Dear Oral Cancer & Diagnostics Insider,
With the alarming rise in the rate of oropharyngeal cancer among men being linked to the human papillomavirus (HPV), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is considering whether to recommend HPV vaccination for boys as well as for girls and young women.
The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices met last month to discuss the issue and is expected to vote on it at another meeting in October. In this latest Insider Exclusive, we talked to members of the committee about whether the vaccine should be recommended for boys now, or if more definitive research is needed.
In a related story, researchers say the number of cases of oropharyngeal cancer among U.S. men could surpass that of cervical cancers in women by 2020. Click here to read why survival rates are related to the type of tumors that result from HPV and whether the findings warrant HPV vaccines for males.
In other news in the Oral Cancer & Diagnostics Community, while a growing number of countries are banning the words "light" and "mild" from cigarette packs, a new study suggests that may not be enough to dispel smokers' misbeliefs that the products are safer. At the same time, a 14-country Adult Tobacco Survey found that graphic health warnings on cigarette packages prompt smokers to think about quitting.
That said, beginning in September 2012, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will require larger, more prominent cigarette health warnings on all cigarette packaging and advertisements in the U.S.
Meanwhile, more new cases of oral cancer are reported in India than any other country in the world. Click here for information about what is fueling this trend and how targeted marketing plays a role.
And the American College of Radiology has released an updated version of its appropriateness criteria for the use of radiation therapy following surgical resection of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Read their recommendations for when radiation therapy should be initiated following surgical resection.
In clinical news, molecularly targeted cancer therapies have generally been considered to have fewer oral complications and milder side effects than conventional cancer chemotherapy. But a literature review in Oral Oncology found that most studies involving targeted cancer therapies do not focus enough on the potential oral complications of these agents. Read more.
Meanwhile, researchers from the Duke Cancer Institute and the University of Chicago have found a way to identify patients with recurring head and neck cancer who are most likely to benefit from a second round of chemotherapy and radiation, according to new research in the journal Cancer.
And a retrospective study provides new treatment strategies for primary tumor disease and tumor recurrence in patients with tongue cancer. Click here to read about the difference in recurrence rates between patients who had surgery combined with neoadjuvant and postoperative radiochemotherapy and those who received only radiochemotherapy.
Finally, in the latest installment of our Leaders in Dentistry series, David T.W. Wong, DMD, a pioneer in salivary diagnostics research and a professor of oral biology at the University of California, Los Angeles, discusses recent advances his lab has made in the use of salivary biomarkers for the early detection of oral and other cancers. Could a prototype be available soon? Read more.
