Single dose of HPV vaccine may be as effective as three

Source: www.laboratoryequipment.com Author: Michelle Taylor, Editor-in-Chief More than a decade after the introduction of a vaccine that has been proven to stave off 90 percent of human papillomavirus-caused cancers, only half of U.S. adolescents have completed the 3-shot series. While part of that can be attributed to adolescents and adults who question the validity of the vaccine, the majority is due to unawareness of or forgetting the need for additional doses, lack of insurance and non-frequent contact with the medical system. But, a new study from researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, has revealed a single-dose regimen may be equally as effective as the current 2- to 3-dose system. “Ensuring boys and girls receive their first dose is a big challenge in several countries and a majority of adolescents are not able to complete the recommended series due to a lack of intensive infrastructure needed to administer two or three doses," said the paper’s senior author Ashish Deshmukh, assistant professor at UTHealth School of Public Health. "If ongoing clinical trials provide evidence regarding sustained benefits of a one-dose regimen, then implications of single-dose strategy could be substantial for reducing the burden of these cancers globally." Deshmukh’s study examined the difference in the prevalence of HPV infection in a total of 1620 women aged 18 to 26 of whom 1,004 were unvaccinated, 616 received at least 1 dose of HPV vaccine 106 received just 1 dose, 126 received 2 doses and 384 received 3 doses. Compared [...]

Test that looks at your spit to tell if you have mouth or throat cancer caused by HPV ‘could save thousands of lives if rolled out for doctors to use’

Source: www.dailymail.co.uk Author: Connor Boyd, Health Reporter A saliva test that diagnoses mouth and throat cancer caused by HPV could save thousands of lives each year, a study suggests. Scientists at Duke University in North Carolina discovered the test was 80 per cent accurate at spotting the killer diseases. Doctors say it is able to detect the cancers early on, giving patients much higher hopes of surviving their battle. Before it can be used in hospitals around the world, further trials will be needed to confirm the technology works. But the researchers are hopeful, claiming the cheaper test - which gives results in as little as 10 minutes - has significant 'potential'. Rates of oral cancers are soaring in the Western world, with the number of patients diagnosed in the UK having doubled in a generation. US doctors have also seen a similar spike in the diseases, which can be caused by human papilloma virus (HPV). The infection – spread through oral sex, as well as anal and vaginal intercourse – is thought to cause around 70 per cent of all cases. Other risk factors include drinking excessive amounts of alcohol over long periods of time and smoking cigarettes. Professor Tony Jun Huang, study co-author, said there are around 115,000 cases of oropharyngeal cancers each year across the world. He said it is 'one of the fastest-rising cancers in Western countries due to increasing HPV-related incidence, especially in younger patients'. Orophayngeal cancer starts in the oropharynx, the back of the [...]

2019-12-14T11:12:24-07:00December, 2019|Oral Cancer News|

How the ADA Oral Cancer Policy Amendment Will Affect Your Practice

Source: Dentistry Today Date: November 29th, 2019 Author: Jo-Anne Jones The ADA recently announced an expansion to its policy on oral cancer detection recommending that dentists and dental hygienists perform routine examinations for oral cancer includingoropharyngeal cancer for all patients. Passed by the ADA House of Delegates in September, this change was brought about to align with concerns from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) over the escalating numbers of diagnosed cases of oropharyngeal cancer linked to the human papillomavirus (HPV). While HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer has risen by 225% over the past two decades, oral cancer linked to the historical etiologic pathways of tobacco and alcohol use has declined by 50%. The ADA’s policy also aligns with support for the HPV vaccine, as 70% of oropharyngeal cancers in the United States are related to HPV, according to the CDC. Dentists and dental hygienists play a critical role in opportunistic screening on all adult patients despite whether they possess the historical risk factors of using tobacco products or alcohol. There is a distinct knowledge gap in today’s population to fully understand that a non-smoker and non-drinker may in fact be at risk for oral and oropharyngeal cancer due to HPV. It is our responsibility to educate our dental patients about all of the risk factors that exist for both oral and oropharyngeal cancer. Now more than ever, it is critically important to extend our screening practices, both visual and tactile, to every adult in the practice on an annual basis. [...]

2019-12-03T17:49:17-07:00December, 2019|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

Late stage head and neck cancer in the U.S. sees increasing incidence

Source: www.cancernetwork.com Author: Hannah Slater A study released in Cancer indicates that there is an increasing incidence of late stage head and neck cancer (HNC) in the U.S., mostly due to an increasing incidence of oropharyngeal cancer, most likely due to HPV-related disease in patients diagnosed at stage IVC.1 Blacks, males, those who are underinsured or uninsured, and those who are unmarried tend to fare worse than others. The presented research highlights the need for continuous public health efforts toward the early detection of HNC. In this cohort of 57,118 patients with stage IV HNC, the age-adjusted rates for stage IV HNC significantly increased by 26.1% (6.11 per 100,000 person-years in 2004 to 7.70 per 100,000 person-years in 2015). Despite a decreasing overall incidence of stage IV HNC in black patients (adjusted OR, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.22-1.34), they along with males (adjusted OR, 3.95; 95% CI, 3.80-4.11) had significantly increased risks of being diagnosed with late-stage HNC. “In the absence of a mortality benefit for asymptomatic mass screenings, as per the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force oral cancer screening guideline, it is critical that there is sustained public awareness and education regarding the early detection of HNC, and prevention through cancer risk mitigation practices,” the researchers wrote. Although black males had the highest risk of being diagnosed, the most significant change in annual incidence patterns was driven by white males (annual percent changes, 3.13; P 50 years, with males [...]

2019-11-27T06:35:45-07:00November, 2019|Oral Cancer News|

How to encourage vaccination against HPV cancers? Drexel study suggests taking a cue from anti-vaxxers

Source: www.inquirer.com Author: Marie McCullough To persuade more people to get the cancer-preventing HPV vaccination, public health groups should emulate a tactic of the anti-vaccine movement, concludes a Drexel University study of Instagram posts. The researchers aren’t suggesting that vaccine proponents spread misinformation on social media, as vaccine foes do. But the study found that emotional, personal accounts with photos of youngsters — a staple of anti-vaccine content — get way more “likes” than the dispassionate, factual messages typical of pro-vaccine posts. “By studying what makes these messages so effective, we can improve fact-based, pro-vaccination messaging,” said senior author Philip M. Massey, a community health researcher at Drexel. The study, which analyzed 360 Instagram posts from April to August of last year, was conducted before Facebook — the owner of Instagram — announced this spring that it would curb anti-vaccine messages. But such content still abounds, because Facebook’s crackdown is limited to recommendations and ads. Before the crackdown, a majority of Facebook ads spreading vaccine misinformation were funded by just two groups, one led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s World Mercury Project, according to a study published this month in the journal Vaccine. Another study, in JAMA Pediatrics in September, found that 13 years after Merck’s Gardasil vaccine was hailed as a revolution in cancer prevention, most Americans still don’t know that HPV (human papillomavirus) is a family of sexually transmitted germs that can cause oral and genital cancers, and most doctors still aren’t promoting the shots. The immunization is [...]

2019-11-27T06:30:20-07:00November, 2019|Oral Cancer News|

Despite only a 50% HPV vaccination rate in adolescents, cervical precancer incidence rates drop

Source: www.targetedonc.com Author: Tony Berberabe, MPH Although a vaccine for the human papillomavirus (HPV) is widely available, an average of 34,800 HPV-associated cancers attributable to the virus, including cervical, vaginal, vulva, penile, anal, and oropharynx were reported in the United States from 2012 through 2016, according to data published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.1 The estimated number of cancers attributable to HPV types targeted by the 9-valent HPV vaccine (9vHPV) is also rising. These recent increases are due in part to an aging and growing population and increases in oropharyngeal, anal, and vulvar cancers, lead author Virginia Senkomago, PhD, MPH, an epidemiologist and senior service fellow at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, said in an email. Although HPV vaccination is an important component of cancer prevention, only about 50% of adolescents have received the vaccine. Of cancer cases attributable to the HPV types targeted by the vaccine, 19,000 (59%) occurred in female patients and 13,100 (41%) occurred in male patients. But there is some good news. Senkomago said HPV infections and cervical precancers have dropped significantly since the vaccine was introduced. Infections with HPV types have dropped 86% among teenage girls. Among vaccinated women aged 20 to 24 years, the percentage of cervical precancers caused by the HPV types most often linked to cervical cancer dropped by 40%. The vaccination is recommended through age 26 for all individuals, especially for those who were not vaccinated when they were younger. The vaccine is not recommended [...]

2019-11-06T09:58:21-07:00November, 2019|Oral Cancer News|

Oral sex blamed for rise of mouth cancer in UK

Source: www.medicaldaily.com Author: Darwin Malicdem The number of people diagnosed with mouth cancer has significantly increased by 135 percent over the past 20 years in the United Kingdom. Experts believe the increase comes amid the growing number of Brits engaging in oral sex. Nonprofit Oral Health Foundation (OHF) issued a report showing oral cancer rates “have more than doubled in a generation” across the U.K. In 2018 alone, seven people died every day from the disease in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. “While most cancers are on the decrease, cases of mouth cancer continue to rise at an alarming rate,” Nigel Carter, chief executive of the OHF, told the Daily Mail. “It changes how somebody speaks, it makes eating and drinking more difficult, and often changes a person’s physical appearance.” The foundation said the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV) caused 73 percent of the oropharyngeal mouth cancers. But drinking alcohol also contributed to the higher rates of the disease in the U.K. OHF said 33 percent of mouth cancer diagnoses over the past decades were linked to consumption of alcoholic beverages. Smoking was associated with 17 percent of the cases. The foundation launched Mouth Cancer Action Month in early November that aims to spread awareness of mouth cancer and its signs and symptoms. “We want everyone to be more mouth aware during this year’s campaign,” Carter said in a press release. “This means being able to identify the signs and symptoms of mouth cancer, understand what is more likely to [...]

2019-11-05T09:21:13-07:00November, 2019|Oral Cancer News|

Health department official on HPV vaccine: “What are we waiting for?”

Source: www.mynews13.com Author: Rebecca Turco Despite studies from the CDC showing the effectiveness of the HPV vaccine at preventing certain types of cancer, some parents are still hesitant to get their children vaccinated. 92% of almost 35,000 cancers could be prevented by vaccine Doctor: Some parents may think vaccine promotes sexual behavior County Health Departments offer HPV vaccine for free Dr. Raul Pino, the interim administrator of the Orange County Health Department, wants to change that. Among the estimated 34,800 cancers probably caused by the human papilloma virus between 2012 and 2016, an estimated 92% could be prevented by the vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "We have a vaccine that prevents some type of cancers, and now we're questioning if we should take the vaccine," he said. "It will not only prevent penile cancer or vaginal cancer or cervical cancer, but also oral, esophagus and tonsils. "So what are we waiting for?" Pino thinks some parents might be hesitant because of the widely spread, but disproven, belief that vaccines are linked to autism. Then, there are other parents who think giving their child the vaccine is promoting sexual behavior. HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection. "The reality is, I think what the parents have to present to themselves in this debate, is what is the paramount objective here?" Pino said. "Is the paramount objective to offer protection to the individual, or is the paramount objective to prevent the behavior?" Officials recommended that children [...]

Does HPV vaccine reduce HIV-positive men oral cancer risks?

Source: www.precisionvaccinations.com Author: Don Ward Hackett, Fact checked by Robert Carlson, MD & Danielle Reiter, RN Does the HPV vaccine protect against oral infections? That's the question a new National Cancer Institutes (NCI) funded clinical trial of the Gardasil 9 vaccine hopes to answer. This extensive study will determine whether the Gardasil 9 vaccine can prevent persistent oral HPV infections among men who are Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) positive, said the NCI online on October 8, 2019. Oral HPV infections and HPV-related oral cancers are common in men and among HIV-positive individuals. Gardasil 9 is the most recent formulation of the Human Papolivirus (HPV) vaccine, which covers 5 additional cancer-causing HPV types. There are over 100 types of HPV. “We are hoping that if we show the efficacy of the vaccine, that vaccinating both males and females will ultimately reverse” the rising incidence of HPV-related oropharyngeal cancers, said one of the trial’s lead investigators, Anna Giuliano, Ph.D., of Moffitt Cancer Center. The trial is one of several within the US–Latin American–Caribbean Clinical Trials Network (ULACNet), an NCI-led effort to reduce the burden of HPV-related cancers in HIV-positive individuals. This new study intends to build relevant insights upon a June 2017 study found that vaccination against HPV may sharply reduce oral HPV infections that are a major risk factor for oropharyngeal cancer, a type of head and neck cancer, says the NCI. The 2017 study found that the prevalence of oral infection with 4 HPV types, including two high-risk, or cancer-causing, [...]

Prevalence of Oral HPV Infection Declines in Unvaccinated Individuals

Source: Infectious Disease Advisor Date: September 30th, 2019 Author: Zahra Masoud Oral human papillomavirus (HPV) prevalence has decreased in unvaccinated men, possibly as a result of herd protection, but the incidence of such infection has remained unchanged in unvaccinated women from 2009 to 2016 in the United States, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Since 2011 for women and 2006 for men, prophylactic HPV vaccination for prevention of anogenital HPV infection has been recommended for routine use in the United States. Previous studies have demonstrated that this vaccine has high efficacy in reducing the prevalence of oral HPV infection. However, the vaccine is not indicated to prevent oral HPV infection or oropharyngeal cancers because there are few results from randomized trials. Further, there has been a lack of surveillance studies reporting on herd protection against oral HPV infection, which is defined as a form of indirect protection from infectious diseases that occurs when a large percentage of the population has become immune/vaccinated, thereby providing protection for individuals who are not immune/not vaccinated. Therefore, this study investigated evidence for herd protection against oral HPV infection in unvaccinated men and women in the United States using temporal comparisons of oral HPV prevalence for 4 vaccine types and 33 non-vaccine types. This study was conducted across 4 cycles (from 2009 to 2016) of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), using a cross-sectional, stratified, multistage probability sample of the civilian population in the United States. For the examination [...]

2019-10-01T16:15:25-07:00October, 2019|OCF In The News|
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