human papilloma virus – Page 7

Survey reveals most are unaware of the causes and symptoms of mouth cancer

Source: www.cosmeticdentistryguide.co.uk Author: staff A survey has revealed that most people are unaware of the major risk factors and symptoms of oral cancer. The SimplyHealth Annual Dental Health Survey revealed that of the 11,785 adults surveyed, 70 percent were unaware of the symptoms of mouth cancer while only 3 percent knew that kissing could increase your risk of moth cancer as a result of exposure to the human papilloma virus (HPV). A spokesperson for SimplyHealth said that most were aware that smoking and drinking increased the risk of oral cancer, but very few people were aware of the link between oral cancer and the HPV, a virus which is also responsible for some cases of cervical cancer. According to Cancer Research UK, some strains of HPV increase the risk of mouth cancer, which could explain why the disease is becoming more common in young people, as the virus is spread through physical contact. Dentist Michael Thomas said that it was important for people to be aware of the symptoms of mouth cancer, as well as the causes. As with most forms of cancer, the earlier mouth cancer is diagnosed, the higher the chance of survival. Only 28 percent of adults surveyed had discussed mouth cancer with their dentist and this is worrying, as dentists are in a prime position to spot the early warning signs and arrange further tests and treatment. The most common symptoms of mouth cancer include lumps or swellings in the mouth or throat, sores or ulcers [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-04-30T12:19:01-07:00April, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Pig mucus effective at blocking viruses associated with cervical and oral cancer

Source: American Chemical Society Scientists are reporting that the mucus lining the stomachs of pigs could be a long-sought, abundant source of "mucins" being considered for use as broad-spectrum anti-viral agents to supplement baby formula and for use in personal hygiene and other consumer products to protect against a range of viral infections. Their study appears in ACS' journal Biomacromolecules. In the report, Katharina Ribbeck and colleagues point out that mucus, which coats the inside of the nose, mouth and vagina, is the immune system's first line of defense. The slimy secretion traps disease-causing microbes, ranging from influenza virus to HIV (which causes AIDS) before they can cause infection. That has led to consideration of mucin, the main component of mucus, for use as an anti-viral agent in a variety of products. However, existing sources of mucins, such as breast milk, cannot provide industrial-sized quantities. Large amounts of mucus exist in the lining of pigs' stomachs, and the authors set out to determine if pig mucus - already used as a component of artificial saliva to treat patients with "dry mouth," or xerostomia - has the same anti-viral activity. They found that pig mucus is effective at blocking a range of viruses, from strains of influenza to the human papilloma virus, which is associated with cervical and oral cancer. They report that pig mucins could be added to toothpastes, mouthwashes, wound ointments and genital lubricants to protect against viral infections. "We envision porcine gastric mucins to be promising antiviral components [...]

Charlotte Parker2012-04-26T17:17:40-07:00April, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

The Gardasil Problem: How The U.S. Lost Faith In A Promising Vaccine

Source: Forbes Magazine, written by Matthew Herper Neal Fowler, 50, the chief executive officer of a tiny biotech called Liquidia, was assuming a position common to road-warrior entrepreneurs: leaning his elbows on the seat-back tray in an airplane so he could gaze at the screen of his laptop. That’s when he felt the lump in his neck. Fowler, a pharmacist, figured his lymph node was swollen by a recent cold, but the oncologist seated next to him—his chairman of the board—thought they’d better keep an eye on it. The chairman was right. Over the next week the lymph node got bigger and harder. It was not sore to the touch, as happens during a cold. Fowler went to the doctor, then a specialist who knew exactly what he was seeing: a new form of throat cancer that ear, nose and throat specialists across the U.S. now say dominates their practices. Some 8,000 of these tonsil tumors turn up each year nationwide, courtesy of strain 16 of the human papilloma virus—the same sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer. Usually transmitted when men perform oral sex on women, it can also spread through other forms of contact, perhaps even just kissing. His prognosis was good—80% of those with this new tumor survive. His status as a drug industry veteran and chief executive of a biotechnology company didn’t hurt, either. He went from diagnosis to having the primary tumor removed from his tonsil in just a day. His first team of doctors [...]

Charlotte Parker2012-04-05T21:25:34-07:00April, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

HPV-related head and neck cancer on the rise among middle-aged white men

Source: www.news-medical.net Author: staff Research led by Lauren Cole, a public health graduate student, and Dr. Edward Peters, Associate Professor of Public Health and Director of the Epidemiology Program at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, reports that the incidence of head and neck cancer has risen at sites associated with Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) infection, with the greatest increase among middle-aged white men. At the same time, younger, Non-Hispanic blacks experienced a substantial decrease in these cancers. They also found that the disease process for tumors associated with HPV is different from those caused by exposure to tobacco and alcohol, with implications for treatment. The findings are published this month in the PLoS ONE journal. Tobacco and alcohol are the most common risk factors for cancers of the head and neck, but HPV infection is emerging as an important risk factor as well. The objectives of this study were to assess the recent incidence of head and neck cancer in the United States and to investigate the trends of these cancers associated with HPV infection. Using incidence data for 1995-2005 from 40 US population-based cancer registries, the researchers described the epidemiology of head and neck cancer (HNC) in the US and examined the variation in cancer rates by age, sex, race/ethnicity, stage and cancer location. As some HNC sites are strongly associated with a tendency for HPV infection, they also examined if rates varied by those sites associated with HPV. "During 1995-2005, we observed a significant overall increase in [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-03-30T05:12:03-07:00March, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Calls for teenage boys to be vaccinated against sexually transmitted virus after throat cancer cases double in UK

Source: www.dailymail.co.uk Author: Charles Walford Boys must be immunised against the most common sexually transmitted virus, health experts have said. The call comes after figures revealed an alarming rise in cancer linked to oral sex in young men. Cases of throat cancer have more than doubled to more than 1,000 a year since the mid-1990s. Previously the figure had been stable for many years. More than 70 per cent of cases are caused by human papilloma virus, compared with less than a third a decade ago. HPV, which can be transmitted during sex and open-mouth kissing, is the main cause of cervical cancer in women, with almost 3,000 women a year in the UK affected. Since 2008 all girls aged 12 to 13 in the UK have been offered a vaccination to protect them from HPV. The decision not to give it to boys too was heavily criticised at the time. Now specialists are urging the Department of Health to review its immunisation programme and offer boys the vaccine too, the Independent reports. They say this would not only ensure both sexes are protected against throat cancer, but it would help reduce the risk of cervical cancer in girls and of other cancers caused by HPV. Research suggests boys are more prone to get throat cancer from oral sex because the virus is found in higher concentrations in the female genital tract. Cancer typically takes 20 to 30 years to develop and the rise in HPV-related throat cancer is being [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-01-21T12:16:38-07:00January, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Boys need the cervical cancer jab, too

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk Author: Max Pemberton Few politicians will ever admit they are wrong, so I salute health ministers who have finally capitulated to medical opinion and last month announced a U-turn on the cervical cancer vaccine that is given to 12- and 13-year-old girls. Until now, Cervarix, which protects against two strains of the human papilloma virus (HPV) that are a factor in at least 70 per cent of diagnoses, has been the NHS vaccine of choice. However, another vaccine, Gardasil, also protects against a further two strains of HPV which cause genital warts, the most common sexually-transmitted infection, requiring costly and unpleasant treatment. As doctors have been arguing for some time, this has important public health implications. The current cost to the NHS of treating the 100,000 new cases of genital warts in England each year is £23 million. In several countries, including Australia, where Gardasil has been used in nationwide vaccination programmes, a 75 per cent decrease in the number of new cases of genital warts in the past three years has been reported. Critics of NHS policy complained that Cervarix was chosen over Gardasil not on the basis of clinical efficacy but because its manufacturers offered it at a discounted price, making it the most cost-effective. Indeed, many doctors have admitted in the medical press that they have bought Gardasil for their daughters privately, while they had to give their patients Cervarix. But ministers have seen sense as now Gardasil will be available on the NHS. But the [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-12-05T09:29:57-07:00December, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Men in doubt still don’t get checked out!

Source: www.easier.com Author: staff Men are almost twice as likely to die from mouth cancer and statistics consistently show they are less likely to consult with a doctor than their female counterparts. But with rates of incidence and mortality rising at an incredible rate, men can no longer afford to ignore the increasing threat of a killer disease. Mouth cancer cases in the UK have almost doubled in the last decade, rising to 6,000 every year with almost 4,000 of those coming from men and although there are some clear early warning signs many postpone seeking professional advice, leaving fatality rates of the disease at 50 per cent. This is supported by data from the Office of National Statistics, which reveals that women are twice as likely to see their GP as men, visiting the doctors an average of six times a year compared to just three for men. Chief Executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, Dr Nigel Carter, puts this failing down to a lack of general cancer health knowledge in men and warns that ignoring the issue can lead to severe problems in future. Dr Carter said: "For almost all types of cancer, men will die more often than women. There's no biological reason that this should be the case so the reason must be purely down to the timing of diagnosis. Unfortunately, when men do go to their GP their condition may be at a far more advanced stage and therefore much more difficult to treat. [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-11-27T14:52:41-07:00November, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

HPV links to throat cancer in males

Source: www.thesimmonsvoice.com Author: Emese Nemeth Whether it is your first year or you are returning to college, there are always emails and pamplets about immunizations. While some vaccines are mandatory for public safety and health, vaccines such as Gardasil (also known as Silgard) for the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) are not. While some may argue that it is relatively new vaccine and side effects may be uncertain, the benefits are starting to out-weigh the risks. Gardasil was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2006 to vaccinate against the four most common strains of HPV: types 6, 11, 16 and 18. Seventy percent of cervical cancer is caused by types 16 and 18. Types 16 and 18 are also known to cause HPV induced cancer of the anus, vulva, vagina and penis. The other two types, 6 and 11 are known to cause ninety percent of genital wart cases. More recently, HPV has been linked to induce throat cancer, specifically, oropharyngeal cancer. The American Society of Clinical Oncology also believes that "the annual occurrence of HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer among men will surpass that of cervical cancer among women by the year 2020." Why throat cancer is more prevalent in men is still unclear, but throat cancer still affects both sexes with 6,700 cases of HPV-positive oropharynx cancers in 2010. While cervical cancer is on the decline due to regular pap smears, throats are only examined due to pain or unusual symptoms. Although Gardasil does not claim to prevent throat [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-09-23T16:21:46-07:00September, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Sanford researcher to study new oral cancer therapy

Source: www.mdnews.com Author: public release A new Sanford clinical trial will study the safety and effectiveness of a drug treatment on patients receiving radiation and chemotherapy for head and neck cancer. About three to five percent of all cancers reported in the United States are head and neck cancers. Although the incidence of this type of cancer is relatively low, survival rates are poor — with about a 50 percent of patients surviving over the five-year period following diagnosis, according to John Lee, MD, FACS, Principal Investigator of the trial and a Sanford Clinic Ear, Nose and Throat specialist. Lee’s early research led to the discovery that mice treated with the generic drug dichloroacetate (DCA) responded to cancer therapy 30 percent better. He has received approval from the Food and Drug Administration to begin a clinical trial with patients who are receiving treatment for head and neck cancer. The trial will be open to Sanford patients, and others nationwide. “We are proud of and continue to encourage innovative clinical trials at Sanford that helps us further understand the molecular, cellular and genetic basis of cancer,” said David Pearce, PhD, Vice President, Sanford Research in Sioux Falls. Dr. Lee, who was honored in 2010 by the American Cancer Society for his research, has been studying the link between the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) and the development of head and neck cancers. His research team has tested the treatment of head and neck tumors in mice finding that factors that enhanced the [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-07-16T11:48:35-07:00July, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

We owe it to our sons to protect them against human papilloma virus – the new oral cancer peril

Source: www.dailymail.co.uk Author: Professor Lawrence Young The seemingly unstoppable rise of throat and mouth cancers over the past two decades has left experts baffled and deeply concerned. These are truly horrible diseases. More than 15,000 new patients are diagnosed each year in Britain alone and almost 8,000 die from the most common type, cancer of the oesophagus. Two-thirds of sufferers are men. And those that survive are often left horrifically disfigured by aggressive radiotherapy and surgery. Most worryingly, numbers of new cases have doubled since 1989. We used to think most oral and throat cancers - which also include laryngeal (voice box), tracheal (windpipe) and oropharyngeal (soft-palate) tumours - were due to a lifetime of smoking and heavy alcohol consumption, and only really occurred in old age. But as health messages hit home, numbers of smokers and drinkers dropped, fewer older men and women developed these cancers and a new group of patients - middle-class, middle-aged men who drank moderately and had never smoked - emerged. This was a surprise. Small studies, in which tumours were analysed, indicated a new culprit: the human papilloma virus (HPV), the same virus that we knew was the cause of cervical cancer in women. For years there have been whisperings among oncologists that this could become one of the most significant cancer challenges of the 21st Century. And six weeks ago, evidence published by two American universities showed that these fears were becoming a reality. Researchers found that about half of the [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-04-03T09:40:53-07:00April, 2011|Oral Cancer News|