human papilloma virus – Page 3

Mouth, throat cancers caused by HPV on the rise, especially among Canadian men

Source: www.ctvnews.ca Author: Sonja Puzic, CTVNews.ca Staff Mouth and throat cancers caused by the human papilloma virus have been rising steadily over the past two decades, with a “dramatic” increase among Canadian men, according to a new report from the Canadian Cancer Society. The special report on HPV-associated cancers, released Wednesday as part of the 2016 Canadian Cancer Statistics breakdown, says the rate of mouth and throat cancers in men is poised to surpass the rate of cervical cancer diagnoses in women. Researchers and doctors have known for decades that certain strains of HPV – the most commonly sexually transmitted disease in Canada and the world -- cause cervical cancer. But the latest Canadian cancer statistics show that only 35 per cent of HPV cancers are cervical, and that about 33 per cent of HPV cancers occur in males. The latest data show that about one-third of all HPV cancers in Canada are found in the mouth and throat. Between 1992 and 2012, the incidence of HPV-related mouth and throat cancers increased 56 per cent in males and 17 per cent in females. In 1992, the age-standardized incidence rate (or ASIR) of those cancers was 4.1 per 100,000 Canadian males. In 2012, it was 6.4 per 100,000 males. In females, the rate was 1.2 in 1992 and 1.4 in 2012. ‘I thought I was done’ Three years ago, Dan Antoniuk noticed a lump on his neck and initially thought that it was just a swollen gland. But when the Edmonton [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2016-10-19T09:25:21-07:00October, 2016|Oral Cancer News|

Recognizing oral carcinoma

Source: nurse-practitioners-and-physician-assistants.advanceweb.com Author: Amber Crossley, MSN, ARNP, FNP-BC Oral carcinoma is identified as one of the top ten cancers worldwide, accounting for nearly 2% to 5% of all cancer cases.1, 2 In 2014, there were an estimated 42,440 new cases of oral and pharyngeal carcinoma. Males have a greater risk of developing the disease compared to females.2 Black males in particular are amongst the highest at-risk group for developing oral carcinoma.2 Oral carcinoma typically develops after the age of 50, with the majority of cases occurring between the ages of 60 and 70.2 When initially diagnosed with oral carcinoma, more than 50% of people will have metastases.3 The most common causes of oral carcinoma are related to tobacco use and alcohol consumption.4 In fact, 75% of all cases of oral carcinoma may be caused by the combination of tobacco and alcohol use.4 However, it has also been extrapolated that chronic trauma to the oral mucosa, such as in the case of ill-fitting dentures or the consumption of high-temperature foods, is a leading modifiable risk factor for oral carcinoma.1,5 Dietary deficiencies of vitamins A, C, E, selenium, and folates may also contribute to the development of malignant cancerous lesions in the oral cavity.6 While cases of oral carcinoma have decreased over the last few years in the United States, oropharyngeal cancer is increasing in incidence.4 The rise in cases of oropharyngeal cancer may be related to viral and infectious diseases; however, the mechanisms are largely unclear. Some of these infections and [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2016-10-10T09:18:47-07:00October, 2016|Oral Cancer News|

Men with throat cancer will soon outnumber women with cervical cancer In The US

Source: www.houstonpublicmedia.org Author: Carrie Feibel The national increase in cases of oropharyngeal cancer related to the human papilloma virus is troubling, because there is no screening test to catch it early, like the Pap test for cervical cancer. The oropharynx is the area of the throat behind the mouth, and includes the tonsils and the base of the tongue. Oropharyngeal cancer is increasing in both men and women, but for reasons that aren’t well understood, male patients are outnumbering female patients by five to one, according to Dr. Erich Sturgis, a head and neck surgeon at MD Anderson Cancer Center. “It’s usually a man, and he notices it when he’s shaving. He notices a lump there,” Sturgis said. “That lump is actually the spread of the cancer from the tonsil or the base of the tongue to a lymph node. That means it’s already stage three at least.” In the U.S., the number of oropharyngeal cancers caused by HPV are predicted to exceed the number of cervical cancers by 2020, Stugis said. “With cervical cancer, we’ve seen declining numbers well before we had vaccination, and that’s due to the Pap smear being introduced back in the late 50s,” he said. “But we don’t have a screening mechanism for pharynx cancer.” Research on an effective screening test for early-stage pharynx cancer is still underway. The reasons for the disproportionate effect on men are unknown. One theory is that people are engaging in more oral sex, but that doesn’t explain why men [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2016-09-28T07:20:10-07:00September, 2016|Oral Cancer News|

Cancer-Preventing Vaccines Given To Less Than Half Of US Kids

Source: www.houstonpublicmedia.org Author: Carrie Feibel U.S. regulators approved a vaccine to protect against the human papilloma virus (HPV) in 2006, but cancer experts say misconceptions and stigma continue to hamper acceptance by both doctors and parents. Eighty percent of Americans are exposed to the human papilloma virus in their lifetimes. Some strains of HPV can cause genital warts, but most people experience no symptoms and clear the virus from their systems within a year or two. But for an unlucky minority, the virus causes damage that, years later, leads to cervical cancer, throat cancer, and other types. Researchers at MD Anderson are frustrated that ten years after the first vaccine arrived on the market, only 42 percent of U.S. girls, and 28 percent of boys, are getting the three-shot series. The series can be given to girls and boys between the ages of 9 and 26, but the immune response is strongest at younger ages, before sexual activity begins. n 2007, then-Texas governor Rick Perry proposed making the HPV vaccine mandatory for all preteen girls. At the time, the vaccine was only approved and marketed for girls. Dr. Lois Ramondetta, a cervical cancer specialist at MD Anderson, remembers the outcry. “A lot of people felt that was the right idea, but the wrong way to go about it. Nobody really likes being told what to do, especially in Texas,” Ramondetta said. “I think there was a lot of backlash.” Eventually, the legislature rejected Perry’s plan, even though it included an opt-out [...]

Charlotte Parker2016-09-27T11:19:43-07:00September, 2016|Oral Cancer News|

Incisionless robotic surgery offers promising outcomes for oropharyngeal cancer patients

Source: medicalxpress.com Author: press release, Henry Ford Health System A new study from researchers at Henry Ford Hospital finds an incisionless robotic surgery – done alone or in conjunction with chemotherapy or radiation – may offer oropharyngeal cancer patients good outcomes and survival, without significant pain and disfigurement. Patients with cancers of the base of tongue, tonsils, soft palate and pharynx who underwent TransOral Robotic Surgery, or TORS, as the first line of treatment experienced an average three-year survival from time of diagnosis. Most notably, the study's preliminary results reveal oropharyngeal cancer patients who are p16 negative – a marker for the human papilloma virus, or HPV, that affects how well cancer will respond to treatment – have good outcomes with TORS in combination with radiation and/or chemotherapy. "For non-surgical patients, several studies have shown that p16 positive throat cancers, or HPV- related throat cancers, have better survival and less recurrence than p16 negative throat cancers," says study lead author Tamer Ghanem, M.D., Ph.D., director of Head and Neck Oncology and Reconstructive Surgery Division in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery at Henry Ford Hospital. "Within our study, patients treated with robotic surgery had excellent results and survival, irrespective of their p16 status." Study results will be presented Sunday, Sept. 18 at the 2016 American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) annual meeting in San Diego. Led by Dr. Ghanem, Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit was among the first in the country to perform TORS using the da [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2016-09-18T06:20:43-07:00September, 2016|Oral Cancer News|

Rate of HPV-associated cancers on the rise in U.S., according to new CDC report

Source: www.curetoday.com Author: Andrew J. Roth Though the first preventive human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration 10 years ago, the incidence of HPV-associated cancers is on the rise. From 2008 to 2012, the number of HPV-associated cancers diagnosed per year increased by approximately 16 percent compared with the previous five-year period, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Nearly all sexually active individuals in the U.S. will get at least one type of HPV in their lifetime, making it the most common sexually-transmitted infection in the country. And though about 90 percent of HPV infections will clear a person’s system within two years, some infections persist and can cause cervical cancers and some types of vulvar, oropharyngeal, penile, rectal and cancers. There are over 40 HPV types, and vaccines are available for HPV types 16 and 18 (which account for 63 percent of HPV-associated cancers), as well as for types 31, 33, 45, 52 and 58 (which account for an additional 10 percent). Type 16 is the most likely to persist and develop into cancer. In this new report, the CDC analyzed data from its own National Program of Cancer Registries as well as the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database. In total, 38,793 HPV-associated cancers (11.7 per 100,000 persons), on average, were diagnosed annually from 2008 to 2012 compared with 33,369 diagnoses (10.8 per 100,000 persons) from 2004 to 2008. [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2016-07-16T15:47:18-07:00July, 2016|Oral Cancer News|

HPV vaccination could be offered to schoolboys to decrease risk of cancer

Source: www.mirror.co.uk Author: Andrew Gregory A vaccination could soon be offered to every schoolboy to help tackle the rising rate of some cancers in men, a Government minister revealed on Thursday. Health chiefs are poised to drop their opposition to extending the jab to protect against the human papilloma virus (HPV), which is already given to all Year 8 girls. The likely move follows growing alarm over cancers of the mouth, throat, neck and head, as well as penile and anal cancer, amid growing evidence that they are caused by HPV. The NHS (National Health Service) spends more than £300m a year treating head and neck cancers, while giving the vaccine to all boys would cost just £22m, supporters say. Health Minister Jane Ellison has revealed that the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization (JCVI) is investigating the change, with its verdict due early next year. Mrs Ellison - who has previously described giving the HPV jab to girls only as "a little odd" - said: "I understand the wish for it to be available to all adolescents regardless of gender. "The JCVI is reconsidering its initial advice on this and modeling is under way to inform its consideration. We will look at that as a priority when we get it. "I recognize the frustration that people have expressed and I have talked personally to Public Health England officials who are involved in the modelling work." The minister said money was already available to extend the vaccination program if [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2016-06-26T08:27:30-07:00June, 2016|Oral Cancer News|

Frontline Cancer: vaccines for HPV near guarantee

Source: www.lajollalight.com Author: Dr. Scott Lippman Dear Scott: “Our son, who is 25, went to the GP yesterday and his doc wasn’t sure about giving the Gardasil I had been bugging him to get. Didn’t you tell me about the benefits of the HPV vaccination?” The note was from a friend. It was personal, but also a topic of wide public interest and one that remains much discussed among cancer researchers and physicians. That’s why I’m answering my friend here. Roughly 12 percent of all human cancers worldwide — more than 1 million cases per year — are caused by viral infections (called oncoviruses) and attributed to a relatively small number of pathogens: human papilloma virus (HPV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Given the emphasis upon other causal factors of cancer, such as genetic mutations or environmental sources, it’s a statistic that’s not well known nor, I would argue, fully appreciated. Human viral oncogenesis is complex, and only a small percentage of the infected individuals develop cancer, but that 12 percent translates into more than 500,000 lives lost each year to virus-caused malignancies. Many of those deaths are preventable because effective vaccines already exist for HPV and HBV. Right now. No future discoveries required. I want to specifically talk about the HPV vaccine. Controversy has constrained its proven effectiveness as a public health tool, but if used as prescribed, the HPV vaccine could essentially eliminate cervical and other HPV-caused cancers. Infection with HPV [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2016-05-26T08:54:23-07:00May, 2016|Oral Cancer News|

Suicide: A Major Threat to Head and Neck Cancer Survivorship

Source: www.jco.ascopubs.comAuthors: Nosayaba Osazuwa-Peters, Eric Adjei Boakye, and Ronald J. Walker , Mark A. Varvares TO THE EDITOR: The article by Ringash that was recently published in Journal of Clinical Oncology provided a compelling narrative of both the improvements made in head and neck cancer survivorship, as well as the challenges created by longer-term treatment and associated toxicities. There are currently at least 280,000 head and neck cancer survivors in the United States. As the article by Ringash stated, the upturn in head and neck cancer survivorship in the last three decades has coincided with the emergence of human papilloma virus-positive oropharyngeal cancer, as well as a decrease in tobacco use in the general population. These make it a challenge to isolate survival gains as a function of improved therapy from the natural prognostic value of a diagnosis of human papilloma virus-positive oropharyngeal cancer. Whatever the case, the fact that more than one-quarter million Americans are currently alive after a diagnosis of head and neck cancer means there needs to be a more deliberate effort in longer-term management of treatment-related toxicities, some of which are lifelong. We agree with Ringash’s conclusion that new models of care need to be developed in response to the significant quality-of-life issues faced by patients with head and neck cancer. The Institute of Medicine publication From Cancer Patient to Cancer Survivor: Lost in Transition, also cited by Ringash, called for a clear individualized survivorship plan for cancer patients. There is a serious need for this model to [...]

Charlotte Parker2016-03-24T15:06:02-07:00March, 2016|Oral Cancer News|

Cancer gene may aid researchers find how immune system can help treat cancer or predict outcomes

Source: immuno-oncologynews.com Author: Daniela Semedo, PhD University of Cincinnati scientists have recently discovered that DEK, a human gene known to cause cancer, can be detected in the plasma of patients with head and neck cancer. DEK may help clinicians understand how a person’s immune system can be used to treat cancer or predict outcomes for patients. The information, titled “The DEK oncogene can be detected in the plasma of head and neck cancer patients and may predict immune response and prognosis,” was presented via poster at the Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium Feb. 18-20 in Scottsdale, Arizona. “Head and neck cancer remains the sixth most common cancer worldwide,” said Trisha Wise-Draper, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor in the Division of Hematology Oncology at the UC College of Medicine, in a news release. Wise-Draper is a member of both the Cincinnati Cancer Center and UC Cancer Institute and she was the principal investigator on this study. “Although infection with the human papilloma virus, or HPV, has emerged as a factor for determining outcomes for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma [head and neck cancer], leading to less intense treatment strategies for patients, no plasma biomarkers exist to predict tumor response to treatment or possible relapse,” she said. “One potential plasma biomarker is programmed by the human DEK gene, which has been found to promote cancer. DEK RNA and protein are highly increased in tissue specimens from several tumor types, including head and neck cancer, breast cancer, and melanoma, and antibodies to [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2016-03-02T14:30:30-07:00March, 2016|Oral Cancer News|