smoking – Page 12 – Oral Cancer News

Dentists asked to help in curbing mouth cancer

Source: Author: The increasing cases of oral cancer have pushed the Cancer Research UK to ask dentists to look for cancer related symptoms in their patients. By checking the mouth properly, dentists can gauge whether or not a person is prone of developing mouth cancer. Mouth cancer can be lethal if timely treatment isn't provided to the patients. Smoking and heavy drinking could be one of the reasons behind causing mouth cancer. Chewing tobacco is yet again contributing to mouth cancer. While examining the patients, the dentists have been advised to look for cancer contributing factors. It is estimated that by 2030 there will be an increase in the number of mouth cancer patients. People under the age group of 50 years are growing becoming victim of mouth cancer. Oral sex is yet another factor that could lead to mouth cancer. People need to be made aware about the growing incidences of mouth cancer so that innocent lives could be saved. Avoiding heavy drinking, smoke and unhygienic oral sex can help in preventing mouth cancer. Besides, dentists can also help in saving lives by detecting mouth cancer earlier through regular checkups. It is hoped that the dentists will take serious note of the recommendations.

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-09-28T07:08:58-07:00September, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

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|

Oral cancer deaths declining among well-educated

Source: www.reuters.com Author: Genevra Pittman Deaths from mouth and throat cancer have dropped since the early 1990s, according to a new study -- but only among people with at least a high school education. Researchers said that may be due to higher rates of smoking and other oral cancer risks among less educated, poorer Americans, and because they're also less likely to have access to timely health care. Similar trends have been shown in rates of death from lung and breast cancers, for example, they added. "We have a lot more to do in terms of (the fact that) socioeconomic status probably is a really significant factor in mortality from oral and oropharyngeal cancers," said Dr. Joseph Califano, who studies those cancers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore but wasn't involved in the new research. "Clearly access to health care to detect cancer in early stages is very important." The study, led by Dr. Amy Chen at the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, included mouth and throat cancer data from 1993 through 2007 in 26 states. Among adults age 25 to 64, there were about 19,300 deaths during that period. Cancer deaths declined during the 1990s and 2000s by two to five percent every year, on average, researchers found. By the end of the study period, the cancers killed three out of every 100,000 white men, six out of every 100,000 black men, and one each of every 100,000 white and black women annually. [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-08-06T13:59:07-07:00August, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Rising number of college students smoking hookah raises concern for oral cancer

Source: eon.businesswire.com Hookah smoking, where specially made flavored tobacco is heated, passed through water and drawn through a rubber pipe, has been around for centuries. According to a recent study conducted at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, however, these days hookah use is on the rise among college-age Americans. In fact, one in three college students has smoked a hookah at some point. In response to this alarming trend, the largest ear, nose, throat, allergy and audiology practice in the tri-state area, ENT and Allergy Associates, LLP (ENTA), which is highly involved with the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout, is calling for increased public awareness about the risks associated with hookah smoking. ENTA stresses the importance of quitting this unhealthy habit and provides tips on what young people can do to help decrease their chances of developing oral cancer. “Young people need to be made aware of the negative impact of hookah smoking on their health, including the increased risk for developing oral cancer,” explains Michael Bergstein, M.D., FACS, of the ENTA office in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y. “A typical hookah session can last up to one hour, with smokers taking long, deep breaths, so that the smoke inhaled can equal 100 cigarettes or more, according to a 2005 study by the World Health Organization. Therefore, it is critical that hookah smokers stop immediately and practice preventive measures against oral cancer.” Individuals should routinely perform simple oral self-exams of their mouth in order to help detect early changes [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-08-02T17:32:48-07:00August, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Oral Cancer in Swedish Snuff Dippers

Source: Anticancer Research Abstract Over recent decades there has been debate over whether or not Swedish snuff is carcinogenic in humans. Animal studies and molecular biological and experimental studies have shown the carcinogenic potential of Swedish snuff, but this has not been proved in prospective randomized studies. We present a case series of patients with oral squamous cell carcinomas diagnosed at the sites where the patients had used Swedish snuff for several years. Sixteen male patients were referred to and treated at Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Departments and Ear, Nose and Throat clinics at seven different hospitals in Sweden. The mean age of the patients at the time of diagnosis was 72.9 years and the mean time of snuff use prior to cancer diagnosis was 42.9 years. This case series shows that Swedish snuff may not be a harmless alternative to smoking. This news story was resourced by the Oral Cancer Foundation, and vetted for appropriateness and accuracy.

Charlotte Parker2012-07-26T09:25:39-07:00July, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Best. Obit. Ever.

Source: News.Health.com This funny, surprising obituary was written by Val Patterson before he died of throat cancer earlier this month. I was Born in Salt Lake City, March 27th 1953. I died of Throat Cancer on July 10th 2012. I went to six different grade schools, then to Churchill, Skyline and the U of U. I loved school, Salt Lake City, the mountains, Utah. I was a true Scientist. Electronics, chemistry, physics, auto mechanic, wood worker, artist, inventor, business man, ribald comedian, husband, brother, son, cat lover, cynic. I had a lot of fun. It was an honor for me to be friends with some truly great people. I thank you. I’ve had great joy living and playing with my dog, my cats and my parrot. But, the one special thing that made my spirit whole, is my long love and friendship with my remarkable wife, my beloved Mary Jane. I loved her more than I have words to express. Every moment spent with my Mary Jane was time spent wisely. Over time, I became one with her, inseparable, happy, fulfilled. I enjoyed one good life. Traveled to every place on earth that I ever wanted to go. Had every job that I wanted to have. Learned all that I wanted to learn. Fixed everything I wanted to fix. Eaten everything I wanted to eat. My life motto was: “Anything for a Laugh”. Other mottos were “If you can break it, I can fix it”, “Don’t apply for a job, [...]

Charlotte Parker2012-07-19T09:14:20-07:00July, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

People ignorant of cancers caused by smoking

Source: medicalxpress.com Author: CancerResearch UK Cancer Research UK today reveals the shocking level of ignorance about smoking and cancer among the UK public in a comprehensive new survey of more than 4000 people. When asked to select cancers linked to smoking, more than 80 per cent of people did not know there was a link between smoking and eight different cancers. At least two thirds of the 4,099 people surveyed knew smoking caused cancers of the lung, mouth (oral) and throat (larynx and oesophagus). But less than 20 per cent knew tobacco was linked to leukaemia and cancers of the liver, pancreas, bowel (colorectum), kidney, bladder, cervix, and ovary. And less than 40 per cent knew that stomach cancer is linked to smoking. Cigarette smoke contains a toxic cocktail of more than 70 cancer-causing chemicals. When a cigarette is smoked, these chemicals can enter the bloodstream and travel around the body, increasing the risk of cancer in more than a dozen different locations. Professor Robert West, Cancer Research UK’s quit smoking expert, said: “Nearly everyone knows that smoking causes lung cancer. And smokers may often gamble with their chance of developing the disease. The addiction can lead people to reason that they might avoid lung cancer. But the odds aren’t good. And these alarming results show what could be a fatal level of ignorance about the toxic hit list from tobacco. There are only two options to eliminate illness caused by smoking: help smokers to quit and stop young people from [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-07-04T10:40:48-07:00July, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Gruesome images on cigarette packs seem to be working

Source: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/ Sometimes it takes a good swift kick to open a person's eyes. That's the federal government's strategy in its "scared straight" campaign urging Canadians to butt out by forcing tobacco companies to adorn their addictive products with gruesome images showing the consequences of smoking. The graphic pictures include that of a human tongue rotting in the mouth of a person inflicted with mouth cancer. Other images portray cancer victims, literally human skeletons, at various stages of cancer with the Grim Reaper knocking at their back door. Another shows a man with a hole in his neck -- a victim of throat cancer -- through which he now breathes. His message on the smoke pack: "I wish I had never started smoking." It's a frank message that had to be brought home, and it's apparently working. Statistics Canada reported this week smoking rates have dropped dramatically in the last 10 years, with steep declines in the number of teen smokers. Ottawa credits, in part, its mandatory, graphic anti-smoking packaging for tobacco products. The new rules became official Tuesday. Tobacco companies must now label three-quarters of a cigarette package with grisly pictures showing the horrific consequences of smoking. The image of an emaciated, cancer-stricken Barb Tarbox, curled up in a fetal position in a hospital bed not long before her death, takes up three-quarters of some of the packages. Tarbox became well-known as a powerful anti-smoking activist who, while inflicted with brain and lung cancers, gave numerous public [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-06-22T21:18:49-07:00June, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

New method of predicting the spread of throat cancer to other body parts found

Source: starglobaltribune.com Author: staff Independent of other factors, such as smoking history and HPV status, matted lymph nodes appear to signal increased chance of oropharyngeal cancer spreading to other parts of the body. Researchers at the University of Michigan Health System have found a new indicator that may predict which patients with a common type of throat cancer are most likely have the cancer spread to other parts of their bodies. Patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma who had “matted” lymph nodes – nodes that are connected together – had a 69 percent survival rate over three years, compared to 94 percent for patients without matted nodes, according to a study published online ahead of print publication in Head & Neck. The oropharynx is an area that includes the back of the tongue, soft palate, throat and tonsils. “The spread of cancer throughout the body accounts for about 45 percent of the deaths from oropharyngeal carcinoma,” says the study’s senior author, Douglas B. Chepeha, M.D., M.S.P.H., an associate professor of otolaryngology head and neck surgery at the U-M Medical School. “Our findings may help doctors identify patients who are at higher risk for having their cancer metastasize and who would benefit from additional systemic therapy. Conversely, some patients without matted nodes may benefit from a reduction of the current standard treatment, which would cut down on uncomfortable side effects.” Notably, the findings indicate an increased risk independent of other established prognostic factors, such as the patient’s history of smoking or [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-05-07T08:16:13-07:00May, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Ireland: mouth cancer awareness day yields results

Source: http://www.dentistryiq.com/ Author: staff Dentists are emphasizing the importance of early detection with mouth cancer, after 12 cases of the potentially deadly cancer were discovered on Mouth Cancer Awareness Day and one of these was discovered in Waterford. The Irish Dental Association estimates that 10,000 people availed of free mouth cancer examinations carried out by participating dentists countrywide on September 21 of last year. As well as the confirmed cases, 286 people were advised to attend their GP for other related problems. Mouth Cancer Awareness Day was set up by a group of mouth, head and neck cancer survivors in September 2010. It is now a joint initiative by the Irish Dental Association, Irish Cancer Society, Dublin Dental University Hospital, Cork Dental University Hospital, the Dental Health Foundation and Mouth, Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Ireland. The President of the IDA, Conor McAlister said the fact twelve cancers were discovered in one day showed the importance of early detection and the need for everyone to have a regular examination. He said, "Three hundred cases of mouth cancer are detected here each year with 100 deaths and this type of cancer actually kills more Irish people than cervical cancer or skin melanoma. "According to the National Cancer Register in Ireland, roughly 50% of all mouth cancers are diagnosed at an advanced stage. Hopefully the fact these 12 cases have been caught at an earlier stage means the impact on quality of life will be reduced." He added, "This year we saw [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-05-06T11:25:21-07:00May, 2012|Oral Cancer News|