The Oral Cancer Foundation

Expert says Nivolumab Poised to Change Standard of Care in SCCHN

Source: www.onclive.com Author: Laura Panjwani Nivolumab (Opdivo) is a game-changing agent for the treatment of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN), according to Robert L. Ferris, MD, PhD. “Recent findings have shown us that this agent is really the new standard-of-care option for all platinum-refractory patients with head and neck cancer,” says Ferris, vice chair for Clinical Operations, associate director for Translational Research, and co-leader of the Cancer Immunology Program at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute. “This is regardless of whether patients are PD-L1–positive or negative or whether they are HPV-positive or negative.” The PD-L1 inhibitor received a priority review designation by the FDA in July 2016 based on the CheckMate-141 study, which demonstrated a median overall survival (OS) with nivolumab of 7.5 months compared with 5.1 months with investigator's choice of therapy (HR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.51-0.96; P = .0101) in patients with recurrent or metastatic SCCHN. The objective response rate (ORR) was 13.3% with nivolumab and 5.8% for investigator's choice. The FDA is scheduled to make a decision on the application for the PD-1 inhibitor by November 11, 2016, as part of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act. Ferris was the lead author on an analysis that further evaluated preliminary data from CheckMate-141, which was presented at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting. In an interview with OncLive, he discusses the findings of this study, potential biomarkers for nivolumab, and questions that remain regarding the use of the immunotherapy in SCCHN. OncLive: What [...]

Charlotte Parker2016-08-24T13:28:58-07:00August, 2016|Oral Cancer News|

Rodeo outreach program fights oral cancer

Source: www.olivesoftware.comAuthor: Stewart M. Green Carly Twisselman, a spokesperson with the Oral Cancer Foundation’s rodeo outreach program, and her horse Chanel travel the Western rodeo circuit and talk with kids about the dangers of using spit tobacco. Photo by Stewart M. Green Carly Twisselman brushed her horse Chanel outside a stall at the Norris-Penrose Event Center, home of the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo, which will roll into town July 13-16. “I’ve been rodeoing my whole life,” she said. “Now I do it at the professional level. This is my rookie year so I’m going really hard. I want to win the rookie title.” Summer is the busiest time of the year for cowgirls and cowboys. “We call it Cowboy Christmas, the 4th of July run,” she said. Twisselman and her travel partner have recently competed in Utah, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and just drove up from Pecos, Texas, to Colorado Springs for qualifiers. “It’s a crazy time,” she said. “Lots of traveling, but lots of money to be won.” Twisselman, a 30-year-old barrel racer, grew up on a ranch near San Luis Obispo on the central California coast. “My family’s been ranching there for seven generations,” she said. “I was on the back of a horse all the time. I was riding before I could walk.” While growing up in the Western ranching and rodeo culture, Twisselman was aware of the widespread use of spit tobacco by cowboys. “I’ve been around it my whole life and seen a lot [...]

Charlotte Parker2016-07-06T17:39:17-07:00July, 2016|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

Reno Rodeo: Cody Kiser ‘The luckiest guy in the world’

Source: www.rgj.comAuthor: Jordan Wines 2016 Reno Rodeo competitor Cody Kiser has been competing in rodeos from the time he could walk. He began his career riding sheep and roping dummy heads on hay bales. As he grew, so did his competitive spirit. Kiser began riding bulls, but suffered an injury early in his career. "I had a bull step on my face, and I broke all the bones in the left side of my face," Kiser said. "I broke my jaw in two places and had my jaw wired shut. I had to get plastic surgery on my face to get it put back together." After recovering, Kiser began riding bucking horses, bareback specifically. He continued to compete while attending college at the University of Nevada, Reno, where he completed his degree in civil engineering. Splitting time between school and his life on the rodeo circuit presented its own set of challenges. "I did college rodeo for about two years, and I loved it. It just became way too much doing rodeo and school. I would put all my effort into schoolwork during the semester, and then would try to hit a couple of rodeos during school. During summer, I wouldn't take any classes, and I would hit the rodeo as hard as I could, which was still difficult because I had internships and jobs over the summer." Riding bareback is more than just an event for Kiser, as his father also rode bareback competitively, and Kiser still uses some of the same [...]

Charlotte Parker2016-06-20T11:56:24-07:00June, 2016|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

Aspen Dental Practices Donate More Than $20,000 To The Oral Cancer Foundation For Oral Cancer Awareness Month

Source: www.pharmiweb.com.orgAuthor: Aspen Dental SYRACUSE, N.Y., May 31, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Aspen Dental–branded practices will donate $22,375 to The Oral Cancer Foundation (OCF) as part of a program that contributed $5 for each ViziLite® oral cancer screening conducted during April for Oral Cancer Awareness Month. In total, more than 4,000 patients were screened across more than 550 practices in 33 states. Since 2010, Aspen Dental-branded practices have donated more than $105,000 to OCF. "Approximately 48,250 people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with an oral or oropharyngeal cancer this year; and of those only about 57% will be alive in five years," said Natalie Riggs, Director of Special Projects for The Oral Cancer Foundation. In 2016 we estimate that 9500 individuals will lose their lives to oral cancers and we are grateful for the support from Aspen Dental practices in helping us raise awareness and aiding in our efforts to fight this disease." Oral cancer is frequently preceded by visible pre-malignant lesions and can be diagnosed at a much earlier stage (I or II) with ViziLite® Plus, a specially designed light technology. When caught early and treated, the survival rate is 80 to 90 percent. "We're working to educate our patients about the risk factors, warning signs and symptoms associated with oral cancer so that we can help them catch the disease before it progresses," said Dr. Murali Lakireddy, a general dentist who owns Aspen Dental offices in Ohio. "Many of our patients do not think about oral cancer when they go to [...]

Charlotte Parker2016-06-16T10:28:42-07:00June, 2016|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

Rodeo rider raising awareness of chewing tobacco and oral cancer

Source: www.krcrtv.comAuthor: Danielle Radin REDDING, Calif. - The Redding Rodeo kicked off Wednesday night with events like barrel racing, cattle roping and mutton busting. Professional barrel racer, Carly Twisselman said chewing tobacco is prominent at rodeos. She's teamed up with the Oral Cancer Foundation to try to change that. "We want to show children that you can follow your dreams, be who you want to be, pursue being a rodeo athlete and not chew tobacco," said Twisselman. Twisselman competes in rodeos across the country and sees chewing tobacco time and time again. She's teaching children chewing tobacco is not the 'cool thing to do.' She also wears letting on her sleeves every race that reads, "Be smart, don't start." She also has a brother who chews and had a health scare from it. "My brother's had signs of cancer of the mouth from chewing," said Twisselman. " "I just think that's the wrong message we should be sending to this children." According to the oral cancer foundation, there will be about 48,000 new cases of oral cancer in 2016 in the United States. 75 percent of all oral cancer patients use tobacco. They estimate nearly 10,000 people in the United States will die from oral cancer in 2016.

Charlotte Parker2016-05-19T11:39:43-07:00May, 2016|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

Professional Rodeo Competitors Join Fight Against Oral Cancer

Source: www.upr.orgAuthor: Melissa Allison The number of oral cancer deaths related to tobacco use is on the rise nationwide according to the Oral Cancer Foundation. Brian Hill is the founder of the OCF and a survivor of the disease. Cody Kiser encourages the youth to not start using tobacco to help secure good health. Oral Cancer Foundation “Up until about (the year) 2000 this was primarily a disease of older men who had smoked a lot or chewed tobacco during their lifetime,” Hill said. “About that point in time we started to see a shift in the cause of the disease.” Hill said tobacco is still a primary cause of oral cancers and adds that the oral human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) is new etiology that has forced the number of cases to accelerate. According to an October 2014 study by Johns Hopkins researchers the HPV16 causes cancers of the mouth and throat and that any form of tobacco use increases the risk of the virus. The research suggests as few as three cigarettes a day can increase the risk of infection by almost one-third. Hill created the foundation in 1999 to promote change by educating the public about risk factors that contribute to the disease. Among those risks is the use of spit tobacco. “The world of rodeo has been the realm of sponsorship by the tobacco industry for decades,” Hill said. “With the nicotine content in a can of dip equaling approximately that of 80 cigarettes, this addiction [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2015-06-17T10:23:34-07:00June, 2015|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

Merck immunotherapy appears effective in head and neck cancer – study | Reuters

Source: www.firstpress.comAuthor: Bill Berkrot A Merck & Co drug that helps the immune system fight cancer was about twice as effective as the current standard therapy for patients with recurrent or advanced head and neck cancers, according to study data released on Friday. A quarter of the 132 patients who received the drug, Keytruda (pembrolizumab), saw their tumors shrink by at least 30 percent. Fifty-six percent of patients experienced at least some tumor shrinkage in the ongoing single drug Phase I study dubbed Keynote-012, researchers reported. "This is remarkable because we don't usually see this level of activity with new agents. We have a track record of failure," said Dr. Tanguy Seiwert, lead investigator of the study from the University of Chicago. Advanced head and neck cancer is currently treated with Eli Lilly's Erbitux, known chemically as cetuximab, which typically has a response rate of 10 percent to 13 percent. "The only thing that works is cetuximab and this looks at least twice as good," said Seiwert, who was presenting the Keytruda data at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago. ADVERTISING Merck shares rose more than 1 percent to $60.43 on the New York Stock Exchange. Keytruda and Opdivo from Bristol-Myers Squibb Co are at the forefront of a promising new class of drugs called PD-1 inhibitors that block a mechanism tumors use to evade the immune system. Keytruda is approved to treat advanced melanoma and awaits a decision for use in lung cancer. It is being [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2015-06-02T11:56:50-07:00June, 2015|Oral Cancer News|

Young supports Oral Cancer Awareness with launch of new Burgundy Disposable Prophy Angle

Source: http://www.dentistryiq.comAuthor: DentistryIQ Editors Screening is the beginning of the end of oral cancer, and Young is joining the Oral Cancer Foundation in empowering hygienists to “Be Part of the Change.” Hygienists are on the front lines of oral cancer detection, and their involvement in early screening is paramount in the fight against oral cancer. Young is helping to support hygienists and keep oral cancer awareness in the forefront by launching the new Classic Burgundy Petite Web disposable prophy angle just in time for Oral Cancer Awareness Month in April. In addition to being the signature burgundy color of oral cancer awareness, the Classic Burgundy Petite Web disposable prophy angle packaging acts as a billboard to promote awareness through early detection. According to the Oral Cancer Foundation, more than 43,000 people are diagnosed with oral cancer in the U.S. each year, and only 57% will survive past five years due to late diagnosis. When found at early stages of development, oral cancer victims have an 80 to 90% survival rate. Thanks to engagement from the RDH community, we are on the cusp of a major change in this paradigm. With a commitment to screening for oral cancer warning signs during routine prophylaxis procedures, hygienists are helping to save lives through early detection. “Just doing ‘opportunistic’ cancer screenings during routine dental hygiene procedures would yield tens of thousands of opportunities to catch oral cancer in its early stages. One of our goals is to initiate an effort within the dental community to aggressively screen all [...]

Charlotte Parker2015-03-31T16:12:30-07:00March, 2015|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

Giving chew the boot: Rodeo riders lead oral cancer awareness campaign

Source: mohavedailynews.comAuthor: DK McDonald LAUGHLIN — Rodeo professionals Carly Twisselman and Cody Kiser are bringing something extra to their competition at the Avi Stampede PRCA Rodeo this weekend. They are bringing a message to kids. The public faces of the “Be Smart, Don’t Start” tobacco use awareness campaign, Twisselman and Kiser are sponsored by The Oral Cancer Foundation. “We’re the first charity to ever be the exclusive sponsors of any rodeo competitors,” said Brian Hill, founder and executive director of The Oral Cancer Foundation. “We go to the rodeos with Carly and Cody to get the word out to kids. “As in most things, if we can catch kids early and can show them good role models like Carly and Cody, who are fierce competitors and great people, they can see that tobacco doesn’t have to be a part of being a great cowboy or cowgirl.” The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and tobacco have a history; until 2009 the PRCA accepted tobacco sponsorship money to fund the sport. “Now, the PRCA disassociated itself with spit tobacco companies back in 2009 and they’re no longer financial sponsors of rodeo,” said Hill. “It was really a great thing for PRCA to do. That being said, the people who attend and the competitors themselves still tend to be heavy users of tobacco, spit tobacco and cigarettes.” Spit tobacco, which can refer to smokeless tobacco, dip, snuff, chew, and chewing tobacco, according to the OCF, can cause gum disease, tooth decay, and white patches and [...]

Charlotte Parker2015-03-13T11:00:58-07:00March, 2015|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

Cowboy Cody Kiser Joins Anti-Tobacco Campaign to Help Educate Young Consumers

Source: parade.condenast.comAuthor: Lindsay Lowe The campaign to educate consumers about the dangers of tobacco has a new all-American hero: rodeo cowboy Cody Kiser, who’s partnering with the Oral Cancer Foundation (OCF) to educate parents and kids about the health risks associated with smokeless tobacco. While chewing tobacco has long been popular among rodeo cowboys, Kiser, 23, says the drug never appealed to him, and says he hopes to serve as a positive example in an industry with traditionally strong sponsorship ties to the tobacco industry. “My dad was a cowboy, so I know what it’s like looking up to cowboys as heroes for my whole life,” he said in a release. “Health and fitness have always been incredibly important to my family. My dad was a positive role model in my life growing up in that regard, and the idea of using spit tobacco never appealed to me.” Tobacco and rodeo have a long intertwining history; the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association was sponsored by the U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company from 1986 to 2009, when the Cowboys Association decided to end its relationship with tobacco advertisers. One can of spit tobacco has the equivalent nicotine of 40 cigarettes, and a “30-minute chew” is the equivalent of smoking three cigarettes, according to the OCF, meaning that an addiction to smokeless tobacco “can be one of the hardest to break.” Spit tobacco (which can refer to smokeless tobacco, dip, snuff, chew, and chewing tobacco) can cause gum disease, tooth decay, and “white patches [...]

Charlotte Parker2014-08-08T09:35:22-07:00August, 2014|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|