human papillomavirus – Page 7

Why salivary diagnostics for dental practices?

Source: www.dentistryiq.com Author: Barbara Kreuger, MA, RDH I recently had the opportunity to visit OralDNA Labs and learn more about the process of running salivary diagnostic tests. Admittedly, when I first heard about salivary diagnostics, I didn’t immediately embrace the tests and what they had to offer. I was not convinced that they were necessary, believing they would not change how we treat dental disease. However, we’ve been fortunate to use salivary diagnostics in practice and see the benefits in our patients firsthand. These tests have proven to be a great addition to our prevention tool box. Salivary diagnostics can play an important role in helping us produce high quality outcomes for patients and create awareness of their oral-systemic risk factors. Bacterial identification There are numerous salivary diagnostic tests available. The most widely used test from OralDNA Labs is MyPerioPath, which tests for the 11 pathogens that are known to contribute to periodontal destruction.(1) Once the test reveals which pathogens are contributing to the patient’s periodontal disease, it also offers antibiotic recommendations that target these specific bacteria. When combined with periodontal maintenance visits and patient homecare, this test can lower a patient’s bacterial load, thus increasing positive outcomes. Retesting has shown that this reduction in bacteria can have a dramatic effect. We’ve seen tough cases—patients who were compliant with homecare but still exhibited clinical signs of periodontal disease—that improved dramatically after being treated with the test’s recommended systemic antibiotic. Periodic monitoring with MyPerioPath combined with periodontal maintenance treatment can help [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2019-02-08T14:32:58-07:00February, 2019|Oral Cancer News|

HPV discovery raises hope for new cervical cancer treatments

Source: www.eurekalert.org Author: press release - University of Virginia Health Syste Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have made a discovery about human papillomavirus (HPV) that could lead to new treatments for cervical cancer and other cancers caused by the virus. HPV is responsible for nearly all cases of cervical cancer and 95 percent of anal cancers. It is the most common sexually transmitted disease, infecting more than 79 million Americans. Most have no idea that are infected or that they could be spreading it. "Human papillomavirus causes a lot of cancers. Literally thousands upon thousands of people get cervical cancer and die from it all over the world. Cancers of the mouth and anal cancers are also caused by human papillomaviruses," said UVA researcher Anindya Dutta, PhD, of the UVA Cancer Center. "Now there's a vaccine for HPV, so we're hopeful the incidences will decrease. But that vaccine is not available all around the world, and because of religious sensitivity, not everybody is taking it. The vaccine is expensive, so I think the human papillomavirus cancers are here to stay. They're not going to disappear. So we need new therapies." HPV and Cancer HPV has been a stubborn foe for scientists, even though researchers have a solid grasp of how it causes cancer: by producing proteins that shut down healthy cells' natural ability to prevent tumors. Blocking one of those proteins, called oncoprotein E6, seemed like an obvious solution, but decades of attempts to do so [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2018-12-19T14:14:58-07:00December, 2018|Oral Cancer News|

Standard chemotherapy treatment for HPV-positive throat cancer remains the most effective, study finds

Source: www.eurekalert.org Author: press release, University of Birmingham A new study funded by Cancer Research UK and led by the University of Birmingham has found that the standard chemotherapy used to treat a specific type of throat cancer remains the most effective. The findings of the trial, which aimed to compare for the first time the outcomes of using two different kinds of treatment for patients with Human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive throat cancer, are published today (November 15th) in The Lancet. Throat cancer is one of the fastest rising cancers in Western countries. In the UK, incidence was unchanged between 1970 and 1995, then doubled between 1996 and 2006, and doubled again between 2006 and 2010. The rise has been attributed to HPV, which is often a sexually transmitted infection. Most throat cancers were previously caused by smoking and alcohol and affected 65 to 70 year old working class men. Today, HPV is the main cause of throat cancer and patients are middle class, working, have young children and are aged around 55. HPV-positive throat cancer responds well to a combination of cisplatin chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and patients can survive for 30 to 40 years, but the treatment causes lifelong side effects including dry mouth, difficulty swallowing, and loss of taste. The De-ESCALaTE HPV study, which was sponsored by the University of Warwick, compared the side effects and survival of 164 patients who were treated with radiotherapy and cisplatin, and 162 who were given radiotherapy and cetuximab. The patients were enrolled [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2018-11-16T09:36:03-07:00November, 2018|Oral Cancer News|

Cultural barriers still stand in the way of HPV vaccine uptake

Source: arstechnica.com Author: Cathleen O'Grady Every year, nearly 34,000 cases of cancer in the US can be attributed to HPV, the human papillomavirus . The CDC estimates that vaccination could prevent around 93 percent of those cancers. Yet HPV vaccination rates are abysmal: only half of the teenagers in the US were fully vaccinated in 2017. Cultural barriers play a role in that low rate. Vaccinating pre-teens against a sexually transmitted infection has had parents concerned that that this would encourage their kids to have sex sooner, with more partners, or without protection or birth control. And vaccine rates vary across different social and cultural groups: for instance, rural teenagers are less likely to be vaccinated than urban ones. Two recent studies explore different facets of the cultural barriers standing in the way of better HPV vaccine uptake. The first, a paper published last month in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, looks at the data on whether the vaccine encourages riskier sexual behavior and finds no evidence that it does. And the second, an early draft of a paper presented at an American Association for Cancer Research meeting this week, reports the results of a culturally-targeted intervention aiming to increase vaccine uptake among low-income Chinese Americans. The kids are alright Although the vaccine is now recommended for both boys and girls, the initial drive was to get teenage girls vaccinated, given the link between HPV and cervical cancer. That’s why girls are the focus of the recent study on risky [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2018-11-06T09:37:25-07:00November, 2018|Oral Cancer News|

Scientists untangle the evolutionary history of the world’s most common STI

Source: www.iflscience.com Author: Rosie McCall Scientists have analyzed the genomes of viruses to reveal the surprisingly complex evolutionary past of the human papillomavirus (HPV), exposing the salacious details of our ancestors' sexual history in the process. HPV comes in several flavors but HPV16 is the most common subtype worldwide – and it is the one most frequently identified in cervical cancer. Together HPV16 and HPV18 are responsible for 70 percent of all cases, accord to stats from the World Health Organization (WHO). The problem is, it isn't exactly clear how HPV strains contribute to cervical cancer (and other types, including cancer of the anus, the throat, the base of the tongue, and the tonsils). Or why the virus naturally clears in some people but not others. Researchers hope that studying the evolution of the virus will expose biological insights and point at mechanisms that might explain how cervical cancer develops. To try to untangle HPV16's thorny evolutionary past, scientists led by the Chinese University of Hong Kong isolated and examined oral, perianal, and genital samples in 10 adult female squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) and eight adult rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta), half of whom were male and half of whom were female. They found that the virus strains with most in common came from the same part of the body – meaning the oral samples from the squirrel monkeys and rhesus monkeys had more in common than oral and genital samples from the same species, for example. This, the authors say, [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2018-11-05T12:52:42-07:00November, 2018|Oral Cancer News|

A Look at Therapy Toxicities & Biology in Head & Neck Cancers

Source: journals.lww.com Author: Valerie Neff Newitt A measure of intrigue and discovery pertaining to head and neck cancer, spiked with compassion for patients struggling against treatment toxicities, helps quench the intellectual thirst of Yvonne Mowery, MD, PhD, Butler Harris Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology at Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C. Splitting time between the clinic and laboratory, Mowery is actively engaged in patient care as well as preclinical, translational, and clinical research. “I hope to get a better understanding of the biology of head and neck cancer and determine pathways that we can target to reduce metastatic spread of the disease and improve responsiveness to available treatments,” she told Oncology Times. Long before reaching her current status as an award-winning investigator, Mowery grew up in Richmond, Va., in the midst of a “completely non-scientific” family. “I was an oddball,” she joked, while recalling her parents' patience with her backyard composting experiments that became so foul-smelling that the health department was contacted. As a kid, her idea of a great present was an encyclopedia of science, and the thing that caught her eye at the toy store was a junior chemistry set. Science was clearly her path when she headed to the University of Virginia. In her sophomore year, Mowery began working in a genetics lab. That's where the lure of fruit flies took hold. “I looked at the development of their reproductive system and found that very interesting,” she recalled. Nearing the completion of her undergraduate education, Mowery debated [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2018-11-04T07:47:45-07:00November, 2018|Oral Cancer News|

HPV blood test shows promise for tracking head and neck cancer after treatment

Source: www.eurekalert.org Author: from UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center A new blood test developed by University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers shows promise for tracking HPV-linked head and neck cancer patients to ensure they remain cancer-free after treatment. Researchers will present preliminary findings at the 60th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology in San Antonio on Tuesday, Oct. 23. Their study evaluated a blood test for HPV-linked oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma, which is a cancer of the back of the throat. The findings demonstrated the test could be an effective and less costly alternative for monitoring for cancer recurrence after radiation treatment. "The goal of this study was to evaluate whether this test can be used to track patients who are completely asymptomatic, and thought to have no active cancer," said UNC Lineberger's Gaorav P. Gupta, MD, PhD, assistant professor in the UNC School of Medicine Department of Radiation Oncology. "We already knew that our test was very sensitive and specific, but we did not know the degree to which it would be useful in early detection of disease recurrence in patients who are otherwise thought to be disease-free." HPV, or the human papillomavirus, is the most common cause of sexually transmitted infection in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Infection with certain strains of HPV can cause cervical cancer in women, genital cancers in both men and women, and cancer of the oropharynx, which is the [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2018-10-24T12:11:11-07:00October, 2018|Oral Cancer News|

Why oral cancer threatens men

Source: www.scientificamerican.com Author: Claudia Wallis, Scientific American November 2018 Issue Back in 2006, when the vaccine for human papillomavirus (HPV) was introduced, I rushed to get my teenage daughters immunized. Here, amazingly, was a vaccine that could actually prevent cancer. By blocking HPV infection, it protects girls from the leading cause of cervical malignancies. I didn't give much thought to my son, and neither did the medical establishment. It wasn't until 2011 that health authorities recommended the vaccine for boys. In hindsight, that delay was a mistake, though perfectly understandable: the vaccine was developed with cervical cancer in mind and initially tested only in girls. Today, however, we see a rising tide of cancers in the back of the throat caused by HPV, especially in men, who are three to five times more vulnerable than women. This surge of oropharyngeal cancers, occurring in many developed nations, took doctors by surprise. Oral cancers were expected to decline as a result of the drop in smoking that began in the 1960s. Smoking-related oropharyngeal cancers are, in fact, down. But making up the difference, particularly in men, are those related to HPV, which have more than doubled over the past two decades. With cervical cancer waning (thanks to screening and prevention), this oral disease is now the leading HPV-related cancer in the U.S. Nearly 19,000 cases were reported in 2015, according to a recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Roughly nine out of 10 involve a nasty strain called [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2018-10-17T07:39:00-07:00October, 2018|Oral Cancer News|

As HPV-related cancer rates climb, experts scrutinize barriers to HPV vaccination

Source: www.cancertherapyadvisor.com Author: Bryant Furlow Oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) are now the most commonly diagnosed human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated cancers in the United States, with 15,479 men and 3438 women diagnosed in 2015, according to an analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).1 Between 1999 and 2015, cervical cancer and vaginal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) rates declined, by 1.6% and 0.6% per year, respectively. But rates for vulvar SCC increased by 1.3% annually during the same period. Anal SCC rates also climbed by approximately 2% a year among men and 3% among women.1 Rates of oropharyngeal SCC — cancers of the throat and tongue — climbed as well, particularly among men (2.7% a year vs 0.8% in women). All told, more than 43,000 Americans were newly diagnosed with HPV-related cancers in 2015, the analysis showed, up from 30,115 in 1999.1 Most people diagnosed with HPV-associated malignancies are older than 49 years.1 Most women diagnosed with cervical cancer are older than 30 years.1 “We don't actually know what caused the increase in HPV infections but we know now that we have a safe and effective vaccine that can prevent infections,” said Lois Ramondetta, MD, professor of gynecologic oncology and reproductive medicine at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston. “We're seeing people who were infected decades ago developing these cancers,” Dr Ramondetta said. “We'll see rates continue to rise over the coming years because the vaccine wasn't available before 2006.” HPV vaccination rates are improving, Dr [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2018-10-16T12:00:04-07:00October, 2018|Oral Cancer News|

New risk factor for mouth cancer uncovered

Source: www.medicalnewstoday.com Author: Tim Newman, fact checked by Paula Field In some regions, mouth cancer incidence has risen. A recent study investigates a new risk factor for mouth cancer. In certain parts of the world, over the past couple of decades, mouth cancer rates have soared. For instance, in the United Kingdom, rates of mouth cancer have increased by 68 percent. They rose from eight cases per 100,0000 in 1992–1995 to 13 cases per 100,000 in 2012–2014. In the United States, mouth cancer and mortality rates have declined overall. However, when examined at a state level, the data reveal a more complex picture. For instance, mouth cancer deaths have risen significantly in Nevada, North Carolina, Iowa, Ohio, Maine, Idaho, North Dakota, and Wyoming. Some known risk factors for mouth cancer include smoking tobacco, drinking alcohol, human papillomavirus (HPV), and chewing betel quid, which is a mix of natural ingredients wrapped in a betel leaf that is popular in some parts of Southeast Asia. In India, mouth cancers are the most common cause of cancer-related deaths in men aged 30–69 years old. Scientists think that chewing betel quid could be responsible for many of these deaths. New risk factor for mouth cancer Although scientists have confirmed some risk factors, there is still much to learn about how and why mouth cancer affects certain individuals and not others. Recently, scientists set out to investigate another potential risk factor: air pollution. The researchers, funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology in Taiwan, [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2018-10-12T12:20:45-07:00October, 2018|Oral Cancer News|