human papillomavirus – Page 16

Cancer waiting times ‘could cost lives’

Source: www.rochdaleonline.co.uk Author: staff Statistics released by the Department of Health reveal costly delays that could jeopardize the lives of suspected head and neck cancer patients. According to the 2012/13 Cancer Waiting Times annual report1, 1,252 suspected head and neck cancer patients had to wait longer than three weeks to be seen by a specialist, a delay that could potentially cost lives. With mouth cancer cases on the increase, campaigners the British Dental Health Foundation are calling for suspected head and neck cancer patients to be seen within the two-week referral target due to the very nature of the disease. Without early detection, the five year survival rate for mouth cancer is only 50 per cent. If it is caught early, survival rates over five years can dramatically improve to up to 90 per cent. Between April 2012 and March 2013 over one million patients were seen by cancer specialists following an urgent referral. A total of 96.1 per cent of suspected head and neck cancer were seen within 14 days of referral, compared to 96.3 per cent in 2010-20112. More than 50,000 patients were not seen within 14 days of referral. Cancer waiting times are monitored carefully by the Foundation, which organises the Mouth Cancer Action Month campaign, sponsored by Denplan also supported by Dentists’ Provident and the Association of Dental Groups (ADG), in November each year to help raise awareness of the disease and its symptoms. Tobacco use, drinking alcohol to excess, smoking, poor diet and the human [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2013-09-04T07:03:39-07:00September, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

Most head, neck surgeons discuss risk factors, HPV

Source: www.doctorslounge.com Author: staff Most head and neck surgeons discuss risk factors for head and neck cancer, including human papillomavirus (HPV), with their patients, according to a study published online Aug. 29 in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery. Kelly M. Malloy, M.D., from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and colleagues conducted an online survey of 297 members of the American Head and Neck Society (AHNS) to assess knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs regarding HPV education and vaccination. The researchers found that the majority (more than 90 percent) of respondents reported discussing risk factors for head and neck cancer, including HPV as a specific risk factor. About half (49.1 percent) reported discussing the importance of vaccinating preadolescents for HPV, with 38.7 percent not relating to this issue because their patients are adults. More than two-thirds (68.9 percent) of the respondents with daughters reported that their daughters had received or were scheduled to receive the HPV vaccine. For respondents with sons, only 55.8 percent reported that their sons had been vaccinated or that they intended for them to be vaccinated. Attitudes toward HPV vaccine safety and efficacy were divergent. There was considerable support of potential future AHNS activities relating to education, increasing public awareness, and advocacy of health policy related to HPV. "Head and neck surgeons are knowledgeable about HPV and show generally positive attitudes and beliefs about HPV education and vaccination," the authors write. "They endorse AHNS actions to improve public and patient education, as well as health policy on [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2013-09-01T15:58:16-07:00September, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

HPV vaccine might shield women against throat cancer

Source: healthfinder.gov Author: staff Young women who are vaccinated against the human papillomavirus (HPV) not only protect themselves from cervical cancer, but from throat cancer as well, a new study suggests. Many of the increasing number of throat cancers, seen mostly in developed countries, are caused by HPV infection and the HPV vaccine might prevent many of these cancers, the researchers say. "We found the women who had the HPV vaccine had much less infection than the women who hadn't," said lead researcher Dr. Rolando Herrero, at the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France. "In fact, there was a 90 percent reduction in the prevalence of HPV infection in the women who received the vaccine compared to the women who had not," he said. HPV infection is strongly associated with cancer of the oral cavity, Herrero noted. "We think that it is possible that the prevention of the infection will also lead to the prevention of these cancers," he explained. The HPV vaccine has enormous benefit, said Herrero, "because of the cervical cancer prevention and the anal cancer prevention, and it can even prevent infections in their sexual partners." Herrero said boys, too, should be vaccinated to protect them from oral cancers. Oral cancer is much more prevalent among men than in women, he pointed out. A 2011 study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology showed that in the United States, HPV-positive oral cancers increased from 16 percent of all oral cancers in the 1980s to 70 [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2013-07-22T10:34:24-07:00July, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

Study: A third of throat cancers linked to HPV infection

Source: www.upi.com Author: staff Human papillomavirus, the major cause of cervical cancer, also infects a third of throat cancer patients, U.S. and British researchers say. Aimee R. Kreimer of the National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, and Ruth C. Travis of University of Oxford, and numerous colleagues in several countries identified 638 study participants. Of the study participants, 180 had oral cancers, 135 oropharynx cancers - part of the pharynx - 247 hypopharynx/larynx cancers and 300 patients had esophageal cancers. The study also involved 1,599 controls. There are more than 100 types of HPV and most people recover easily but two strains -- HPV-16 and HPV-18 -- cause most cervical and oral cancers. Pre-diagnostic plasma samples from patients were collected, on average, six years before diagnosis. Control participants were analyzed for antibodies against multiple proteins of HPV16 as well as HPV6, HPV11, HPV18, HPV31, HPV33, HPV45 and HPV52. At the end of the study period the researchers checked for the presence of antibodies to one of HPV's key proteins, known as E6. The protein disables the cells' protection system that prevents cancer, but detecting the antibodies indicates HPV overcame the defenses. The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, found 34.8 of those with throat cancer had the antibodies, compared with 0.6 percent of those who were cancer-free. The findings indicated HPV-16 infection might be a significant cause of oropharyngeal cancer, in the middle part of the pharynx, behind the mouth, and includes the back [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2013-07-22T10:20:28-07:00July, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

Celebrity confession linking sex to oral cancer raises local awareness

Source: www.vancouversun.com Author: Pamela Fayerman Michael Douglas is credited for raising awareness about the links between oral sex and oral cancer, but experts worry his disclosure could cause public panic and stigmatize the disease to the point of bringing shame to those afflicted. Or worse, prevent patients with symptoms from getting examined promptly. Miriam Rosin, a BC Cancer Agency scientist, said the actor’s candid revelation that his throat cancer was caused by human papillomavirus (HPV), which he picked up from performing cunnilingus, is raising awareness of a growing problem around the world, and in B.C. “It’s created a lot of noise. I think it’s important to talk about this disease … but not in a headline-grabbing way, which may damage the cause by labelling it as a sexually transmitted disease,” said Rosin, who is also a Simon Fraser University professor. Regardless, the public is finally getting the message that HPV, the most common sexually transmitted virus in the world – and the one that causes virtually all cases of cervical cancer – is accounting for the surge in throat cancers located at the back of the throat. In B.C., if trends continue, HPV-caused throat cancers are expected to overtake cervical cancers in incidence. About 150 cases of cervical cancers are reported annually in this province. Of about 500 head and neck cancers, 115 are HPVcaused throat cancers, according to the BCCA. Douglas’s interview with The Guardian newspaper last month was followed by an avalanche of sensational media reports that apparently [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-07-19T07:43:16-07:00July, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

Vaccine is credited with steep fall of HPV in teenagers.

Source The New York TimesBy SABRINA TAVERNISEPublished: June 19, 2013 342 Comments The prevalence of dangerous strains of the human papillomavirus — the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States and a principal cause of cervical cancer — has dropped by half among teenage girls in recent years, a striking measure of success for a vaccine against the virus that was introduced only in 2006, federal health officials said on Wednesday. Dr. Judith L. Schaechter gives an HPVvaccination to a 13-year-old girl in heroffice at the University of Miami LeonardM. Miller School of Medicine. The sharp decline in the infection rate comes at a time of deepening worry among doctors and public health officials about the limited use of the HPV vaccine in the United States. Health departments across the country are scrambling for ways to increase vaccination rates, while nonprofit groups are using postcard reminders and social media campaigns and pediatricians are being encouraged to convince families of the vaccine’s benefits. There are some signs that resistance to the vaccine may be growing. A study published in the journal Pediatrics in March found that 44 percent of parents in 2010 said they did not intend to vaccinate their daughters, up from 40 percent in 2008. Because it prevents a sexually transmitted infection, the vaccine comes with a stigma. Some parents worry it promotes promiscuity. And it has been controversial. During the Republican primary in 2011, Representative Michele Bachmann, Republican of Minnesota, said the vaccine could have [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-06-20T11:31:05-07:00June, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

Sexual Activity–Related Outcomes After Human Papillomavirus Vaccination of 11- to 12-Year-Olds

Source: PediatricsPublished Online: October 15, 2012By: Robert A. Bednarczyk, PhD, Robert Davis, MD, MPH, Kevin Ault, MD, Walter Orenstein, MD, and Saad B. Omer, MBBS, PhD, MPH ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVE: Previous surveys on hypothesized sexual activity changes after human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination may be subject to self-response biases. To date, no studies measured clinical markers of sexual activity after HPV vaccination. This study evaluated sexual activity–related clinical outcomes after adolescent vaccination. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study utilizing longitudinal electronic data from a large managed care organization. Girls enrolled in the managed care organization, aged 11 through 12 years between July 2006 and December 2007, were classified by adolescent vaccine (HPV; tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis, adsorbed; quadrivalent meningococcal conjugate) receipt. Outcomes (pregnancy/sexually transmitted infection testing or diagnosis; contraceptive counseling) were assessed through December 31, 2010, providing up to 3 years of follow-up. Incidence rate ratios comparing vaccination categories were estimated with multivariate Poisson regression, adjusting for health care–seeking behavior and demographic characteristics. RESULTS: The cohort included 1398 girls (493 HPV vaccine–exposed; 905 HPV vaccine–unexposed). Risk of the composite outcome (any pregnancy/sexually transmitted infection testing or diagnosis or contraceptive counseling) was not significantly elevated in HPV vaccine–exposed girls relative to HPV vaccine–unexposed girls (adjusted incidence rate ratio: 1.29, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.92 to1.80; incidence rate difference: 1.6/100 person-years; 95% CI: −0.03 to 3.24). Incidence rate difference for Chlamydia infection (0.06/100 person-years [95% CI: −0.30 to 0.18]) and pregnancy diagnoses (0.07/100 person-years [95% CI: −0.20 to 0.35]), indicating little [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-06-17T11:03:53-07:00June, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

Oral cancer sneaks up

Source: well.blogs.nytimes.com Author: Donald G. McNeail Jr. and Anahad O'Connor The actor Michael Douglas has done for throat cancer what Rock Hudson did for AIDS and Angelina Jolie did for prophylactic mastectomy. By asserting last week that his cancer was caused by a virus transmitted during oral sex, Mr. Douglas pushed the disease onto the front pages and made millions of Americans worry about it for the first time. In this case, it was a subset of Americans who normally worry more about being killed by cholesterol than by an S.T.D. The typical victim is a middle-aged, middle-class, married heterosexual white man who has had about six oral sex partners in his lifetime. The virus, human papillomavirus Type 16, also causes cervical cancer. So is there any early oral screening that a man can have — an equivalent to the Pap smear, which has nearly eliminated cervical cancer as a death threat in this country? The answer, according to cancer experts and a recent opinion from the United States Preventive Services Task Force, is no. And for surprising reasons. The Pap test — invented in 1928 by Dr. George N. Papanicolaou — involves scraping a few cells from the cervix and checking them under a microscope for precancerous changes. Precancerous cells have a “halo” around the nucleus, while cancerous ones have larger, more colorful nuclei, said Dr. Paul D. Blumenthal, a professor of gynecology at Stanford University Medical School. In theory, it should be similarly easy to scrape and examine [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2013-06-12T07:35:44-07:00June, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

Advaxis requests orphan drug designation for treatment of HPV-associated head and neck cancer with ADXS-HPV

Source: www.marketwatch.com Author: press release Advaxis, Inc., a leader in developing the next generation of immunotherapies for cancer and infectious diseases, announced that it has submitted an Application for Orphan Drug Designation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of Orphan Products Development (OOPD) for ADXS-HPV, its lead drug candidate, for the treatment of human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated head and neck cancer. There are about 50,000 new cases of head and neck cancer annually, with about 15,000 deaths. HPV infection is estimated to account for 20-50% of current incidence. Orphan Drug Designation is granted to drug therapies intended to treat diseases or conditions that affect fewer than 200,000 people in the United States. Orphan Drug Designation entitles the sponsor to clinical protocol assistance with the FDA, as well as federal grants, tax credits, and a seven year market exclusivity period. "HPV-associated head and neck cancer is growing at an epidemic rate in the United States and other regions throughout the world. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 80% of new cases occur in men, who are not typically part of HPV vaccination programs," commented Dr. Robert Petit, Chief Scientific Officer of Advaxis. "Data from our Phase 2 study in recurrent cervical cancer show that ADXS-HPV is an active treatment in this HPV-associated cancer. We believe that ADXS-HPV immunotherapy will show similar activity in HPV-associated head and neck cancer, given the shared causality of the cancers. We have one ongoing Phase 1/2 study in [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2013-06-12T07:27:15-07:00June, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

Why HPV vaccination makes a difference against cancer

Source: www.cbsnews.com Author: Michelle Castillo Michael Douglas' frank discussion about the human papillomavirus (HPV) and oral cancer has put a spotlight on the dangers of the sexually transmitted virus. While using a condom may reduce risk for HPV, doctors are reminding people that the best way to protect oneself from the disease that can potentially lead to cancer is to get vaccinated at an early age and, if possible, go for routine screenings. HPV is a group of more than 100 very common viruses, about 40 of which can be transmitted sexually, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women's Health. Approximately 79 million Americans are currently infected with an HPV strain, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports, and nearly all sexually active men and women will get one type of sexually transmitted HPV in their lifetime. Specifically, 20 million people in the U.S. between the ages of 15 to 49 are infected with a genital HPV at any given time, and about half of men and women can expect to be infected with genital HPV in their lifetime. "HPV is ubiquitous in our population," Dr. Lori Wirth, medical director of the Center for Head and Neck Cancers center at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, explained to CBSNews.com. "Anyone who has led a normal sex life will get HPV, and develop antibodies to the virus. But, a minority of people who have contact with the virus who don't effectively clear the virus from [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2013-06-12T07:21:26-07:00June, 2013|Oral Cancer News|