smoking – Page 8 – Oral Cancer News

A Study Finds Smoking’s Toll On Your Body and Health Worse Than Previously Thought

Source: nytimes.comAuthor: Denise Grady However bad you thought smoking was, it’s even worse. A new study adds at least five diseases and 60,000 deaths a year to the toll taken by tobacco in the United States. Before the study, smoking was already blamed for nearly half a million deaths a year in this country from 21 diseases, including 12 types of cancer. The new findings are based on health data from nearly a million people who were followed for 10 years. In addition to the well-known hazards of lung cancer, artery disease, heart attacks, chronic lung disease and stroke, the researchers found that smoking was linked to significantly increased risks of infection, kidney disease, intestinal disease caused by inadequate blood flow, and heart and lung ailments not previously attributed to tobacco. Even though people are already barraged with messages about the dangers of smoking, researchers say it is important to let the public know that there is yet more bad news. “The smoking epidemic is still ongoing, and there is a need to evaluate how smoking is hurting us as a society, to support clinicians and policy making in public health,” said Brian D. Carter, an epidemiologist at the American Cancer Society and the first author of an article about the study, which appears in The New England Journal of Medicine. “It’s not a done story.” In an editorial accompanying the article, Dr. Graham A. Colditz, from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, said the new findings showed [...]

Charlotte Parker2015-02-12T11:56:41-07:00February, 2015|Oral Cancer News|

New model proposed for predicting outcomes more accurately in HPV-related throat cancer patients

Source: www.news-medical.net Author: staff Researchers at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre are proposing a new model to enable doctors to predict outcomes more accurately for patients with throat cancers specifically caused by Human Papillomavirus (HPV). The findings are published online today in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Study investigators, Dr. Brian O'Sullivan, Lead, Head and Neck Cancer Site Group and Shao-Hui Huang, Research and Clinical Radiation Therapist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, have determined that a new model for classifying the most frequently seen throat cancers in our geographic location is needed. This classification incorporates individual patient factors including age and their smoking status with the traditional classification of the extent of disease, to offer a more personalized approach to predict outcomes and guide treatment. "Our study shows that the current model derived for smoking and alcohol related cancers is not suited for throat cancer caused by HPV, a burgeoning throat cancer population in the Western World, including Canada," says Huang. "This is the future of tumour staging. We need to consider the patient as a whole. Both individual factors, how extensive the disease is in the patient, and tumour biology should play a role in determining the best course of treatment." The purpose of a tumour staging system is to classify the disease into early, intermediate or advanced stage cancer. This classification helps determine treatment plans and can suggest what is likely to be the outcome. In recent years, it's been discovered that throat cancer caused by HPV behaves [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2015-02-11T07:56:14-07:00February, 2015|Oral Cancer News|

Inherited factors linked to head and neck cancers in young adults

Source: www.news-medical.net Author: Oxford University Press An article published online today in the International Journal of Epidemiology pools data from 25 case-control studies and conducts separate analyses to show that head and neck cancers (HNC) in young adults are more likely to be as a result of inherited factors, rather than lifestyle factors such as smoking or drinking alcohol. Approximately 550,000 new cases of HNC are diagnosed worldwide annually, with an increased incidence in young adults (YA) also being reported. In particular, reports indicate an increase in tumours affecting the tongue and oropharynx among young adults in Europe, the United States, India, and China. Dr Tatiana Natasha Toporcov and colleagues pooled data from 25 studies from the International Head and Neck Cancer Epidemiology (INHANCE) consortium to compare the role of major risk factors and family history in HNC for YA (45 years of age or younger) and older adults (over 45 years of age). Participants were surveyed about their history of cigarette smoking, alcohol drinking, and diet, as well as family history of cancer. In total, there were 2,010 cases and 4,042 controls in YA, and 17,700 cases and 22,704 controls in older adults. The attributable fraction (an estimate of the proportion of cases which could be avoided if the exposures were eliminated) for smoking on the risk of HNC was 20% in young women, 49% in older women, 46% in young men, and 64% in older men. The attributable fraction for drinking alcohol on the risk of HNC was [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2015-01-25T10:21:44-07:00January, 2015|Oral Cancer News|

Ring in the New Year by encouraging patients to quit tobacco use

Source: www.dentistryiq.com Author: Maria Perno Goldie The New Year always brings a sense of hope and conviction to improve our lives. New Year’s resolutions abound. With the New Year come new beginnings, fresh starts, and promises for a brighter future. We try to move on from the losses and trials of 2014, but we never forget. The people we’ve lost will be in our hearts forever, and the trials can be viewed as life lessons and opportunities. As World Oral Health Day (WOHD) 2015 approaches, FDI World Dental Federation wants people to make a healthy New Year’s resolution and reduce their use of tobacco – or give it up completely – as part of the 2015 World Oral Health Day Smile for Life campaign.(1) Tobacco use can significantly increase the risk of many serious oral health problems, including oral cancer, periodontal disease, early tooth loss, tooth discoloration, oral malodor, and a reduced ability to taste and smell. Dental and dental hygiene office visits can create an opportunities to help patients quit smoking and using tobacco, yet dental settings are often not used for treatment of tobacco dependence. The purpose of one study was to evaluate issues that may influence patterns of tobacco-use-related practice among a national sample of dental providers.(2) Researchers surveyed a representative sample of general dentists practicing in the U.S. More than 90% of dental providers reported that they regularly ask patients about tobacco use, 76% counsel patients, and 45% routinely offer cessation assistance. This was defined as [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2014-12-31T06:50:44-07:00December, 2014|Oral Cancer News|

Oral cancer on rise in young people

Source: www.wwltv.com Author: Jaclyn Kelley Alex Dupuy is like most 15-year-old boys, except for one very special talent. Last year he stole the headlines during a bowling tournament for bowling a perfect 300. But that high wouldn't last long. "My son came to us one day and said I have an ulcer, and we thought, OK, let's gargle with some salt water and we kept checking on it and it never went away," said Nancy Dupuy, Alex's mother. When the sore on Alex's tongue never cleared up, but instead started growing, his mother became concerned and took him to see the doctor. "It has grown so rapidly that I would really like to have the tumor or whatever it was removed," she said. Alex was taken to Children's Hospital for surgery, and doctors removed the sore and 30 percent of his tongue. Three days later test results came back confirming the Dupuy's worst fears: It was cancer. "The word aggressive stuck out to me," Nancy Dupuy said. "The type of cancer that my son presented with was an adult cancer. It's not usually diagnosed in young children." The doctors said Alex had a rapid form of squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue. Four days later he and his parents were on a plane to MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Through it all, Alex managed to stay positive. "I felt nervous, I felt scared and I told myself, I'll be alright," Alex said. In Houston Alex would have yet another [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2014-12-31T06:23:34-07:00December, 2014|Oral Cancer News|

Smoking associated with elevated risk of developing a second smoking-related cancer

Source: medicalxpress.com Author: staff Results of a federally-funded pooled analysis of five prospective cohort studies indicate that cigarette smoking prior to the first diagnosis of lung (stage I), bladder, kidney or head and neck cancer increases risk of developing a second smoking-associated cancer. This is the largest study to date exploring risk of second cancers among current smokers. An analysis of five large, prospective cohort studies indicates that lung (stage I), bladder, kidney and head and neck cancer survivors who smoked 20 or more cigarettes a day prior to their cancer diagnoses have an up to five-fold higher risk of developing a second smoking-associated cancer compared to survivors of the same cancers who never smoked. The association between smoking and developing a second primary smoking-associated cancer was similar to the association between smoking and developing a first primary smoking-associated cancer (patients who smoked more than 20 cigarettes per day had a 5.41-fold higher risk of developing cancer than individuals who have never smoked). Notably, current smoking at any level increased the risk of overall mortality across all cancer disease sites. The study, published on November 10 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, affirms the 2014 Surgeon General report's conclusion that patients and survivors who smoke are at a higher risk of developing a second cancer. Clinicians term an individual's initial diagnosis a first primary cancer. A second primary cancer is one diagnosed at some point after the first diagnosis. Second primary cancers are not metastases of the first cancer but [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2014-11-12T06:41:24-07:00November, 2014|Oral Cancer News|

Cigarette smoking caused 14 million serious diseases in 2009

Source: www.medscape.com Author: Larry Hand Cigarette smoking remains a major cause of preventable diseases in the United States, with at least 14 million serious medical conditions attributable to smoking in 2009, according to an article published online October 13 in JAMA Internal Medicine. "These estimates demonstrate that smoking accounts for millions of serious medical conditions in the United States that could be avoided in the absence of cigarette use," write Brian L. Rostron, PhD, from the Center for Tobacco Products, US Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, Maryland, and colleagues. "Our results also indicate that previous estimates may have substantially underestimated smoking-attributable morbidity in the United States." The researchers analyzed multiple sources of data from 2006 to 2012, including 2009 population data from the US Census Bureau, smoking prevalence and disease risk from the National Health Interview Survey of US adults for 2006 to 2012, and data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of US adults for 2007 to 2010. Current and former smokers were significantly more likely to have at least one smoking-attributable disease and multiple smoking-related conditions compared with never-smokers. Specifically, almost half of surveyed men and women (47.5% and 44.9%, respectively) aged 65 years and older reported having one or more smoking-related disorder, and almost 17% of men and more than 14% of women reported having multiple such disorders. In contrast, among never-smokers, 34.9% of men and 33.2% of women reported at least one such condition and 9.1% and 7.5%, respectively, reported two or more [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2014-10-14T07:24:18-07:00October, 2014|Oral Cancer News|

Salivary gland cancers rare, but sometimes deadly

Source: articles.baltimoresun.com Author: Andrea K. Walker Professional baseball great Tony Gwynn Sr., also known as Mr. Padre, died last month of salivary gland cancer, which he believed was caused by years of using smokeless chewing tobacco. The cancer is a rare form that begins in any of the salivary glands in the mouth, neck or throat. Two adults in 100,000 are diagnosed with salivary gland cancer each year. The chances of survival drop if the cancer has spread to other parts of the body. Dr. Patrick K. Ha, with Johns Hopkins Head and Neck Surgery at Greater Baltimore Medical Center, says new types of treatments and therapies are in the works to treat the disease. What is salivary gland cancer and how common is it? Salivary gland cancers are a diverse group of rare malignancies that can involve any of the major salivary glands (the parotid, submandibular and sublingual) or minor salivary glands, which are found within the lip, palate, tongue base, nasal cavity or sinuses. There are numerous different cancers that may arise from the salivary glands, and these may behave differently based on their cell of origin. What causes it, and who is more likely to get it? Little is known about the causes of salivary gland cancers. Unlike the more common head and neck cancers, which have a clear association with smoking, drinking or even the human papillomavirus (HPV), salivary gland cancers do not have such strong associations. There may be a link between significant radiation exposure (i.e., treatment [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2014-07-12T08:55:49-07:00July, 2014|Oral Cancer News|

Prognosis of tumors positive for human papilloma virus in head and neck cancers varies according to the site

Source: www.sciencecodex.com Author: staff Patients with cancer of the throat and who are positive for the Human Papilloma virus (HPV+) have a good prognosis, but until now the effect of being HPV+ on the prognosis of tumours located elsewhere in the head and neck was unknown. Danish researchers have now shown that HPV status appears to have no prognostic effect on the outcome of primary radiotherapy in head and neck cancer outside the oropharynx (the part of the throat located behind the mouth, and which contains the soft palate and the base of the tongue), the ESTRO 33 congress will hear today (Sunday). Presenting her results to the congress, Dr Pernille Lassen, MD, PhD, from the Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark, will say that head and neck cancers located outside the oropharynx should probably not be treated with the less intensive treatment strategies that are currently being investigated in clinical trials for HPV+ oropharyngeal tumours. "HPV status has a very potent prognostic impact in radiotherapy for oropharyngeal cancer, and DNA from HPV has been found in all types of head and neck cancer, although it is far more common in oropharyngeal tumours. We decided to investigate the impact of HPV status in non-oropharyngeal cancers in the DAHANCA database, which includes all Danish head and neck cancer patients," Dr Lassen will say. The researchers searched the database to identify patients with locally advanced cancers who had been treated primarily with radiotherapy, and identified 1606 patients with larynx and pharynx carcinomas. Overall, [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2014-04-06T06:23:34-07:00April, 2014|Oral Cancer News|

Recurrent mouth and throat cancers less deadly when caused by HPV

Source: www.oncologynurseadvisor.com Author: Kathy Boltz, PhD People with late-stage cancer at the back of the mouth or throat that recurs after chemotherapy and radiation treatment are twice as likely to be alive 2 years later if their cancer is caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), suggests new research. This study was presented at the 2014 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium, held in Scottsdale, Arizona. Previous studies have found that people with so-called HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancers are more likely to survive than those whose cancers are related to smoking or whose origins are unknown. The new study shows that the longer survival pattern holds even if the cancer returns. Oropharyngeal cancers, which once were linked primarily to heavy smoking, are now more likely to be caused by HPV, a virus that is transmitted by oral and other kinds of sex. The rise in HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancers has been attributed to changes in sexual behaviors, most notably an increase in oral sex partners. For the study, the researchers used data provided by the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group on 181 patients with late-stage oropharyngeal cancer whose HPV status was known and whose cancer had spread after primary treatment. There were 105 HPV-positive participants and 76 HPV-negative ones. Although the median time to recurrence was roughly the same (8.2 months vs 7.3 months, respectively), some 54.6% of those with HPV-positive cancer were alive 2 years after recurrence, whereas only 27.6% of those with HPV-negative cancers were still alive at that point in time. [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2014-03-19T07:11:24-07:00March, 2014|Oral Cancer News|