human papillomavirus – Page 19

Rating HPV biomarkers in head, neck cancers

Source: www.sciencecodex.com Not all head and neck cancers are created equal. Those started by infection with the human papillomavirus are less often fatal than those with other causes, such as smoking. Detection of a reliable fingerprint for HPV could help patients avoid unnecessarily harsh treatment. A new study finds that while one popular biomarker for HPV is not a reliable predictor of mortality from the cancers alone, combinations of some biomarkers showed much more promise. "Everybody who has studied it has shown that people with virally associated disease do better," said Karl Kelsey, aprofessor of epidemiology and pathology and laboratory medicine at Brown University, and corresponding author of the study in Cancer Research. "There are now clinical trials underway to determine if they should be treated differently. The problem is that you need to appropriately diagnose virally related disease, and our data suggests that people need to take a close look at that." In the study, Kelsey and his multi-institutional team of co-authors measured the ability of a variety of biomarkers to predict mortality from head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Their data came from hundreds of adult head and neck cancer patients in the Boston area that they have been tracking since late 1999. As part of that data set, they were able to look at blood serology and tumor tissue samples, and they interviewed participants about risk behaviors such as smoking and drinking. DNA alone not reliable One of the most important findings of the study, Kelsey [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-09-18T13:41:39-07:00September, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

HPV vaccine not just for girls

Source: www.statesmanjournal.com Author: staff It’s been hard enough to persuade parents to get their preteen girls vaccinated against the virus that causes cervical cancer. Now, health-care providers have an even harder sell: reaching the parents of boys. The vaccine that protects against human papillomavirus, or HPV, has been approved for use in boys since it hit the market in 2006. And while boys don’t share the cervical cancer risk, the vaccination can help stop the virus’ spread, as well as protect boys from other cancers. But as of last fall, just more than 1 percent of all eligible boys had received the vaccine. Since then, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more strongly recommended that boys get it. And the American Academy of Pediatrics threw its support behind the series of three shots for 11- and 12-year-old boys. But experts don’t expect to see a significant increase in the number of boys who have received the vaccine when the CDC releases new vaccination statistics late this summer. Why are so many parents reluctant to have their children vaccinated? Because HPV is transmitted through intimate skin-to-skin contact, parents may fear that vaccinating their children sends the message that premarital sex is OK. Nationwide, 49 percent of girls ages 13 to 17 have received at least one shot, and about 32 percent of girls have received the three doses required for complete protection, according to a CDC report. For girls, doctors cite statistics about how the vaccine protects against the [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-08-28T09:31:15-07:00August, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Oropharyngeal cancer survival better in those with HPV

Source: www.dailyrx.com Author: Laurie Stoneham The human papillomavirus (HPV) causes a number of malignancies, including head and neck and cervical cancers. Oddly enough, being infected with the virus may help those living with oral cancer. Researchers believe that having HPV improves the lifespan of African Americans who have throat cancer, compared to African Americans who do not have the virus. These are the unexpected findings of a group of researchers, led by Maria J. Worsham, PhD, director of research in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery at Henry Ford Health System in Detroit. "This study adds to the mounting evidence of HPV as a racially-linked sexual behavior lifestyle risk factor impacting survival outcomes for both African American and Caucasian patients with oropharyngeal cancer," Dr. Worsham said. Oropharyngeal cancer affects part of the throat, including the base of the tongue, tonsils, soft palate (back of the mouth) and the walls of the throat (pharynx). Risk factors for this oral cancer include smoking, drinking alcohol and HPV infection. To look at how HPV status impacted the outlook of throat cancer patients, researchers worked with 118 patients - 67 of whom did not have the virus and 51 individuals who did. A total of 42 individuals in the study were African American. Here's what researchers learned: African Americans were less likely than Caucasians to have the virus (HPV-positive) as are people over the age of 50 HPV-negative patients who didn't have the virus were nearly 3 times (2.9) more likely to die as [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-07-25T09:51:54-07:00July, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Viral Marketing: What’s Stopping Men From Getting the HPV Vaccine

Source: GOOD Mobile By: Jake Blumgart on July 6, 2012 at 3:00AM PDT In early 2011, my doctor informed me that a vaccine to protect against the human papillomavirus—HPV—was now available for men. I was relieved, then frustrated—my doctor didn’t actually offer the principal vaccine, Gardasil, to her male patients. After a couple days of hunting around town, I finally found the vaccine at the Mazzoni Center, a LGBT health clinic in downtown Philly. I received all three shots, and joined the less than 1 percent of American men who are vaccinated against the most dangerous strains of the virus. While I was exceedingly grateful to the Mazzoni Center inoculating me, I knew of only one other male friend who’d received his shots. So since I got my shots, I’ve made a point of discussing my experience with any friend, acquaintance, or bemused bystander who will listen. And I’ve learned two things about young, straight men and HPV: We all know it exists, and not much else. When I posted about my vaccinations on Facebook and Twitter, the response was largely positive—but the dozen or so likes and comments mainly came from my female friends. When I brought up the issue with a few straight guys, they seemed confused about my decision to air the information in public. Embarrassed, I let the conversation drop. But a couple weeks later, I received a Facebook message from an acquaintance in another city, freaking out about his own HPV scare, and asking me whether [...]

Charlotte Parker2012-07-09T09:04:05-07:00July, 2012|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

Facing the facts: HPV-associated head and neck cancers get a second look

Source: www.curetoday.com Author: Charlotte Huff Kevin Pruyne knew he didn’t fit the stereotype of a hard drinker or heavy smoker who one day develops an oral cancer. The 52-year-old mechanic had been working a three-week stint in a remote section of northern Alaska, repairing trucks on an oil field, when he noticed a hard lump beneath his jaw while shaving. For nearly three months, as Pruyne was prescribed antibiotics for a possible infection and then later shuttled between physician specialists, he kept hearing the same thing: the lump could not be cancer. Pruyne only occasionally consumed alcohol and had never smoked. His wife, Kathy, began researching her husband’s symptoms, which included repetitive throat clearing, a nagging sensation that something was lodged in his throat and ringing in his ears. And the lump, which looked like the top half of an egg, felt solid to the touch. This wasn’t some inflamed lymph node from a lingering head cold, Kathy Pruyne says. “He had every symptom [of cancer], but nobody would listen to me.” Pruyne received a diagnosis of stage 4 oral cancer, which started with a tumor at the base of his tongue. He had already begun chemotherapy when he learned that researchers had discovered an association between the human papillomavirus (HPV) and increasing rates of oropharyngeal cancers. He asked that his tissue be tested; the results came back positive. Pruyne says he wanted to know whether his cancer was caused by HPV because “the prognosis is considerably better with HPV-positive cancer.” [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-07-03T17:34:09-07:00July, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Cross-sectional study on the prevalence of HPV antibodies in the general population of the Czech Republic

Source: BMJ Correspondence to Dr Eva Hamsikova, Department of Experimental Virology, Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, U Nemocnice 1, 128 20 Praha 2, Czech Republic; [email protected] Contributors EH participated in the design and coordination of the study, evaluated results, performed statistical analysis and drafted the manuscript. VL prepared antigens for assessment of antibody presence. JS performed the immunoassays. RT participated in the design of the study and helped to draft the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Abstract Objectives The assessment of the prevalence of antibodies to human papillomaviruses (HPV) in the healthy population is essential for effective planning of HPV vaccine implementation into the preventive programmes for HPV-associated diseases and for the prospective monitoring of the impact of HPV vaccines in the Czech population. Methods The seropositivity for HPV-6, 11, 16, 18, 31 and 33 virus-like particles was determined in sera from 3150 healthy individuals (age range 6–76 years) by means of enzyme-linked immunoassay. Results The seroprevalences for HPV-6, 11, 16, 18, 31 and 33 were 23.8%, 15.2%, 14.5%, 9.9%, 16.4% and 9.6% in women and 18.4%, 13.7%, 6.5%, 5.4%, 6.1% and 4.3% in men. For both genders, except for HPV11, these rates were age dependent. The prevalence of antibodies to HPV-16 and/or 18 reached the maximum of 27.0% in women 30–39 years of age and of 14.4% in men 50–59 years of age. The highest proportion of individuals' seropositive for any of the vaccine types HPV-6/11/16/18 was in 30- to 39-year-old women (50.0%) and in ≥60-year-old men [...]

Charlotte Parker2012-06-11T11:09:53-07:00June, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Tobacco Smoking and Increased Risk of Death and Progression for Patients With p16-Positive and p16-Negative Oropharyngeal Cancer

Source: Journal of Clinical Oncology Purpose Tobacco smoking is associated with oropharynx cancer survival, but to what extent cancer progression or death increases with increasing tobacco exposure is unknown. Patients and Methods Patients with oropharynx cancer enrolled onto a phase III trial of radiotherapy from 1991 to 1997 (Radiation Therapy Oncology Group [RTOG] 9003) or of chemoradiotherapy from 2002 to 2005 (RTOG 0129) were evaluated for tumor human papillomavirus status by a surrogate, p16 immunohistochemistry, and for tobacco exposure by a standardized questionnaire. Associations between tobacco exposure and overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were estimated by Cox proportional hazards models. Results Prevalence of p16-positive cancer was 39.5% among patients in RTOG 9003 and 68.0% in RTOG 0129. Median pack-years of tobacco smoking were lower among p16-positive than p16-negative patients in both trials (RTOG 9003: 29 v 45.9 pack-years; P = .02; RTOG 0129: 10 v 40 pack-years; P < .001). After adjustment for p16 and other factors, risk of progression (PFS) or death (OS) increased by 1% per pack-year (for both, hazard ratio [HR], 1.01; 95% CI, 1.00 to 1.01; P = .002) or 2% per year of smoking (for both, HR, 1.02; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.03; P < .001) in both trials. In RTOG 9003, risk of death doubled (HR, 2.19; 95% CI, 1.46 to 3.28) among those who smoked during radiotherapy after accounting for pack-years and other factors, and risk of second primary tumors increased by 1.5% per pack-year (HR, 1.015; 95% CI, 1.005 to [...]

Charlotte Parker2012-06-11T10:02:05-07:00June, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Head and neck cancer presentation highlights

Source: www.dailyrx.com Author: Travis Giddings The field of head and neck cancer from ASCO 2012 A recent presentation at the American Society of Clinical Oncology expanded on several molecular breakthroughs concerning head and neck cancers, and a team of doctors gave an overview of recent conclusions from their respective fields. The newly identified molecular pathway for cancers of the head and neck that involves the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) led to developments of highly effective drugs specific for the cancerous cells, EGFR inhibitors. Soon afterwards, scientists discovered the increasingly important role that the human papillomavirus (HPV) played in the development of cancers in the head and neck. Following the explosion of research in the field of molecular pathways involved in head and neck cancers, doctors quickly found that the cancer was a lot more complicated than previous believed. Additional research continues as scientists try to make sense of the data. Approaching the treatment of head and neck cancer from their perspectives from surgery, radiology, and oncology, doctors on the panel discussed the difficulties the field currently faced. The director of Johns Hopkins' Head and Neck Cancer Research department, oncologist David Sidransky, MD, opened the meeting. “The genetic and epigenetic alterations in human tumors are becoming increasingly important for devising and implementing personalized oncology approaches,” said Dr. Sidransky. “Unlike in some other cancers, in head and neck cancer the common mutations that have been identified have not been very helpful for treatment.” The chair of the conference was held by [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-06-08T07:56:18-07:00June, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Oral sex may cause more oral cancer than smoking in men, researchers say

Source: www.bloomberg.com Author: Robert Langreth A virus spread by oral sex may cause more cases of throat cancer in men than smoking, a finding that spurred calls for a new large-scale test of a drug used against the infection. Researchers examined 271 throat-tumor samples collected over 20 years ending in 2004 and found that the percentage of oral cancer linked to the human papillomavirus, or HPV, surged to 72 percent from about 16 percent, according to a report released yesterday in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. By 2020, the virus-linked throat tumors -- which mostly affected men -- will become more common than HPV-caused cervical cancer, the report found. HPV is known for infecting genitals. The finding that it can spread to the throat and cause cancer may increase pressure on Merck & Co., the second-largest U.S. drugmaker, to conduct large-scale trials to see if its vaccine Gardasil, which wards off cervical cancer in women, also prevents HPV throat infections. “The burden of cancer caused by HPV is going to shift from women to men in this decade,” Maura Gillison, an oncologist at Ohio State University and study senior author, said in a telephone interview. “What we believe is happening is that the number of sexual partners and exposure to HPV has risen over that same time period.” Gillison said she worked with researchers at Whitehouse Station, New Jersey-based Merck several years ago to design a study in men. After Merck acquired Schering-Plough Corp. in 2009, though, the trial “was canceled,” [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-05-20T20:54:05-07:00May, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Tobacco Smoking and Increased Risk of Death and Progression for Patients With p16-Positive and p16-Negative Oropharyngeal Cancer

Source: Journal of Clinical Oncology Abstract Purpose Tobacco smoking is associated with oropharynx cancer survival, but to what extent cancer progression or death increases with increasing tobacco exposure is unknown. Patients and methods Patients with oropharynx cancer enrolled onto a phase III trial of radiotherapy from 1991 to 1997 (Radiation Therapy Oncology Group [RTOG] 9003) or of chemoradiotherapy from 2002 to 2005 (RTOG 0129) were evaluated for tumor human papillomavirus status by a surrogate, p16 immunohistochemistry, and for tobacco exposure by a standardized questionnaire. Associations between tobacco exposure and overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were estimated by Cox proportional hazards models. Results Prevalence of p16-positive cancer was 39.5% among patients in RTOG 9003 and 68.0% in RTOG 0129. Median pack-years of tobacco smoking were lower among p16-positive than p16-negative patients in both trials (RTOG 9003: 29 v 45.9 pack-years; P = .02; RTOG 0129: 10 v 40 pack-years; P < .001). After adjustment for p16 and other factors, risk of progression (PFS) or death (OS) increased by 1% per pack-year (for both, hazard ratio [HR], 1.01; 95% CI, 1.00 to 1.01; P = .002) or 2% per year of smoking (for both, HR, 1.02; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.03; P < .001) in both trials. In RTOG 9003, risk of death doubled (HR, 2.19; 95% CI, 1.46 to 3.28) among those who smoked during radiotherapy after accounting for pack-years and other factors, and risk of second primary tumors increased by 1.5% per pack-year (HR, 1.015; 95% CI, 1.005 [...]

Charlotte Parker2012-05-08T09:07:47-07:00May, 2012|Oral Cancer News|