human papilloma virus

Risk factors and survival by HPV-16 E6 and E7 antibody status in human papillomavirus positive head and neck cancer

Source: Int J Cancer, October 28, 2009 Author: Elaine M Smith et al. High-risk human papillomavirus types (HPV-HR) are associated with head and neck cancer (HNC) risk and better survival. Most patients with HPV-HR DNA-positive tumors develop anti-HPV E6/E7 antibodies; however, it is unclear whether those who mount an immune response have similar risk factors or clinical outcomes as those who do not. HPV-16 DNA tumor-positive HNC cases were evaluated for HPV-16 E6 and E7 antibodies using a GST capture ELISA system. Among 57 HPV-16 DNA tumor-positive HNC cases, 67% were detected with HPV-16 E6 and/or E7 antibodies. Male gender (76% versus 42%, p=0.02), younger age (63% versus 16%, p=0.001) but not tobacco or alcohol were associated with E6 and/or E7 seropositivity. Seropositivity was associated more often with late stage (76%), poor grade (65%), positive nodes (82%). and in the oropharynx (82%), Median disease-specific and recurrence-free survival were longer in E6 and/or E7 seropositive compared to E6/E7-negative cases (2.2 years vs. 1.4 years, both outcomes), although results were not statistically significant. When examined jointly with p16 expression, E6 and/or E7-positive/p16-positive cases had better disease-specific (2.1 years vs. 1.1 years, p=0.06) and recurrence-free (2.3 years vs. 1.1 years, p=0.03) survival compared to E6-/E7-/p16- cases. These findings suggest there are two distinct HNC patient groups with HPV DNA-positive tumors, distinguishable by E6 and/or E7 antibody status. Differences in antibody status are associated with distinct risk factors and clinical outcomes. This information can be available as a simple blood test at initial presentation, [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-11-05T07:38:00-07:00November, 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|

PMH finding may help some tonsil cancer patients avoid chemotherapy

Source: www.sciencecodex.com Author: staff Clinical researchers at Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) have confirmed that patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell cancer ("tonsil cancer") harbour a common type of human papilloma virus (HPV16), but also that such cancers are very sensitive to radiation. For some patients, this may mean successful treatment with radiation alone and avoiding the side effects of chemotherapy. "This represents the power of personalized medicine. By using a relatively simple molecular test to evaluate the tumour, we can customize the treatment plan, produce an excellent outcome, and maintain the patient's quality of life," says principal investigator Dr. Fei-Fei Liu, PMH radiation oncologist, Head of the Division of Applied Molecular Oncology, Ontario Cancer Institute, and Dr. Mariano Elia Chair in Head & Neck Cancer Research, University Health Network. Dr. Liu's team discovered that patients whose tumours tested positive for HPV16 had a much better survival, compared to patients whose tumours did not harbour HPV16. This HPV effect was independent of treatment (radiation alone, or radiation plus chemotherapy), suggesting that some HPV16 patients could be treated with radiation only. As a result, PMH now routinely tests tonsil-area tumours for HPV16 -- one of the first cancer programs to do so. The study's finding is important because this particular type of cancer is increasing – up more than 10% in the past 20 years. The jump is likely attributed to the spread of HPV16 through sexual activity, compared with a 20% decline in other similar head-and-neck cancers over the same period because [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-11-04T12:27:48-07:00November, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Nobel scientist urges wider vaccination against HPV infection

Source: www.european-hospital.com Author: staff A global vaccination programme against human papilloma virus (HPV), to include boys as well as girls, could lead to eradication of the virus and virtual disappearance of cervical cancer, predicted Nobel Prize winner, Professor Harald zur Hausen, after delivering the key-note lecture at the 16th International Meeting of the European Society of Gynaecological Oncology (ESGO) in Belgrade, Serbia, this week. Professor zur Hausen, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2008 for his discovery of HPV as the cause of cervical cancer, explained that although HPV prevention will impact mainly on women’s health, it also has important implications for men’s health: “If we wish to achieve eradication within a reasonable period of time, we will need to vaccinate both sexes, and research has shown that boys respond to vaccination in the same way as girls. The main risk of developing cancer after HPV infection is with women and, because of the cost of vaccines, it has been decided to start with girls. But other cancers associated with HPV infection, such as anal and oral cancer, are more common in men, and genital warts occur in both sexes. So there is good reason to vaccinate boys before the onset of sexual activity as well,” said Professor zur Hausen. He suggested that future reductions in production costs and development of cheaper vaccines will make wider vaccination a realistic option, and added that a major reduction in HPV 16 and 18 – the viruses which [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-10-15T13:31:36-07:00October, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

At our throats

Source: www.forbes.com Author: Matthew Herper Oncologist Maura Gillison was looking for patients with tonsil cancer for a clinical study several years ago. The first enlisted was a malpractice lawyer, followed by a doctor, then a scientist. She joked to a colleague that all she needed was a rear admiral. In walked a member of the military brass. All were in their 30s, 40s and 50s. People in their prime didn't used to get throat tumors. Head-and-neck cancer, as doctors call it, was a disease of older problem drinkers who also chain-smoked (more men than women). Years of exposure to scotch and Lucky Strikes would damage the DNA of cells lining the throat, leading to cancer. But Gillison, 44, a professor at Ohio State University, was among the first researchers to make a startling realization: The old cigarettes-and-alcohol form of the disease was being eclipsed by a new form, caused by the same human papilloma virus (HPV) that causes cervical cancer. The tumors grow in the tonsils or in the tissue that remains after tonsillectomy. The only good news is that the prognosis for these patients is better than for the old disease. Gillison and researchers at the National Cancer Institute estimate that 4,000 people, 75% of them men, develop this new form of throat cancer annually. That's only a tenth of head-and-neck cases, but it's half as many people as get cervical cancer in the U.S. More worrisome, Gillison's work shows HPV tonsil cancer is increasing at a rate of [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-10-15T13:20:48-07:00October, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

FDA Advisory Committee recommends approval for use of GARDASIL® in boys and men

Source: www.merck.com Author: press release Merck & Co., Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee agreed that efficacy, immunogenicity and safety data from clinical trials in males support the use of GARDASIL¨ [Human Papillomavirus Quadrivalent (Types 6, 11, 16 and 18) Vaccine, Recombinant] in boys and men 9 through 26 years of age for the prevention of genital warts caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) types 6 and 11. "Merck has been committed to pursuing the use of GARDASIL in both males and females since the vaccine was discovered over a decade ago," said Peter S. Kim, Ph.D., executive vice president, and president of Merck Research Laboratories. "We are pleased that the Advisory Committee agrees that the data support the use of GARDASIL in boys and men.” The committee’s recommendation will be considered by the FDA in its review of the supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) that Merck submitted for GARDASIL in December 2008. The FDA is not bound by the committee’s guidance, but takes its advice into consideration when reviewing vaccines. Merck expects a decision from the FDA in the fourth quarter of 2009 after the agency has completed its review of Merck's application. “Today's discussion with the Advisory Committee brings the public health community closer to being able to provide GARDASIL to both men and women," said Anna R. Giuliano, Ph.D., Moffitt Cancer Center. GARDASIL has been approved for use in the U.S. since June 2006 and is [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-09-09T21:02:25-07:00September, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

HPV virus linked to some forms of breast cancer, vaccine may help

Source: www.digitaljournal.com Author: staff Scientists working out of the University of South Wales have found that a vaccine for the HPV virus could prevent some forms of breast cancer. The study proves another important link between viral infections and more complex disease. Researchers around the world are finding remarkable connections between common viral infections and the later onset of complex and life-threatening diseases. Recent stories have found viral links to prostate cancer, to Parkinson's disease, to skin cancer, to mouth cancer, and to autism and schizophrenia. Some forms of breast cancer can now be added to this list. Australian scientists working out of the University of South Wales announced an important link between the very common HPV virus and a variety of breast cancers. Their findings suggest that an HPV vaccine could prevent these cancers from presenting themselves years later. The research suggests that tens of thousands of lives could be saved every year by administering the HPV vaccine to young females. The HPV virus is the most commonly distributed sexually transmitted disease, and it is well known to have a direct causal relationship with 90 to 95 percent of all cervical cancers. It has also been linked to mouth cancers. The study linking the HPV virus to these breast cancers was published in the British Journal of Cancer and was conducted using genetic probes of cancerous breast cells. The scientists were able to confirm the presence of HPV nuclei across a variety of tissues sampled. "The finding that high [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-09-05T18:42:10-07:00September, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil still faces questions

Source: www.philly.com Author: Marie McCullough Three years after the world's first cervical-cancer vaccine was hailed as a public-health breakthrough, Gardasil is facing renewed questions about its safety and value. In today's Journal of the American Medical Association, federal researchers analyze 12,424 voluntary reports of post-vaccination "adverse events" ranging from headaches to deaths. They conclude that only two complaints - fainting and dangerous blood clots -- are more common than expected and may be related to the immunization. But an accompanying editorial points out that many questions about Gardasil remain - key among them, whether it really will reduce the toll of cervical cancer. Another opinion piece in JAMA looks at Merck & Co.'s marketing strategy, contending the company coopted professional medical societies to promote and recommend the vaccine. Merck - already on the defensive over Gardasil's second-quarter sales, which slumped sharply in the United States and worldwide - said in a statement that "we welcome continued study and discussion" of the product's safety. "The bottom line is that Gardasil has a very positive benefit-risk profile," Richard M. Haupt, head of Merck's clinical program for the vaccine, said in an interview. Gardasil, a series of three shots, protects against two strains of the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV) that cause 70 percent of cervical-cancer cases. Gardasil also wards off two other HPV strains that cause 90 percent of genital warts in men and women. Next month, advisers to the Food and Drug Administration will consider whether to recommend expanding Gardasil's current [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-08-19T06:37:56-07:00August, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Give Gardasil to boys too, experts say

Source: www.abc.net.au Author: Dina Rosendorff Recent evidence shows the human papilloma virus (HPV), which causes cervical cancer in women, is poised to become one of the leading causes of oral cancer in men because of changing sexual behaviours. The findings have reignited the debate over whether boys should be given the cervical cancer vaccine, Gardasil. A visiting British virologist, Professor Margaret Stanley, says governments around the world need to examine the long-term economic and health benefits of immunising boys and young men. The head of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at Melbourne's Royal Women's Hospital, Professor Suzanne Garland, says Australia is leading the way in the rollout of the cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil, which immunises against HPV. "We are in our third year of rolling out the vaccine and we are in the order in the school-based group, in the high 70s, whereas in many other countries, they have only got 30 per cent who have been vaccinated," she said. But now the vaccination debate has switched genders. There are growing calls from the medical community for boys and young men to also be vaccinated against HPV. Advocates include one of Britain's top cervical cancer specialists, Professor Margaret Stanley from Cambridge University, who says a cervical cancer jab in the arms of boys would not just be for the sake of girls. "These HPVs don't just cause cancer in women. They cause it in men as well. Cancer in the mouth, cancer in the anus and those cancers are very hard [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-07-25T15:19:10-07:00July, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Glaxo’s cervical cancer vaccine faces US battle

Source: Forbes.com Author: Linda A. Johnson New studies show GlaxoSmithKline PLC's vaccine Cervarix blocks the virus that causes cervical cancer, but if it wins approval for U.S. sales, it will face an uphill battle against Gardasil, which has owned the market here for three years. Cervarix, Glaxo's vaccine against human papilloma virus or HPV, already is approved in more than 90 other countries, but has been held up by delays in the United States. Several years ago, the British drugmaker was in a neck-and-neck race with rival Merck & Co., Gardasil's maker, to be first on the U.S. market, but it lost when Gardasil got approved in June 2006. Late in 2007, the Food and Drug Administration declined to approve approve Cervarix. GlaxoSmithKline submitted a new application on March 30 that included final data from an 18,000-woman study recently completed. Final results from that study and two others are being presented this weekend at a conference in Sweden on papillomavirus. FDA is expected to decide whether to approve Cervarix within several months. If it does, analyst Erik Gordon, a professor at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, said doctors who have prescribed Gardasil for a few years may see no reason to switch - unless GlaxoSmithKline convinces them its product is much more effective or has fewer side effects. Both vaccines target the two types of HPV that cause about 70 percent of cervical cancers, types 16 and 18, and data indicate both are about 98 percent effective. But Merck also [...]

Charlotte Parker2009-05-08T18:53:28-07:00May, 2009|Oral Cancer News|