve timeliness, equity of head and neck cancer care delivery

Source: www.miragenews.com Author: staff report, Medical University of South Carolina Many factors go into surviving cancer. Hollings Cancer Center researcher Evan Graboyes, M.D., specializes in head and neck cancer, a disease with poor survival prospects despite intense therapy with combinations of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. While head and neck cancer only accounts for 4% of all cancer cases each year in the US, it has a high mortality rate. The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 14,000 patients died from this disease in the U.S. in 2019. Overall, only 50% of head and neck cancer patients are alive at five years. Unfortunately, the mortality rate is even worse for African American head and neck cancer patients. That’s why researchers are looking for new strategies to improve patient survival and decrease racial disparities in outcomes for these patients. Graboyes and MUSC Hollings Cancer Center researchers Chanita Hughes-Halbert, Ph.D., Katherine Sterba, Ph.D., Hong Li, Ph.D., and Graham Warren, M.D., Ph.D., have teamed up to develop and test a novel intervention to improve the timeliness, equity and quality of head and neck cancer care delivery, which they think might one day be the key to improving survival for these patients. Funded by a $1.3 million 5-year grant from the National Cancer Institute, their study - Improving the Timeliness and Equity of Adjuvant Therapy Following Surgery for Head and Neck Cancer-started in September 2019 and built upon important research funded by grants from Hollings Cancer Center. Graboyes explained that for patients with advanced [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2020-04-11T06:04:04-07:00April, 2020|Oral Cancer News|

Blood Test Spot On for HPV Cancer Recurrence

Source: MedPage Today Date: April 1st, 2020 Author: Charles Bankhead A blood test for tumor-associated human papillomavirus (HPV)-DNA had near-perfect accuracy for identifying oropharyngeal cancer patients at high risk of recurrence after treatment, a prospective study showed. Overall, 28 patients tested positive for circulating tumor (ct) HPV-DNA, including 16 patients who had two consecutive positive tests. All but one of the 16 patients subsequently had biopsy-proven disease recurrence. No patient who had only negative tests developed recurrent disease. The findings have clear and immediate implications for clinical practice, including earlier initiation of salvage therapy for patients with recurrent disease, reported Bhisham S. Chera, MD, of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and colleagues in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. "With regard to how this is applicable to clinical practice, I think it improves the effectiveness, it improves the efficiency, and it reduces the cost and financial toxicity to patients," Chera told MedPage Today. "This blood test's performance is really good: Negative predictive value (NPV) 100%, two consecutive positive tests, 94% positive predictive value (PPV). This performs better than any physical examination, PET/CT, or fiberoptic re-examination in identifying cancer recurrence. Right now, I think this is the best surveillance tool we have." The findings extended those of a previous report, which showed that a persistently negative ctHPV-DNA test ruled out disease recurrence. HPV infection accounts for a majority of new cases of oropharyngeal cancer in the U.S. After years of rapid increases in prevalence and [...]

Charlotte Parker2020-04-06T15:57:39-07:00April, 2020|Oral Cancer News|

The YAP signal plays a crucial role in head-and-neck cancer onset

Source: www.eurekalert.org Author: press release, Kobe University Joint research between Kobe University and National Hospital Organization Kyushu Cancer Center has revealed that mice with mutations in the YAP signal pathway develop head-and-neck cancer over an extremely short period of time (world's fastest cancer onset mouse model), indicating that this pathway plays a crucial role in the onset of these cancers. This discovery may shed light on the development of new drugs for head-and-neck cancer. This research resulted from a collaboration between a research group led by Professor SUZUKI Akira and Associate Professor MAEHAMA Tomohiko at Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, and Dr. MASUDA Muneyuki's team at Kyushu Cancer Center. These results were published in the American scientific journal 'Science Advances' on March 18. Main Points: >Deletion of MOB1 (*1, which represses YAP) in mouse tongues causes strong activation of YAP (*2), leading to the early onset of cancer (in about 1 week). >In humans, the expression of YAP increases during the development of dysplasia (pre-cancerous lesions), prior to the onset of head-and-neck cancer. YAP continues to increase with the development and progression of cancer. This high YAP activation is linked to poor patient prognosis. >The onset and progression of head-and-neck cancer in the mice in this study, and the proliferation of stem cells in this cancer in humans, are dependent on YAP. >These results suggest that cancer develops when the YAP activation exceeds a threshold. YAP may play a fundamental role in head-and-neck cancer onset and progression. These conclusions [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2020-03-28T19:03:40-07:00March, 2020|Oral Cancer News|

Surveillance of ctDNA in HPV-positive head and neck cancers may predict recurrence

Source: www.targetedonc.com Author: Nichole Tucker The detection of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in human papillomavirus (HPV) with an experimental blood test has been associated with high positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) for identifying disease recurrence in HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer, according to a press release from the University of North Carolina (UNC) Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.1 “The major utility of this test is it’s going to improve our ability to monitor patients after they complete treatment,” said Bhisham Chera, MD, associate professor in the UNC School of Medicine Department of Radiation Oncology. “Currently, our methods to assess whether the cancer has recurred are invasive, expensive and not always accurate.” In a prospective biomarker clinical trial published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, investigators obtained 1006 blood samples for their analysis, 999 of which were evaluable for plasma circulating tumor human papillomavirus DNA (ctHPVDNA). The goal was to determine if surveillance of ctHPVDNA can facilitate earlier detection of recurrence compared with normal clinical follow-up.2 Patients were followed for a median of 23.7 months (range, 6.1-54.7 months), and out of 115 patients, 13% developed disease recurrence (n = 15). Of these recurrences, 1 was local only, 1 was regional only, 10 were distant only, 1 was local and distant, and the remaining 2 were regional and distant. Following treatment, 87 patients had undetectable ctHPVDNA, and none developed recurrence (95% CI, 96%-100%). The development of a positive ctHPVDNA occurred in 28 patients during post-treatment surveillance. The median time to abnormal [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2020-02-07T08:57:22-07:00February, 2020|Oral Cancer News|

National Vaccination Program Leads To Marked Reduction In HPV Infections

Source: Forbes Date: January 28th, 2020 Author: Nina Shapiro While widespread vaccination continues to be a source of contention in this country and others, one of the newer vaccines has begun to demonstrate remarkable positive impact, which will hopefully become harder and harder to dispute. The HPV vaccine, with trade name GardasilR, is recommended for both boys and girls, ideally sometime between ages 11 and 12 years, given in two doses at a six month interval. It can be given as early as age 9, and as late as age 26. Older adults, even up to age 45, can receive the vaccine, although it is more likely that these adults have already been exposed to the virus, and are less likely to be protected by the vaccine. The vaccine prevents infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV), which can cause health problems ranging from nuisance-causing warts to cancer-causing lesions of the cervix, throat, and anorectal area. When HPV-related cancers hit Hollywood, with Michael Douglas publicly attributing his throat cancer to HPV, it became clear that this disease can no doubt affect both men and women. When Marcia Cross announced that her anal cancer was due to HPV infection, it raised yet another red flag that HPV can affect the lower gastrointestinal tract, not just the female reproductive tract. Indeed, HPV can affect any of us, at any age, from stem to stern. As I wrote in an earlier Forbes piece, the vaccine to prevent HPV can prevent not only sexually transmitted [...]

Charlotte Parker2020-01-30T12:16:44-07:00January, 2020|Oral Cancer News|

What parents need to know about the HPV vaccine

Source: www.news-medical.net Author: University of Chicago Medical Center, reviewed by Kate Anderton, B.Sc. (Editor) The vaccine that prevents infection from human papillomavirus (HPV) is nothing short of a medical marvel. "It's one of the most effective vaccines we have against any disease or infection. And it prevents cancer," said Andrea Loberg, MD, clinical associate of obstetrics and gynecology. Pre-teens and teens who are vaccinated against HPV can be spared some of the deadliest, most disfiguring and hard-to-treat cancers-;those of the cervix, vagina, vulva, penis, anus, mouth and throat. Over 90% of cancers caused by HPV can be prevented-;29,000 cases of cancer per year-;with the HPV vaccine. Concerns about sexual promiscuity To some parents, however, the HPV vaccine may be an uncomfortable reminder that their child will be moving into adulthood and may choose to express his or her sexuality. HPV is transmitted by oral, vaginal and anal sex and other intimate skin-to-skin contact, and it is extremely prevalent; about 80% of people will be exposed to the virus in their lifetime. Condoms reduce but don't eliminate the risk of HPV infections because the virus lives in both oral and genital tissues. Condoms do not cover the entire genital area of either gender. Nor are same-sex female partners protected from contracting the virus, which often causes no symptoms until precancerous lesions or cancer show up years later. "It's hard for parents to think about our kids becoming sexually active, but we also want them to have fulfilling lives," said Truehart, whose [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2020-01-29T07:28:39-07:00January, 2020|Oral Cancer News|

How Marijuana Accelerates Growth of HPV-related Head and Neck Cancer Identified

University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers have identified the molecular mechanism activated by the presence of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) — the ingredient that causes people to feel the euphoria or “high” associated with cannabis — in the bloodstream that accelerates cancer growth in patients with human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. “HPV-related head and neck cancer is one of the fastest growing cancers in the United States. While at the same time, exposure to marijuana is accelerating. This is a huge public health problem,” said Joseph A. Califano III, MD, senior author and professor and vice chief of the Division of Otolaryngology in the Department of Surgery at UC San Diego School of Medicine. Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma is the sixth most common cancer worldwide. These cancers begin in the cells that line the mucous membranes inside the mouth, nose and throat. Approximately 30 percent of cases of this disease are related to HPV infection, and it is these cases, in particular that are on the rise. Califano suggested increased marijuana use may be a driving factor. Previous studies have linked daily marijuana exposure to an increased prevalence of HPV-related throat cancer. However, a mechanism linking cannabis exposure to increased growth of the cancer was unknown. Reporting in the January 13, 2020 online edition of Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, researchers outline how the presence of THC in the bloodstream activates the p38 MAPK pathway, which [...]

Charlotte Parker2020-01-16T15:44:42-07:00January, 2020|Oral Cancer News|

Cervical pre-cancer rates down 88% in decade since HPV vaccinations began – first findings

Source: The Conversation Date: April 19, 2019 Author: Kevin Polluck Cervical cancer is the third most common cancer among women in the UK under the age of 35 after breast and skin cancer. In the majority of cases, the cancer only develops if the patient is infected with human papillomavirus (HPV) types 16 or 18. This virus is mainly transmitted between people having vaginal, anal or oral sex. At some point in their lives, four in five people will be infected by HPV strains – as many as 14 can cause cancer in total. According to recent studies, other cancers heavily linked to HPV infections include head-and-neck, vulvo-vaginal and anal. In an effort to reduce rates of cervical cancer, a number of countries launched immunisation programmes in the late 2000s, starting with Australia in 2006. The UK and its devolved governments launched a school immunisation programme in 2008 to vaccinate all girls aged 12-13. To speed up the time lag associated with achieving the benefits of vaccination, they also kicked off a three-year catch-up programme for girls aged up to 18 years. A decade on, we are finally able to publish the first results. The data relates to Scotland, since it was cervically screening women from the age of 20 until 2016 – before falling into line with the minimum age of 25 used in the rest of the UK. This meant that Scotland obtained screening data for the 2008-09 cohort before the change in screening age. Scotland also has [...]

Charlotte Parker2020-01-06T17:40:21-07:00January, 2020|Oral Cancer News|