human papilloma virus

In one study, lower dose treatment for HPV oropharyngeal cancers is successful

Author: Anthony Cmelak, M.D.Source: medicalnewstoday.com A new study suggests that lowering the dose of radiation therapy for some head and neck cancer patients may improve outcomes and cause fewer long-term side effects. The research was presented by lead author Anthony Cmelak, M.D., professor of Radiation Oncology at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC), during the 50th annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), held recently in Chicago. The study focused on patients with newly-diagnosed oropharyngeal cancers related to the human papilloma virus (HPV). More than two-thirds of new head and neck cancer patients have HPV-positive tumors and the number of these patients is on the rise. Cmelak's prior cooperative group study found that patients with HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer have significantly longer survival rates than patients whose tumors are HPV negative. For the new study, 80 HPV-positive patients with stage III, or IVa,b squamous cell cancer of the oropharynx received inductionchemotherapy, including paclitaxel, cisplatin and cetuximab. After chemotherapy, 62 of the patients showed no sign of cancer and were assigned to receive a 25 percent lower dose of intensity-modulated radiation therapy - an advanced technology that targets the radiation beam more accurately to treat the tumor without harming surrounding tissue. The rest of the patients received a standard IMRT dose. The drug cetuximab was also given to both groups of patients along with the IMRT treatment. Two years after treatment, the survival for the low-dose IMRT patients was 93 percent. Those who did not have complete resolution of cancer following induction and went on to [...]

Charlotte Parker2014-06-25T16:35:42-07:00June, 2014|Oral Cancer News|

Prognosis of tumors positive for human papilloma virus in head and neck cancers varies according to the site

Source: www.sciencecodex.com Author: staff Patients with cancer of the throat and who are positive for the Human Papilloma virus (HPV+) have a good prognosis, but until now the effect of being HPV+ on the prognosis of tumours located elsewhere in the head and neck was unknown. Danish researchers have now shown that HPV status appears to have no prognostic effect on the outcome of primary radiotherapy in head and neck cancer outside the oropharynx (the part of the throat located behind the mouth, and which contains the soft palate and the base of the tongue), the ESTRO 33 congress will hear today (Sunday). Presenting her results to the congress, Dr Pernille Lassen, MD, PhD, from the Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark, will say that head and neck cancers located outside the oropharynx should probably not be treated with the less intensive treatment strategies that are currently being investigated in clinical trials for HPV+ oropharyngeal tumours. "HPV status has a very potent prognostic impact in radiotherapy for oropharyngeal cancer, and DNA from HPV has been found in all types of head and neck cancer, although it is far more common in oropharyngeal tumours. We decided to investigate the impact of HPV status in non-oropharyngeal cancers in the DAHANCA database, which includes all Danish head and neck cancer patients," Dr Lassen will say. The researchers searched the database to identify patients with locally advanced cancers who had been treated primarily with radiotherapy, and identified 1606 patients with larynx and pharynx carcinomas. Overall, [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2014-04-06T06:23:34-07:00April, 2014|Oral Cancer News|

Anti-seizure medications prevent cancer

Source: guardianlv.com Author: Lindsey Alexander A recent report came out from the journal Cancer indicating a new finding that anti-seizure medications might prevent some forms of cancer. Drugs like valporic acid (Depakote), are one form of prescription in this classification. Though also used as a mood-stabilizer, Depakote can prevent seizures from occurring, and has been investigated for cancer prevention. These particular anti-seizure medications have been found to inhibit genetic changes that lead to cancer of the head and neck. The study included nearly 440,000 veterans, including 27,000 who were taking valporic acid for various disorders including post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder, seizures, and migraines. The overall findings suggested that veterans who were on the prescription were 34 percent less likely to develop cancers of the head and neck, than those who were not taking the drug. The risk decreased in those subjects who took higher doses or for longer periods of time. Dr. Johann Brandes with Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center was the team leader of this study. He claims that this 34 percent statistic means 16,000 new cases, and between 3,000 and 4,000 cancer deaths can be prevented every year. Though there is a strong association, the study did not form a direct cause-and-effect relationship between cancer prevention and anti-seizure medications. The National Cancer Institute describes cancers of the neck and head as usually squamous cell cancers that line mucosal surfaces inside the head and neck. This can affect the mouth, the throat, and the nose. This is a [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2014-03-30T10:04:44-07:00March, 2014|Oral Cancer News|

Global trends suggest HPV positive oral cancer greatly increased in young males

Source: www.zawya.com Author: staff While the incidence of smoking-related oral squamous cell carcinoma has decreased in many parts of the world, cases of human papilloma virus (HPV) positive oropharyngeal cancer (OPSCC) have greatly increased. Otolaryngologists are finding that the majority of their patients are male and a lot younger in age than their counterparts. This "new" head and neck cancer patient differs in several ways from the "traditional" head and neck cancer patients who were older, had significant tobacco and alcohol exposure, and potential tumours throughout the upper aerodigestive tract. The significance of this global trend suggests that more attention needs to be paid to the phenomena here in the Middle East. Dr Marilene Wang, Professor, Chief of Otolaryngology, UCLA Department of Head and Neck Surgery, will be discussing the increasing incidence of young cancer patients who are non-smokers, but happen to be HPV positive and how these cases should be managed in the Middle East at the 11th Middle East Update in Otolaryngology Conference & Exhibition - Head and Neck Surgery (ME-OTO) from the 20-22 April 2014 at the Madinat Jumeirah Arena, Dubai, UAE. According to Dr Wang, "Currently, the most common head and neck cancer patients are younger, primarily male, and have no or relatively minimal exposures to tobacco and alcohol. Yet, they often have histories of notable increased sexual encounters. Although HPV positive OPSCC demonstrates an alarming increasing incidence, this is balanced by a significant response to treatment regardless of advanced stage. "Cases of OPSCC associated with [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2014-03-16T08:45:03-07:00March, 2014|Oral Cancer News|

Support HPV Vaccination to protect children in the US

Source: www.usatoday.com Author: Liz Sbazo The USA is failing to protect children from preventable cancers that afflict 22,000 Americans a year by not vaccinating enough of them against HPV, a new report says. Although a safe and effective HPV vaccine has been available for eight years, only one-third of girls have been fully immunized with all three recommended doses, according to a report from the President's Cancer Panel, which has advised the White House on cancer since 1971. HPV, or human papillomavirus, is a family of viruses that causes cancer throughout the body, including cancers that predominantly affect men, such as a type of throat cancer. Only 7% of boys are fully vaccinated, although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended the shots for them since 2011. Raising vaccination rates to at least 80% of teen girls could prevent 53,000 future cases of cervical cancer in girls alive today, according to the CDC. "Our children deserve this protection," says panel chairperson Barbara Rimer, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Administering the HPV shot poses practical difficulties not faced by other adolescent vaccines, because it currently requires three doses, at least two months apart, beginning when kids are 11 or 12, says pediatrician Mary Anne Jackson, director of infectious diseases at Children's Mercy Hospital & Clinics in Kansas City, Mo., who wasn't involved in the new report. Although emerging research suggest that two doses could be equally effective, experts have not yet changed their [...]

Charlotte Parker2014-02-11T15:59:23-07:00February, 2014|Oral Cancer News|

Michael Douglas: ‘Throat cancer’ was really tongue cancer

Source: cnn.com Author: Jen Christensen, CNN Michael Douglas never had throat cancer, as he told the press in 2010. The actor now says he had tongue cancer. Douglas said he hid the diagnosis at the urging of his doctor to protect his career. "The surgeon said, 'Let's just say it's throat cancer,' " Douglas told fellow actor Samuel L. Jackson for a segment that ran on British television as a part of Male Cancer Awareness Week. Douglas says that the doctor told him if they had to do surgery for tongue cancer, "it's not going to be pretty. You could lose part of your tongue and jaw." When Douglas first talked about his cancer diagnosis in the summer of 2010, he was on a worldwide publicity tour for the movie "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps." Douglas and Jackson joked that could have been the end of his acting career. Douglas said if he had surgery he could see the director saying, "What's your good side? I've got no side over here." "There really is no such thing as throat cancer per se," explained Brian Hill, an oral cancer survivor and the founder of the Oral Cancer Foundation. Douglas has taped a public service announcement to raise awareness about oral cancer for Hill's foundation. "Throat" cancer and tongue cancer are both colloquial terms that fall under the oral cancer umbrella. Throat cancer usually refers to cancerous tumors that develop in your pharynx, voice box or tonsils. Tongue cancer refers to cancerous [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2013-10-15T07:17:01-07:00October, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

Cancer survivor advocating for men’s HPV awareness

Source: The Tampa Tribune (tbo.com)By Mary Shedden | Tribune Staff Published: July 28, 2013 LUKE JOHNSON/STAFF David Hastings, the co-owner of Gulport's Habana Café, has testified in front of Florida legislators and officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, since becoming a volunteer patient advocate with the Oral Cancer Foundation. Seven years ago, David Hastings got the worst news of his life. He had oral cancer, and a grueling series of radiation and chemotherapy treatments would be necessary if he wanted to survive. Undergoing months of the "barbaric" treatment was awful, he said, but so was the knowledge that five different doctors couldn't explain how a 56-year-old with no history of smoking or heavy drinking ended up with such an aggressive cancer. "If something is trying to kill you, don't you want to find out what it is?" the Gulfport accountant and business owner asked over and over. It took months, but Hastings learned his cancer was linked to HPV, the sexually transmitted virus long known for its connection to deadly cervical cancers. The answer was elusive because few scientists at that time were looking at the virus and male cancers, he said. Today, doctors know that about 5,600 cases of oral cancer diagnosed each year are tied to the human papillomavirus, a number increasing at a rate faster than that of tobacco- or alcohol-related oral cancers. That's likely because more hospitals and cancer centers, including Moffitt Cancer Center, are able to test for the male [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-07-30T15:44:15-07:00July, 2013|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

Fact check: Michael Douglas on HPV and throat cancer

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com Author: Meredith Melnick A Michael Douglas interview in The Guardian caused waves when the publication reported that the "Behind the Candelabra" star revealed HPV, the human papilloma virus, to be the cause of his stage-4 throat cancer diagnosis in 2010. "Without wanting to get too specific, this particular cancer is caused by HPV, which actually comes about from cunnilingus," Douglas allegedly told The Guardian. Douglas, through his publicist, has said that the statement was misinterpreted: He wasn't saying that his cancer was caused by the sexually transmitted disease -- merely that many cancers like his are HPV-positive. As The Daily Beast points out, there is scant research evidence to directly link the act of cunnilingus with HPV infection. But regardless of the details of his own cancer, the actor is right about one thing: A growing majority of oral cancer cases are caused by HPV. While most strains of HPV clear up on their own, the sexually transmitted disease is responsible for an array of cancers. As Douglas describes, it's true that oral sex is an avenue through which a person can contract HPV and especially the strains, HPV-18 and HPV-16, the latter of which is responsible for half of oral cancer cases, according to the National Cancer Institute. HPV-16, HPV-18 and some less-common strains can also cause cancers of the cervix, vagina, vulva, anus and penis. Douglas' experience follows trends in cancer diagnosis, according to a January report from the American Cancer Society, which found a rise [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2013-06-04T07:22:57-07:00June, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

When a virus causes cancer, surgical robot can help

Source: www.bizjournals.com Author: James Ritchie Dr. Keith Wilson finds robotic surgery to be a good approach for removing tumors growing deep in the throat, as I recently reported. As it turns out, such tumors are often part of an alarming trend. They’re often caused by the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus, also known as HPV. In decades gone by, oral cancer was almost always associated with tobacco and alcohol use. It was typically a disease of old men. No more. Many of Wilson’s patients are nonsmokers and very light drinkers. “I can’t tell you how surprised people get,” said Wilson, who is chief of staff at University of Cincinnati Medical Center. “We’re seeing younger, more affluent and more highly educated patients.” High-risk HPVs cause virtually all cervical cancers. They have in recent years been implicated in oropharyngeal cancers. The oropharynx is the middle part of the throat, including the soft palate, the base of the tongue and the tonsils. About 63 percent of oropharyngeal cancers, or 11,000 cases per year, are associated with HPV infection, according to the American Dental Association. They’re frequently under age 50. Fortunately for such patients, HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancers have a better prognosis than those with other causes. Wilson said that cure rates can approach 90 percent. The da Vinci surgical robot is an effective tool for removing them, he said, because its long, joined arms can go where a surgeon’s hands can’t. But the machines, made by Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Intuitive Surgical Inc., are gaining some criticism. [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2013-05-03T14:06:57-07:00May, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

Oral cancer cases higher in developing countries

Source: pakobserver.net Author: staff Oral cancer is the sixth most common cancer reported globally with roughly two thirds of these reported in developing countries, according to a report. Regardless of nationality, roughly half of long-term smokers will die from the effects of tobacco smoking, be it oral cancer, lung cancer or cardiovascular disease. In India 20 deaths per 100,000 are caused by oral cancer as compared to 10 deaths per 100,000 in the US and two deaths per 100,000 in the Middle East. Oral cancer, as well as updates in maxillofacial reconstruction, microneurosurgery, oral trauma, and facial cosmetic and orthognathic surgery, will be reviewed at the 2nd Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Congress to be held in Dubai from May 1-5. Organised by Imedex in association with Arab Health, this year’s meeting will provide a number of new features that explore the rapidly reshaping field of oral and facial surgery. “The main causes of oral cancer have classically been related to smoking tobacco products and the Middle East has a higher rate of tobacco consumption then many other countries and this includes the use of the Shisha or Hookah,” said Dr Eric J Dierks, Clinical Professor of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Oregon Health and Science University, USA and director of the Fellowship in Head and Neck Oncologic Surgery based at Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland, Oregon, who will be speaking at the congress. “There is a myth that smoking through a Shisha pipe is safer than smoking cigarettes but this [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2013-04-24T12:23:56-07:00April, 2013|Oral Cancer News|