oral cancer – Page 13 – Oral Cancer News

Incidence of oropharyngeal cancer on the rise

Source: News-Medical.netPublished: November 22, 2013 NCI scientists report that the incidence of oropharyngeal cancer significantly increased during the period 1983-2002 among people in countries that are economically developed. Oropharyngeal cancer occurs primarily in the middle part of the throat behind the mouth, including the base of the tongue, the side and back walls of the throat, and the tonsils. The results of this study, by Anil K. Chaturvedi, Ph.D., Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, NCI, and his colleagues, appeared online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Nov. 18, 2013. Recent studies from several countries have reported rising incidence of oropharyngeal cancers and subsequent studies have shown the human papilloma virus (HPV) as the potential cause. However, it has been unclear whether this increase in oropharyngeal cancer incidence represents a global phenomenon. Chaturvedi and his collaborators at Ohio State University and the International Agency for Research on Cancer evaluated incidence trends for oropharyngeal and oral cavity cancers. Their analysis was based on cancer registry data from more than 180,000 patients in 23 countries. They found that oropharyngeal cancer incidence increased overall among both women and men from 1983 to 2002, almost exclusively in economically developed countries. Among women, in all countries with significant increases in oropharyngeal cancer incidence, there was also an increase in incidence of both oral cancer and lung cancer, two cancers strongly associated with smoking. In contrast, among men, rising oropharyngeal cancer incidence was generally accompanied by decreases for oral cancer and lung cancer. These observations among [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-11-22T14:42:00-07:00November, 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|

Leaders in Dentistry: Dr. Ezra Cohen

Source: Dr. Bicuspid By: Donna Domino, Features Editor Date: July 17, 2013 May 21, 2013 — DrBicuspid.com is pleased to present the next installment of Leaders in Dentistry, a series of interviews with researchers, practitioners, and opinion leaders who are influencing the practice of dentistry. We spoke with Ezra Cohen, MD, an associate professor of medicine and the co-director of the head and neck cancer program at the University of Chicago, and the associate director for education at the university’s Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Cohen specializes in head and neck, thyroid, and salivary gland cancers, and is an expert in novel cancer therapies who has conducted extensive research in molecularly targeted agents in the treatment of these cancers. His research interests include discovering how cancers become resistant to existing treatments and overcoming these mechanisms and ways to combine radiotherapy with novel agents. Here Dr. Cohen discusses trends in the incidence, detection, and treatment of oral and head and neck cancers. DrBicuspid.com: What’s the significance of your recent finding that there may be five distinct subgroups of the human papillomavirus (HPV)? Dr. Cohen: The purpose of the research was trying to define molecular subgroups of head and neck cancer (HNC) to inform therapy and outcomes a lot more than we do now as defined by stage and anatomic site. We were taking advantage of a cohort of patients that we treated in a similar fashion at the University of Chicago with a chemotherapy regimen that we commonly use here. The patients [...]

Webmaster2013-07-19T07:48:02-07:00July, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

The New Face of Oral Cancer

Source: nursing.advanceweb.comBy Jonathan BassettPosted on: April 22, 2013 For decades tobacco was the primary cause of oral cancer but a more insidious culprit has emerged. Jerry Wilck had no reason to suspect anything. Why would he? He only smoked for a couple of years and gave it up more than 40 years ago. He didn't drink excessively, didn't have a family history of cancer, and took good care of himself. In fact, maybe the only reason the 59-year-old consulted an oral surgeon about the small sore on his tongue - the result of a habit of running this particular spot along his teeth - was that there happened to be such a specialist right there in his office. Wilck was a general practice dentist in Langhorne, Pa., and particularly attuned to anomalies of the soft tissues of the mouth. His oral surgeon took no chances and ordered a biopsy. Wilck was "floored" the night in March 2005 when the lab report arrived by fax from the oral pathology department at Temple University in Philadelphia - squamous cell carcinoma. Wilck immediately consulted with John Ridge, MD, PhD, FACS, chief of head and neck surgery at Temple's Fox Chase Cancer Center. After surgical removal of part of his tongue and lymph nodes from his neck, along with a round of physical and speech therapy, Wilck is now cancer free and has full use of his jaw, throat and voice. "I was lucky," confessed Wilck, who retired from practice in 2009 and now spends a [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-06-10T12:26:21-07:00June, 2013|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

The Oral Cancer Foundation Honored as 2013 Top-Rated Nonprofit New GreatNonprofits.org Award is Based on Positive Online Reviews

Newport Beach, CA May 28, 2013 - The oral Cancer Foundation announced today that is has been honored with a prestigious 2013 Top-Rated Awarded by GreatNonprofits, the leading provider of user reviews about non-profit organizations. "We are honored to be named a Top-Rated 2013 Nonprofit," says Brian hill, Founder and Executive Director, The Oral Cancer Foundation. "We have found creative means to accomplish our missions; raise awareness, support patients, provide information, and sponsor research to accomplish important goals when our human and financial resources were minimal." The Top-Rated Nonprofit award was based on a large number of positive reviews that OCF received - reviews written by the patient population they serve and donors. Individuals could contribute more than a yes/no answer about questions regarding their personal experiences with the non-profit. For example, one person wrote, "I was 33 years old when I was diagnosed with Stage IV metastatic oral cancer. The treatments and surgeries that saved my life however left me disfigured, disabled and dependent on the opiate pain medication, Fentanyl. I felt lost and alone, without hope. I found the Oral Cancer Foundation website 11 months after diagnosis and it was a ray of light for me. I was able to connect with survivors and other patients who understood my struggle and related to where I was. With their advice and support I've been able to rebuild my body and free myself from the opiates, and begin to live again. I can't express the gratitude in my [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-05-29T16:05:54-07:00May, 2013|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

Noninvasive Detection, Diagnosis of Oral Cancer

Source: Science DailyDate: May 23, 2013 More effective detection and diagnosis of oral cancer could result from an advance in noninvasive imaging of epithelial tissue by a Texas A&M University researcher. The research is thought to have the potential to change the way doctors initially look for precancerous and cancerous areas in a patient's mouth. The imaging technique, which is detailed in the Journal of Biomedical Optics, is being developed by Kristen Maitland, assistant professor in the university's Department of Biomedical Engineering. It combines two separate technologies -- confocal microscopy and fluorescence lifetime imaging -- to noninvasively evaluate both the structural changes of tissue as well as molecular changes that take place on a cellular and tissue level. These morphological and biochemical changes are key factors in determining if tissue is precancerous or cancerous, Maitland says. Fluorescence lifetime imaging with a 16x16 mm2 field of view detects tissue biochemical changes on the macroscopic scale, and (inset) confocal microscopy with a 0.4 mm diameter field of view is used to characterize size, shape, and spacing of cell nuclei to detect oral precancer and cancer (Credit: Texas A&M University) Typically, such evaluations are made from lab analysis of biopsies, small amounts of surgically removed tissue. The challenge for doctors, Maitland says, is determining from what areas to take a biopsy. These determinations, she says, are largely based on visual evidence. In other words, doctors rely on the naked eye to look for problematic areas that warrant a biopsy. For [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-05-28T14:02:44-07:00May, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

Painting for the Oral Cancer Foundation

With a desire to help in spreading awareness for oral cancer, Anita McGinn-Natali, a Fine Art Painter from Pennsylvania, donates her original framed and ready to hang oil paintings to Oral Cancer Awareness Walks. Funds collected will benefit the Oral Cancer Foundation. In October of 2007, Anita’s husband, Clark, was diagnosed with oral cancer. Anita was her husband’s caregiver during his treatments and recovery. Two years later,she found the Oral Cancer Foundation online and began to participate in the Forums, whose contributors include patients, caregivers, as well as family and friends of patients. “Discovering the Oral Cancer Foundation website during a challenging time in my husband’s recovery, was gratifying. The information available and the support I received were life savers for me. “I spent hours on the website educating myself about this disease. As a participant in the Forums, I had started out asking questions with others helping me,” Anita says. No long after she was offering support to other patients and caregivers. “It is a unique community of people from all over the world who have the unfortunate common denominator of oral cancer.” Since September 2011, Anita has donated her original oil paintings to three OCF Walks for Awareness: David Nasto in New Jersey (Susan Nasto Lauria); San Antonio (ElizabethSikon); and Colorado (Susan Cotten) Currently, there are 18 Walks for Awareness held throughout the United States. Participants can receive a free oral cancer screening, meet others whoselives have been touched by oral cancer, and be inspired by the work the Oral Cancer Foundation is doing to bring awareness to this debilitating and life changing disease. “I wanted to find a way to give back to this organization that has been such an important part [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-03-04T11:39:46-07:00February, 2013|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

HPV and oral cancer

Source: myfoxny.com Date: Feb 21, 2013 4:02 PM PST Updated: Feb 25, 2013 2:07 PM PST NEW YORK (MYFOXNY) - Oral cancer is being diagnosed at near epidemic proportions, and in many cases it strikes those people who would least suspect it. At 28, Jessica Tar appeared young and healthy. That is why she was floored to find out she had oral cancer; a small tumor was growing on her tongue. "It was just this raised area, and pain from time to time," Tar says. They are symptoms many of may have ignored, but thankfully Jessica did not. Her cancer was caught early and had not spread. She went to Memorial Sloan Kettering's Dr. Jatin Shah for treatment. He recommended a surgery to remove part of her tongue, an aggressive treatment that threatened her career as an actress and singer. "They tell you your mouth is going to be rearranged. The tip of your tongue, where you thought it once was, it won't be there anymore," Tar says. Jessica Tar was anxious to get back to work, so she underwent extensive speech therapy. The hardest thing for her to pronounce was the letter S. Jessica knew she want to work hard at it and she had the ultimate motivation, a specific name in mind for her daughter on the way. "I said to my speech therapist if I can't improve on these S's I don't think I'm going to name her Kalista, but I got better and the day she was born, [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-02-26T13:52:53-07:00February, 2013|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

Should You Get the HPV Vaccine?

You don’t have to be a virgin to be protected against cancer. By Jake Blumgart|Posted Friday, Jan. 25, 2013, at 1:22 PM ET Source: Slate A doctor gives a 13-year-old girl an HPV vaccination Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images. The human papillomavirus has the dubious distinction of being the sexually transmitted disease you are most likely to get. It’s also the leading cause of cervical cancer. January has, somewhat arbitrarily, been dubbed Cervical Health Awareness Month (also National Hobby Month and Hot Tea Month, the last at least for good reason). While cervical cancer is the disease most commonly associated with HPV, a recent report from the American Cancer Society emphasizes that HPV’s threat is not gender-specific or organ-specific. While cervical cancer cases are in decline (as are general cancer rates), cancers linked to HPV are on the rise. The increasing prevalence of HPV-linked cancers should permanently alter our limited conception of the disease as chiefly a women’s issue. Oropharyngeal (which I’ll be vulgarizing as “oral”) and anal HPV-related cancers (which particularly afflict men who have sex with men) are becoming more common. Oral malignancies account for 37.3 percent of HPV-related cancers, edging out cervical cancer, which makes up 32.7 percent. For men, oral cancers make up 78.2 percent of total HPV-related cancer incidences, and they account for 11.6 percent of cases among women. The death rate for oral cancer is three times higher than that for cervical cancer. (About 40 percent of penile cancer cases are HPV-related, but rates [...]

Charlotte Parker2013-01-28T14:28:34-07:00January, 2013|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

A tragic turn of events to most important dental story published in 2012

Source: DentistryIQ Date: 12/21/2012 By Maria Perno Goldie, RDH, MS, and Jo-Anne Jones, RDH Jo-Anne Jones, RDH, President, RDH Connection Inc., has much to be proud of! An article by Jo-Anne, about a possible connection between sex and oral cancer, has been selected by the dental editors of PennWell publications as the most important article published in 2012 for the dental profession. Jones’ article, “Sex and oral cancer: What is the connection?” appeared in the April 6 issue of RDH eVillage FOCUS e-newsletter. The article shares some of the latest statistics regarding a possible connection between the human papillomavirus (HPV) and oral cancer. To read the article, click here. The editors participating in the selection of the top published dental story perform editorial duties for Dental Economics, RDH, and Proofs magazines, as well as Dental Assisting Digest, RDH eVillage, RDH eVillage FOCUS, DE Expert Tips & Tricks, Surgical-Restorative Resource, and New Products electronic newsletters. Articles that were published in either print or electronic formats were accepted. Dental editors were asked to submit a nomination of the most important article from their respective publication. Nominations were sought for the following categories: • Most important article from Dental Assisting Digest • Most important article from Proofs • Most important article from RDH eVillage • Most important article from RDH eVillage FOCUS • Most important article from New Products • Most important article from Surgical-Restorative Resource • Most important article from DE Expert Tips & Tricks • Most important article from DentalEconomics.com • [...]

Charlotte Parker2012-12-21T10:56:21-07:00December, 2012|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|