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Researchers design drug to block incidence of head, neck cancer caused by HPV virus

Source: www.news-medical.net Researchers have discovered a new mechanism by which the human papilloma virus (HPV) causes head and neck cancer, and they have designed a drug to block that mechanism. Though further research is needed, the new agent might offer a safer treatment for these tumors when combined with a tapered dose of standard chemotherapy. HPV-positive head and neck cancer has become three times more common since the 1970s, and it could reach epidemic levels in the future, say researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC-James) who led the study. "We believe these findings will help meet the real need for more effective and safer therapy for a growing number of HPV-positive head and neck cancer patients," says principal investigator Dr. Quintin Pan, associate professor of otolaryngology at the OSUCCC - James. The study was published in the journal Oncogene. The research, which mainly used head and neck cancer cells, shows that a protein produced by the virus blocks a protein made by the host cell. The cell protein, called p300, regulates a gene called p53. This gene both controls cell division and protects the body against cancer by causing cells to die before they become malignant.By blocking the cell protein, HPV forces the host cell to live instead of die and to proliferate and form tumors. The prospective new drug, called CH1iB, prevents the viral protein from binding with the cell protein. This restores [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2013-04-11T09:00:53-07:00April, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

DNA alone inadequate to identify HPV-related cancers

Source: www.oncologypractice.com Author: Mary Ann Moon Testing for the presence of human papillomavirus DNA alone, especially using polymerase chain reaction methods, is not adequate to identify which head and neck squamous cell carcinomas are caused by the virus, according to two studies published online Sept. 18 in Cancer Research. Identifying HPV-driven malignancies is important because they respond better to treatment and have better outcomes than those unrelated to HPV infection. Indeed, treatment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) may soon be guided by the tumor’s HPV status, since trials are now underway to determine whether de-escalation of chemo- and radiotherapy is safe and effective in such patients. At present, however, the biomarkers that are best suited to making this identification are unclear. Case Series Assesses Biomarkers In the first study, researchers assessed the usefulness of four biomarkers in determining which HNSCCs in a case series were driven by HPV. They began by examining fresh-frozen tumor biopsy samples from 199 German adults diagnosed as having oropharyngeal squamous cell cancer between 1990 and 2008. The four biomarkers were HPV-16 viral load, viral oncogene RNA (E6 and E7), p16INK4a, and RNA patterns similar to those characteristic of cervical carcinomas (CxCa RNA), said Dr. Dana Holzinger of the German Cancer Research Center at Heidelberg (Germany) University and her associates. The simple presence of HPV DNA in a tumor sample was found to be a poor indicator of prognosis, likely because it often signaled past HPV infections or recent oral exposure, rather than [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-09-24T13:36:21-07:00September, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Cold comfort in quest for cancer cure

Source: www.theage.com.au Author: Rachel Browne Can the common cold cure cancer? It's a tempting idea and one on the cutting edge of a new medical research field called oncolytic virotherapy. Common viruses have become the latest weapon against cancer with a small Australian biotechnology group one of the leaders in the field. The idea has been around for some time. The classical Greek physician Hippocrates is often credited with the saying, "Give me the power to create a fever, and I shall cure any disease." More than 2500 years later, scientists, including a team from the University of Newcastle, are proving that the theory has merit. Not only did the classical Greeks make the observation, but there have been some instances of cancer patients entering spontaneous remission after exposure to certain viruses in the past century. There is the case of the eight-year-old African boy diagnosed with Burkitt's lymphoma at a Ugandan health clinic. He was exposed to the measles virus and over the next few weeks his tumour regressed completely and he entered remission. An incident documented by the British medical journal <em>The Lancet</em> in 1971 described the example of a Hungarian chicken farmer who had advanced colorectal cancer. An outbreak of the avian virus Newcastle disease hit the farm, the man became infected and went into remission. But only relatively recently have scientists clinically examined the interaction between viruses and cancers in the growing area of oncolytic virotherapy. Associate Professor Darren Shafren of the University of Newcastle has [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-04-22T08:56:20-07:00April, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

We owe it to our sons to protect them against human papilloma virus – the new oral cancer peril

Source: www.dailymail.co.uk Author: Professor Lawrence Young The seemingly unstoppable rise of throat and mouth cancers over the past two decades has left experts baffled and deeply concerned. These are truly horrible diseases. More than 15,000 new patients are diagnosed each year in Britain alone and almost 8,000 die from the most common type, cancer of the oesophagus. Two-thirds of sufferers are men. And those that survive are often left horrifically disfigured by aggressive radiotherapy and surgery. Most worryingly, numbers of new cases have doubled since 1989. We used to think most oral and throat cancers - which also include laryngeal (voice box), tracheal (windpipe) and oropharyngeal (soft-palate) tumours - were due to a lifetime of smoking and heavy alcohol consumption, and only really occurred in old age. But as health messages hit home, numbers of smokers and drinkers dropped, fewer older men and women developed these cancers and a new group of patients - middle-class, middle-aged men who drank moderately and had never smoked - emerged. This was a surprise. Small studies, in which tumours were analysed, indicated a new culprit: the human papilloma virus (HPV), the same virus that we knew was the cause of cervical cancer in women. For years there have been whisperings among oncologists that this could become one of the most significant cancer challenges of the 21st Century. And six weeks ago, evidence published by two American universities showed that these fears were becoming a reality. Researchers found that about half of the [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-04-03T09:40:53-07:00April, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Herpes virus treats head and neck cancer patients

Source: www.healthcanal.com Author: staff A genetically engineered cold sore virus has been used to treat head and neck cancer patients in a Phase I/II clinical trial run by The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. The herpes simplex virus, known as OncoVEX and owned by BioVex Inc, had been modified so it multiplies inside cancer cells but not healthy cells. It bursts and kills tumour cells and, by expressing a human protein, it also helps stimulate patients’ immune systems. The virus was injected into 17 patients’ cancer-affected lymph nodes in up to four doses, and the patients were also given radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Head and neck tumour shrinkage could be seen on scans for 14 patients (82.3%), while 93 per cent of patients had no trace of residual cancer in their lymph nodes during subsequent surgery to remove them. After an average follow-up time of 29 months (19 to 40 months), 82.4 per cent of patients had not succumbed to the disease. Only two of 13 patients given the virus treatment at a high dose relapsed. “Around 35 to 55 per cent of patients given the standard chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment typically relapse within two years, so these results compare very favourably,” Principal Investigator Dr Kevin Harrington from the ICR and The Royal Marsden says. “This was a small study so the results should be interpreted with caution; however the very high rates of tumour response have led to the decision to take this [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-07-31T06:55:58-07:00July, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Screen play: Take steps to prevent oral cancer

Source: www.pnwlocalnews.com Author: Dr. Stuart Rich, DDS. April is National Oral Cancer Awareness Month. More than 35,000 cases of oral cancer are diagnosed in the United States annually, and more than 45 percent of those will not be alive in five years. To put it another way, oral cancer kills one person every hour, 24 hours per day, seven days per week in the U.S. You can you avoid becoming a statistic for this deadly disease by abstaining from tobacco and alcohol use, since 75 percent of all oral cancers are diagnosed in people who use tobacco products. Those who use tobacco and alcohol have an even higher risk. However, there has been a 60-percent increase over the past decade in the number of oral cancer diagnoses in people under the age of 30 with none of the classic risk factors listed, due to a connection with the HPV virus. Everyone must be screened. While the rates of colon, cervical and prostate cancer have seen major declines in recent years due to early detection through professional screening, the oral cancer survival rate has not increased significantly in the last 50 years. However, if oral cancer is detected and treated in its early stages, the five-year survival rate climbs to 80-90 percent. Areas of highest risk for oral cancer are the side of the tongue, floor of the mouth and back of the throat, so regular dental visits must include a comprehensive examination of the soft tissues at least annually. All [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-04-20T06:58:24-07:00April, 2010|OCF In The News, Oral Cancer News|

New technology helps those affected by HPV

Source: news10now.com Autor: Marcie Fraser Scott Vitale certainly does not fit the criteria for the HPV virus which causes warts, and in rare cases, it's found in the throat. Most often, infants get it from their mothers while they pass through the birth canal. Why or how he got the virus, no one knows for sure. "In terms of the voice box areas, the throat, it is not that clear cut. We think there may be some sexual transmission but it's hard to pin point how these patients actually get these papillomas,” said Dr. Stanely Shapshay, Laryngologist. He had symptoms for about a year. He had trouble breathing and he nearly lost his voice. The tumors had obstructed his airway. "Papilloma virus affects the vocal cords and the throat in general and some of our patients like you have seen today have little tumors called papilloma. Papillomas are viral caused tumors that either change the vocal cord function, in terms of the voice or sometimes even breathing,” said Shapshay. Thankfully the tumors were not on his vocal cords. Laryngologist Dr. Stanley Shapshay was able to do tests right in the office with a high tech camera called the Distal Chip Technology. By simply numbing the nasal passage, this flexible scope can be inserted down the throat which provides clear 3D images. "The Distal Chip Technology gives us a beautiful view, a panorama of the throat to be able to see detail we have not seen before,” said Shapshay. Once the [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-03-05T07:13:23-07:00March, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

HPV vaccine could help prevent other cancers, too: studies

Source: www.vancouversun.com Author: Tom Spears, Canwest News Service Cancer doctors are starting to believe that the human papilloma — or HPV — HPV, intended to prevent cervical cancer, will likely prevent other cancers as well — and in men as well as women. Recent research is linking the HPV virus to a variety of cancers in the head and neck, and the urinary-genital tract, says Dr. Glenn Bauman, chairman of oncology at the University of Western Ontario faculty of medicine and a radiation oncologist at the London Health Sciences Centre. If so, the vaccine usually given to girls at the beginning of their teenage years could also benefit boys. Boys so far have not been offered HPV vaccine, although some experts argue both sexes should be vaccinated to slow the spread of papilloma. The virus is estimated to cause 70 per cent of cervical cancers and 90 per cent of genital warts. Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer for Canadian women aged 20 to 44. A variety of recent studies has been finding the DNA from the common virus inside cancer tumours. “I think the tip of the iceberg is this whole HPV connection with cancer,” Bauman said. “What’s interesting is that we’re finding — and we’ve known this for a while, but we’re beginning to appreciate it — that HPV plays a role in other ‘mucosal’ cancers.” This means a variety of cancer types in the head and neck, and also the urinary tract and genital region; [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-01-25T14:39:29-07:00January, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

HPV virus helps cervical and head and neck cancers resist treatment and grow and spread

Source: www.sciencedaily.com Author: staff The human papillomavirus (HPV) allows infected cervical and head and neck cancer cells to maintain internal molecular conditions that make the cancers resistant to therapy and more likely to grow and spread, resulting in a poor prognosis for patients, researchers with UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center found. Virtually all human cancers experience a state called intratumoral hypoxia, or a low amount of oxygen within the tumor. In the UCLA study, researchers showed that the HPV-positive cancers adapted to and took advantage of the hypoxic environment by expressing a protein that activates a cell signaling pathway that helps the cancers survive, grow and spread. The study is published in the Nov. 4, 2008 issue of the journal Cancer Cell. The research, done on cells in culture and in animal models, may lead to the development of new therapies that target the cell signaling pathway, thereby interrupting ability of the cancer cells to thrive, said Dr. Matthew Rettig, senior author of the study and a researcher at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. "There is potential for therapeutic intervention based on this finding," said Rettig, an associate professor of urology and medicine. The finding is crucial because 90 to 98 percent of cervical cancers are caused by HPV. Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women worldwide, with more than 500,000 cases diagnosed annually. In all, 200,000 women die from cervical cancer every year. In oral cavity and pharynx cancers, the HPV virus is linked to about 20 [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2008-11-15T09:51:58-07:00November, 2008|Oral Cancer News|