throat cancer

Glowing Cornell Dots Target Cancer

SOURCE: Journal of Clinical Investigation, June 13, 2011 (Ivanhoe Newswire)-- New medical technology is showing that Cornell dots may be a potential cancer diagnostic tool. The U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently approved the first clinical trial in humans using Cornell Dots- brightly glowing nanoparticles that can light up cancer cells in PET-optical imaging. Cornell Dots are silica spheres less than eight nanometers in diameter that enclose several dye molecules. To make the dots stick to tumor cells, organic molecules that bind to tumor surfaces, or even specific locations within the tumors, can be attached to a polyethylene glycol shell. This shell, also referred to as PEG, prevents the body from recognizing the dots as foreign substances. When exposed to near-infrared light, the dots fluoresce much brighter than dye to serve as a beacon identifying the target cells. Researchers say this technology enables visualization during surgical treatment. Cornell Dots were first developed in 2005 by Hooisweng Ow, a coauthor of the paper on this study and once a graduate student working with Ulrich Wiesner, Cornell Professor of Materials Science and Engineering. Ow and other researchers of this technology are currently in the process of forming a new commercial entity in New York City that will help transition this research into commercial products that will benefit cancer patients. Michelle S. Bradbury, M.D, of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and an assistant professor of radiology at Weill Cornell Medical College, was quoted as saying, "This is the first FDA IND approved [...]

Charlotte Parker2011-06-15T11:14:48-07:00June, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

The Diary of a Mouth Cancer Survivor

Latest figures say 30% of the population will get cancer at some stage in their lives. When this happened to photographer, Keith Hern, he wrote about the experience and photographed his treatment. Bangers & Mash is the resultant book in which Keith gives a detailed account of everything from teh mental trauma of diagnosis to the harsh side-effects, to the sheer relief of getting the all-clear. Bangers & Mash is no ordinary life story – it's a tourist's guide to cancer treatment in both words and pictures. 'Being treated for cancer is like being in a foreign country' is how author Keith Hern puts it, 'and what you really need is a guidebook'. Early on in Keith's battle against throat cancer he began to keep a diary but, being a photographer, Keith's diary is in pictures as well as words. Recruiting amused nurses and tolerant radiographers to hold the camera, Keith's book de-mystifies cancer treatment and chronicles every step of the way back to health. Not always a comfortable read, Bangers & Mash is fast-paced and completely compelling but, most importantly, is intended to help patients and their families understand "what they are in for'. The big lesson is that it's not all bad. The book doesn't pull any punches, but you do learn how it is possible to live through the treatment and get on with your life. The book has already been widely circulated through the nursing staff at the Royal Marsden hospital where Keith was treated, is [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-05-17T10:19:37-07:00May, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

HPV Becomes a Major Topic for Researchers as a Source of Oral Cancers

By Andy Blatchford, The Canadian Press MONTREAL — Amid Michael Douglas's personal and philanthropic battle with throat cancer, the Oscar-winning actor is shedding light on a viral form of the disease lurking in a growing number of mouths. Oral cancer has long been linked to tobacco and alcohol use, but an expanding body of research suggests human papillomavirus, or HPV, is an increasing cause of the deadly disease. The culprit behind the sexually transmitted virus' emergence in mouth and throat cancers? Experts say a major factor is the prevalence of oral sex. More and more researchers have cast their microscopes on the mysteries of HPV-caused oral cancers, including McGill University, which received a big fundraising boost last week with the help of Douglas. The grateful actor, diagnosed with throat cancer last year in a Montreal hospital, volunteered to headline a charity event for the McGill Head and Neck Cancer Fund. The 66-year-old, who calls himself a "poster boy" for head-and-neck cancer, has blamed alcohol as a likely source of his illness, not HPV. Still, a portion of the $2 million amassed at the event will support HPV-caused oral cancer research. The doctor who first detected the walnut-sized tumour in Douglas's throat said the fund has supported HPV projects in the past and more are in the works. "This is an area of increasing incidence," Dr. Saul Frenkiel said of HPV-caused oral cancer at the university-affiliated hospital where he treated Douglas. Although relatively rare, the Canadian Cancer Society estimates oral cancers, [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-05-09T14:38:18-07:00May, 2011|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

Michael Douglas compliments Canadian health care

Source: The Globe and Mail Hollywood star Michael Douglas offered up high praise for Canadian health care on Tuesday in a nod to the Montreal medical staff who made the breakthrough diagnosis of his throat cancer. Mr. Douglas said a doctor at Montreal’s Jewish General Hospital detected the disease that had eluded specialists in the United States. In gratitude, the Oscar winner agreed to add a new role to his résumé: fundraising draw for Canadian medical research. The actor travelled to Montreal from New York on Tuesday to act as leading man for McGill University’s annual fundraiser for head and neck cancer research. In an interview at a Montreal ballroom where he was about to be honoree for the evening, a dapper-looking Mr. Douglas said getting the news was like being “hit by a truck.” Yet when it came, he said, he had suspected it for months. He said he’d been having bothersome symptoms over the course of nine months: pain in his throat, in the back of his gums and up toward his ears. He consulted various ear, nose and throat doctors and was prescribed antibiotics for what was thought to be an infection. But while summering last year in Quebec’s Mont Tremblant, where he shares a home with his wife, actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, Mr. Douglas went to see Dr. Saul Frenkiel at the Jewish General, a McGill teaching hospital. The doctor put a tongue depressor in the actor’s throat. “I looked in his eyes and I immediately knew [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-05-05T09:49:17-07:00May, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

U of A study finds ways to help end dry mouth in cancer patients

Source: e! Science News For patients suffering from cancer in the mouth or throat, a recent study shows that a treatment called submandibular gland transfer will assist in preventing a radiation-induced condition called xerostomia. Also known as dry mouth, xerostomia occurs when salivary glands stop working. University of Alberta researcher Jana Rieger likens the feeling of xerostomia to the experience of the after-effects of having surgery and anesthetic—but the feeling is permanent. While the importance of healthy saliva glands may be an afterthought for some patients when battling cancer, the long-lasting effects create a number of problems for them when they are in remission. "We need saliva to keep our mouths healthy," said Rieger. "Without saliva, people can lose their teeth, dentures don't fit properly and the ability to swallow and speak is severely altered." The study conducted by Rieger, a speech language pathologist in the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, looked at functional outcomes—speech changes, swallowing habits and the quality of life of patients with mouth and throat cancers—as they received two different types of treatments prior to and during radiation. The first group of patients underwent the submandibular gland transfer. This method was pioneered by Hadi Seikaly and Naresh Jha at the University of Alberta in 1999. The transfer involves moving the saliva gland from under the angle of the jaw to under to the chin. Prior to this procedure, the saliva gland was in line for the radiation. Seikaly says, "Most patients, when they are cured from cancer, [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-05-05T09:37:29-07:00May, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Facebook deems UNF paper cover photo a ‘violation’

Source: International Business Times Popular Social Networking Site Facebook has deemed the controversial cover photo of University of North Florida newspaper Spinnaker as "violation" of Terms of Use. University of North Florida's student newspaper Spinnaker has run into trouble after printing a picture of simulated oral sex on its front cover to promote an article about how oral sex spreads human papillomavirus (HPV). In the photograph, a fully clothed man is shown simulating oral sex on a woman sitting atop a stool. Neither's face is shown. However, Josh Gore, the paper's editor, defended the decision. "HPV is a problem everywhere," said Gore. "It's happening and that's why we put it on cover. This is not obscene. This is not obscene at all." "It complimented the story, it got people to read the story and this was not pornography," Gore said. Meanwhile, Spinnaker's web editor Ian Albahae said when they went to print the photo as the Facebook image, the social networking site saw a problem with the image and took it down. "I received an email at about 6:30 this morning saying that my account was under warning for posting obscene imagery," First Coast News reported quoting Albahae. The email went on to say Facebook "does not allow photos that attack an individual or group or that contain nudity, drug use, violence or other violations of the Terms of Use." Facebook prompted Albahae to re-agree to the terms of use, terms he still doesn't think the image violated, the report [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-04-03T09:29:48-07:00April, 2011|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

New Discovery May Offer Cure for Human Papillomavirus (HPV)

MONMOUTH JUNCTION, N.J., Nov. 29, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --Tamir Biotechnology, Inc. (Pink Sheets: ACEL) (formerly Alfacell Corporation) announced today that scientists supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) reported test results confirming two of our lead compounds showed excellent in vitro antiviral activity and no cellular toxicity at dose levels tested for Human Papillomavirus (HPV). Testing was performed using the HPV 11 strain, which along with HPV type 6, is responsible for ninety percent of genital or anal warts. According to the scientist performing the test, the results were among the top one to two percent seen by the researcher for testing of HPV type 11. The report states the following: "Excellent antiviral activity and no cellular toxicity at doses tested." Within the last several months, we have reported significant results for our compounds against Dengue Fever, Yellow Fever, SARS, CMV, and now HPV. We are on the cusp of building an impressive antiviral portfolio that will be targeting viruses where there is currently an unmet need. Besides the fact that our drugs have shown significant antiviral activity against the viruses mentioned above, equally impressive is the fact that very low concentrations of our drugs were needed in order to show this significant antiviral activity. It is important to realize that Onconase®, our lead compound, has been in clinical studies for other oncology indications and has proven itself to be well tolerated in over 1,000 patients treated to date. We cannot stress enough how significant our drug [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-12-06T11:50:03-07:00December, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Former Angels outfielder Ed Kirkpatrick dies at 66

Source: Los Angeles Times By: Mike DiGiovanna Former Angels outfielder Ed Kirkpatrick, who played parts of 16 major league seasons with five clubs from 1962-77, died Monday after a long struggle with throat cancer. He was 66. A graduate of Glendora High School, Kirkpatrick, nicknamed “Spanky,” signed with the Angels at the age of 17 and spent the first seven years (1962-68) of his career with them as a part-time player. Kirkpatrick also played for the Kansas City Royals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Texas Rangers and Milwaukee Brewers before retiring after 1977, finishing with a career average of .238, 85 home runs and 424 runs batted in. Four years after his playing career, in 1981, Kirkpatrick was involved in a horrific automobile accident that left him in a coma for 5 ½ months and in a wheelchair, partially paralyzed, for the rest of his life. “At parties and other functions, Kirkpatrick never lost his sense of humor and uplifting personality,” former Times national baseball writer Ross Newhan wrote in his blog Monday. “He was always willing to send a bet to the track or challenge friends to a football wager, a glint in his eye, and he never lost the love and support of his wife, Judy, who was beside him through all the often difficult years.” The city of Glendora presents the annual Ed Kirkpatrick Award to an outstanding member of the community who has provided exemplary and extraordinary service to youth sports in the city.

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-11-16T11:40:21-07:00November, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Dead man will be remembered for spreading oral cancer

Source: The Gawker/ WSJ Author: Steven Miller Louis Bantle, the former marketing director and chairman of U.S. Tobacco, died earlier this month at the age of 81 from emphysema and lung cancer. Bantle was most famous for convincing millions of teenagers to dip. The WSJ chroniclesBantle's work from the 1960s through the 1990s, during which time he helped turn snuff into a billion-dollar business and tripled its use among 18-24 year-olds. "We must sell the use of tobacco in the mouth and appeal to young people," he said, according to the minutes of a marketing meeting in 1968. "We hope to start a fad." "If you go to high school in Texas and you don't have a can of snuff in your pocket, you're out," Mr. Bantle told Forbes in 1980. Your legacy will live on, Mr. Bantle. Original Article from the WSJ: Louis Bantle made dipping snuff into a national pastime. Mr. Bantle, who died Oct. 10 at age 81 after a long struggle with lung cancer and emphysema, was chairman of United States Tobacco Co. for two decades beginning in 1973, a period that saw an explosion in snuff's popularity, particularly among younger users. In the 1970s, sales of the company's Skoal and Copenhagen tobaccos were relatively small and concentrated in the upper Midwest, where Scandinavian woodcutters had spread the smokeless habit in the 19th century. Mr. Bantle ramped up advertising featuring football and rodeo star Walt Garrison and other rugged athletes. He introduced a series of "starter" [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-10-20T08:39:52-07:00October, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

‘I like my odds’ against cancer, Michael Douglas says

By Donna Freydkin Source:USA TODAY NEW YORK— They don'tmake'em like Michael Douglas anymore. In this age of crass reality upstarts and pampered starlets, he's a movie star of the old school. And even in his third week of grueling radiation treatments for Stage IV throat cancer, Douglas is a gentleman first, making sure a guest is comfortable on the green sofa in his family room and apologizing repeatedly for being a little off his game after a particularly brutal radiation session this morning. He hasn't pondered the meaning of life yet, or gone on any soul-searching journeys to faraway lands. "I like my odds. I'm not dealing with mortality issues until they tell me, 'Oops, we have to go back and do surgery' or something like that," Douglas says. "The tumor is shrinking. The odds are good." He pauses a beat, smiles, and takes a sip of the aloe-infused water he's drinking to soothe his throat. "I haven't found God yet." There's no woe-is-me self-pity as Douglas manages to poke fun at his condition. "There's never a really great time for cancer, but this is one for the books," he cracks. "Actually I was doing really good, but today has not been great." It has been a doozy of a year for Douglas, 65, full of highs and staggering lows. After little-seen turns in 2009's Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and 2007's King of California, he earned positive reviews for playing a sleazy seducer in this year's intimate drama Solitary Man. [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-09-10T21:33:53-07:00September, 2010|Oral Cancer News|