Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 1/11/12.  You should consult your doctor if you are taking any medications.

Statins linked to higher diabetes risk  - USATODAY.com, 1/9/12 - "Study authors advise patients not to stop taking their medications without talking to a doctor, because statins' proven power to prevent heart attacks and strokes outweighs any potential increase in type 2 diabetes risk. But the results — a nearly 50% increase in diabetes among longtime statin users — should throw cold water on the idea of prescribing these drugs to healthy people, which some have recommended as a way to prevent disease ... In the study, 6.4% of women who didn't use statins developed diabetes during the eight to nine years of follow-up ... That rate rose to 9.9% among statin users" - For now I'm sticking with countering the diabetes risk with things like metformin, etc.  I've been saying for a long time to take small amounts of of everything (for a specific condition) instead of large doses of any one thing (synergy) in case they find something wrong with that supplement or drug in the future.  In the case of cholesterol there's red yeast rice, Sytrinol, policosanol among others.  Related studies:

• Statins May Be Linked to Diabetes Risk - WebMD, 2/17/10 - "use of statins increased the risk of type 2 diabetes by 9%. This risk was found primarily among older people; there was no additional diabetes risk among statin users 60 and under"
• Statins May Soon Be Given to Those With Excess Inflammation - U.S. News, 12/17/09 - "Experts still can't explain why Crestor would increase the likelihood of diabetes, but other research suggests that the entire class of statin drugs appears to have this downside ... found a 13 percent increased risk in diabetes in the statin users ... 1.5 percent of the placebo takers had a heart attack or stroke compared with 0.72 percent of the statin takers"
• Statins for All Adults with Diabetes? - WebMD, 1/10/08 - "One-third fewer people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes would suffer heart attacks or strokes if they took cholesterol-lowering statin drugs"
• Statin use in Type 2 diabetes mellitus is associated with a delay in starting insulin - Diabet Med. 2004 Sep;21(9):962-7 - "The use of statins is associated with a delay in starting insulin treatment in patients with Type 2 diabetes initially treated with oral antidiabetic agents"
• Nearly All With Type 2 Diabetes Need Statins - WebMD, 4/19/04 - "no matter how low the cholesterol count, nearly all people with diabetes should take these cholesterol-lowering drugs"

Study: PSA test doesn't save lives - USATODAY.com, 1/6/12 - "men randomly assigned to get PSA tests were 12% more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer, but no more likely to die. That suggests that 12% of men screened with the PSA were "overdiagnosed," or diagnosed with cancer that didn't need to be found, leading to unnecessary treatment ... the National Cancer Institute, which funded the $250 million trial ... it's possible that their study could have underestimated the benefits of screening. That's because only 85% of the men randomly assigned to get routine PSA screening actually did so. In the comparison arm of the trial, however, about half of the men not assigned to get a PSA decided to get one on their own" - Note:  So let's see, a quarter billion for the study and the answer is "we're not sure because many in the placebo group got the test anyway".

Are Vacuum Cleaners Bad for Your Health? - WebMD, 1/6/12 - "Certain vacuum cleaners spit fine dust and bacteria back into the air, where they can spread infections and trigger allergies ... Vacuums with high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters released only slightly lower levels of dust and bacteria than vacuums that did not use these special filters. HEPA filters are supposed to remove 99.9% of the pollen, animal dander, and even bacteria from the air ... For a vacuum to do more harm than good, it has to be a really old vacuum cleaner that has never been cleaned ... His advice? Get a vacuum cleaner that has a HEPA filter, and change the filter and clean your house regularly"

Study: Mental decline can start at 45 - USATODAY.com, 1/6/12 - "Among men aged 45 to 49, reasoning skills declined by nearly 4 percent, and for those aged 65 to 70 those skills dropped by about nearly 10 percent ... For women, the decline in reasoning approached 5 percent for those aged 45 to 49 and about 7 percent for those 65 to 70, the researchers found"

Omega-3 may enhance benefits of strength training for the elderly - Nutra USA, 1/6/12 - "fish oil may be an attractive supplement for the elderly to maximize their neuromuscular responses to strength training, which is important to life quality" - [Abstract] - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.

Health Buzz: U.S. News Ranks the Best Diets for 2012 - US News and World Report, 1/4/12

• Diet Plans That Work - US News Best Diets - US News and World Report, 1/4/12 - "Best Diets Overall ... DASH Diet ... TLC Diet ... Best Weight-Loss Diets ... Weight Watchers ... Best Diabetes Diets ... Biggest Loser Diet ... Biggest Loser Diet ... DASH Diet ... Best Heart-Healthy Diets ... Ornish Diet ... TLC Diet"

Low vitamin D levels linked to depression, psychiatrists report - Science Daily, 1/5/12 - "UT Southwestern researchers examined the results of almost 12,600 participants from late 2006 to late 2010. Dr. Brown and colleagues from The Cooper Institute found that higher vitamin D levels were associated with a significantly decreased risk of current depression, particularly among people with a prior history of depression. Low vitamin D levels were associated with depressive symptoms, particularly those with a history of depression, so primary care patients with a history of depression may be an important target for assessing vitamin D levels. The study did not address whether increasing vitamin D levels reduced depressive symptoms" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Micronutrient combination may boost male fertility: Study - Nutra USA, 1/4/12 - "group received supplements providing total daily doses of 440 mg L-carnitine, 250 mg L-arginine, 40 mg zinc, 120 mg vitamin E, 80 mg glutathione, 60 micrograms of selenium, 15 mg coenzyme Q10, and 800 micrograms of folic acid ... men receiving the active supplement displayed a 33% improvement in ejaculatory volume, a 215% improvement in sperm cell density, and a 23% improvement in total sperm motility"

Healthy oil components may fight pancreatitis - Nutra USA, 1/3/12 - "They found that the oleic acid and hydroxytyrosol – both of which are present in a particularly high concentration in virgin olive oil and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids – offered protection from inflammatory damage from induced pancreatitis in pancreatic cells" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com and my olive Oil mayonnaise recipe.

Abstracts from this week's Doctor's Guide Nutrition/Dietetics plus abstracts from my RSS feeds (Click here for the journals, the PubMed ones at the top):

Association between plasma 25-OH vitamin D and testosterone levels in men - Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2012 Jan 2 - "A small randomized controlled trial suggested that vitamin D might increase the production of testosterone in men, which is supported by experimental studies in animals and a cross-sectional study showing positive associations between plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] and testosterone and concordant seasonal variation of both biomarkers ... 25(OH)D was positively associated with total and free testosterone levels ... The shapes of the dose-response curves indicate that the association between 25(OH)D and total and free testosterone is linear at lower levels of 25(OH)D (below approximately 75-85 nmol/l), reaching a plateau at higher levels" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Chronic Administration of Cardanol (Ginkgol) Extracted from Ginkgo biloba Leaves and Cashew Nutshell Liquid Improves Working Memory-Related Learning in Rats - Biol Pharm Bull. 2012;35(1):127-9 - "These findings suggest that cardanol is one of the components in Ginkgo biloba leaves that improves cognitive learning ability" - See Ginkgo biloba at Amazon.com.

Associations between n-3 PUFA concentrations and cognitive function after recovery from late-life depression - Am J Clin Nutr. 2012 Jan 4 - "sample of 132 eligible participants who had recovered from major depression (mean +/- SD age: 67.8 +/- 6.6 y) were enrolled from outpatient psychiatric services. A series of cognitive tests and a structured questionnaire were administered. Fasting blood samples were collected for n-3 PUFA measurements ... the strongest and most consistent correlations were found between immediate recall and concentrations of total n-3 PUFAs and α-linolenic acid (ALA) in erythrocytes, which were observed only in participants with recurrent depression ... Total erythrocyte n-3 PUFA concentrations are positively associated with cognitive function, particularly immediate recall, in older people with previous depression. Lower concentrations of n-3 PUFAs or ALA in erythrocyte membranes may be good predictors for cognitive impairment in older people with previous recurrent depression" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.

Flavonoid intake and cardiovascular disease mortality in a prospective cohort of US adults - Am J Clin Nutr. 2012 Jan 4 - "Men and women with total flavonoid intakes in the top (compared with the bottom) quintile had a lower risk of fatal CVD (RR: 0.82; 95% CI: 0.73, 0.92; P-trend = 0.01). Five flavonoid classes-anthocyanidins, flavan-3-ols, flavones, flavonols, and proanthocyanidins-were individually associated with lower risk of fatal CVD (all P-trend < 0.05). In men, total flavonoid intakes were more strongly associated with stroke mortality (RR: 0.63; 95% CI: 0.44, 0.89; P-trend = 0.04) than with ischemic heart disease (RR: 0.90; 95% CI: 0.72, 1.13). Many associations appeared to be nonlinear, with lower risk at intakes above the referent category.Conclusions: Flavonoid consumption was associated with lower risk of death from CVD. Most inverse associations appeared with intermediate intakes, suggesting that even relatively small amounts of flavonoid-rich foods may be beneficial"

Effect of folic acid supplementation on the progression of carotid intima-media thickness: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials - Atherosclerosis. 2011 Dec 9 - "Our analysis showed that folic acid supplementation significantly reduces the progression of CIMT (WMD: -0.04mm; 95%CI: -0.07, -0.02; P<0.001), particularly in subjects with chronic kidney disease (CKD) (WMD: -0.16mm; 95%CI: -0.26, -0.07; P=0.0006) or high cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk (WMD: -0.05mm; 95%CI: -0.11, 0.00; P=0.06) but not in subjects who were generally healthy with only elevated homocysteine concentrations (WMD:0.00mm; 95%CI: -0.01, 0.01; P=0.35). Furthermore, meta-regression analysis of the data showed that the baseline CIMT levels (P=0.011) and the percent reduction of homocysteine (P<0.001) were positively related to the effect size. Consistently, a greater beneficial effect was seen in those trials with baseline CIMT levels ≥0.8mm (WMD: -0.14mm; 95%CI: -0.19, -0.08; P<0.0001), and a reduction in the homocysteine concentration ≥30% (WMD: -0.22mm; 95%CI: -0.38, -0.06; P=0.009)" - See folic acid products at Amazon.com.

Differential Influence of Dietary Soy Intake on the Risk of Breast Cancer Recurrence Related to HER2 Status - Nutr Cancer. 2012 Jan 2 - "Legume intake (mostly from black soybeans) was inversely associated with the risk of breast cancer recurrence in HER2 negative cancer patients (HR: 0.27, 95% CI: 0.13-0.57, P for trend < 0.01), whereas legume intake was positively associated in HER2 positive cancer patients (P for trend = 0.02). In HER2 negative cancer patients, isoflavone was inversely associated with breast cancer recurrence (HR: 0.23, 95% CI: 0.06-0.89; P for trend = 0.01). Total soy intake was not associated with an increased risk of cancer recurrence. In conclusion, overall soy food intake might not affect the risk of cancer recurrence, but high intake of soy isoflavones increased the risk of cancer recurrence in HER2-positive breast cancer patients. However, further research is needed to confirm these results due to the small number of cancer recurrence events"

Health Focus (Head & Neck Cancer):

Related Topics:

• Cancer Cures? / Stomach Cancer / Esophageal Cancer

Alternative News:

• Vitamin or mineral supplement intake and the risk of head and neck cancer: Pooled analysis in the INHANCE consortium - Int J Cancer. 2011 Dec 15 - "To investigate the potential role of vitamin or mineral supplementation on the risk of head and neck cancer (HNC), we analyzed individual-level pooled data from 12 case-control studies ... A decreased risk of HNC was observed with ever use of vitamin C (OR=0.76, 95% CI=0.59-0.96) and with ever use of calcium supplement (OR=0.64, 95% CI=0.42-0.97). The inverse association with HNC risk was also observed for 10 or more years of vitamin C use (OR=0.72, 95% CI=0.54-0.97) and more than 365 tablets of cumulative calcium intake (OR=0.36, 95% CI=0.16-0.83), but linear trends were not observed for the frequency or duration of any supplement intake. We did not observe any strong associations between vitamin or mineral supplement intake and the risk of head and neck cancer"
• Diet and the risk of head and neck cancer: a pooled analysis in the INHANCE consortium - Cancer Causes Control. 2011 Oct 29 - "We investigated the association between diet and head and neck cancer (HNC) risk using data from the International Head and Neck Cancer Epidemiology (INHANCE) consortium. The INHANCE pooled data included 22 case-control studies with 14,520 cases and 22,737 controls ... An inverse association was observed for higher-frequency intake of fruit (4th vs. 1st quartile OR = 0.52, 95% CI = 0.43-0.62, p (trend) < 0.01) and vegetables (OR = 0.66, 95% CI = 0.49-0.90, p (trend) = 0.01). Intake of red meat (OR = 1.40, 95% CI = 1.13-1.74, p (trend) = 0.13) and processed meat (OR = 1.37, 95% CI = 1.14-1.65, p (trend) < 0.01) was positively associated with HNC risk"
• Primary component in curry spice kicks off cancer-killing mechanisms in human saliva - Science Daily, 9/12/11 - "Curcumin, the main component in the spice turmeric used in curry, suppresses a cell signaling pathway that drives the growth of head and neck cancer ... The inhibition of the cell signaling pathway also correlated with reduced expression of a number of pro-inflammatory cytokines, or signaling molecules, in the saliva that promote cancer growth ... it not only affected the cancer by inhibiting a critical cell signaling pathway, it also affected the saliva itself by reducing pro-inflammatory cytokines within the saliva ... To be effective in fighting cancer, the curcumin must be used in supplement form. Although turmeric is used in cooking, the amount of curcumin needed to produce a clinical response is much larger. Expecting a positive effect through eating foods spiced with turmeric is not realistic" - See curcumin products at Amazon.com.
• Curcumin compound improves effectiveness of head and neck cancer treatment, study finds - Science Daily, 5/19/11 - "A primary reason that head and neck cancer treatments fail is the tumor cells become resistant to chemotherapy drugs. Now, researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have found that a compound derived from the Indian spice curcumin can help cells overcome that resistance ... When researchers added a curcumin-based compound, called FLLL32, to head and neck cancer cell lines, they were able to cut the dose of the chemotherapy drug cisplatin by four while still killing tumor cells equally as well as the higher dose of cisplatin without FLLL32 ... Typically, when cells become resistant to cisplatin, we have to give increasingly higher doses. But this drug is so toxic that patients who survive treatment often experience long-term side effects from the treatment" - See curcumin products at Amazon.com.
• Cumulative Coffee Consumption and Reduced Risk of Oral and Oropharyngeal Cancer - Nutr Cancer. 2011 Mar 31:1 - "Tobacco smoking, alcohol drinking, and higher intake of bacon and deep-fried foods were directly related to disease; the inverse was observed to family income and salad intake. Coffee consumption and tobacco smoking were partially correlated (Spearman correlation coefficient 0.14 among cases, 0.31 among controls). When adjusted for all covariates, a cumulative coffee consumption higher than 18.0 daily liters × year during lifetime was indicated to be protective against disease (adjusted odds ratio 0.39, 95% confidence interval 0.16-0.94, P = 0.037). This observation may have pharmacological implications for clinical medication of these cancers and is relevant to programs aimed at reducing the burden of disease"
• Epigallocatechin-3 Gallate Inhibits Invasion, Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition, and Tumor Growth in Oral Cancer Cells - J Agric Food Chem. 2011 Mar 9 - "Epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) is critical for the progression, invasion, and metastasis of epithelial tumorgenesis. Here, we provided molecular evidence associated with the antimetastatic effect of green tea polyphenol epigallocatechin-3 gallate (EGCG) in an oral squamous cell culture system by showing a nearly complete inhibition on the invasion (P < 0.001) of squamous cell carcinoma-9 (SCC-9) cells via a reduced expression of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (P < 0.001) and urokinasetype plasminogen activator (P < 0.001). EGCG exerted an inhibitory effect on cell migration (P < 0.001), motility (P < 0.001), spread, and adhesion (P < 0.001). We performed Western blot to find that EGCG inhibited p-focal adhesion kinase (p-FAK), p-Src, snail-1, and vimentin, indicating the anti-EMT effect of EGCG in oral squamous cell carcinoma. EGCG was also sufficient to inhibit phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate-induced cell invasion and matrix metalloproteinase-9 expression, as evidenced by its inhibition on the tumor growth of SCC-9 cells in vivo via cancer cell xenografted nude mice mode. These results suggested that EGCG could reduce the invasion and cell growth of tumor cells, and such a characteristic may be of great value in developing a potential cancer therapy" - See green tea extract at Amazon.com.
• Coffee Drinking Associated With Reduced Oral Cancer Risk - Medscape, 10/19/10 - "Drinking coffee is associated with a 36% reduction in the risk for cancer of the oral cavity and pharynx"
• Coffee and cancers of the upper digestive and respiratory tracts: meta-analyses of observational studies - Ann Oncol. 2010 Oct 13 - "oral cavity/pharynx (OP) and larynx, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), comparing the highest versus the lowest categories of coffee consumption, using random-effects models ... For OP cancer, the pooled RR was 0.64 (95% CI 0.51-0.80) for highest versus lowest coffee drinking, based on a total of 2633 cases from one cohort and eight case-control studies, with no significant heterogeneity across studies. The RRs were 0.61 (95% CI 0.41-0.89) for European, 0.58 (95% CI 0.36-0.94) for American and 0.74 (95% CI 0.48-1.15) for Asian studies, where coffee consumption is lower. The corresponding RRs were 1.56 (95% CI 0.60-4.02) for laryngeal cancer (732 cases from three case-control studies), 0.87 (95% CI 0.65-1.17) for ESCC (2115 cases from one cohort and six case-control studies) and 1.18 (95% CI 0.81-1.71) for EAC (415 cases from three case-control studies)"
• Perioperative arginine-supplemented nutrition in malnourished patients with head and neck cancer improves long-term survival - Am J Clin Nutr. 2010 Sep 29 - "Plasma arginine concentrations are lower in patients with cancer, which indicates that arginine metabolism may be disturbed in these patients. Arginine supplementation has been associated with positive effects on antitumor mechanisms and has been shown to reduce tumor growth and to prolong survival. Furthermore, the prognosis of patients with head and neck cancer remains disappointing. Insufficient intake frequently leads to malnutrition, which contributes to high morbidity and mortality rates ... The group receiving arginine-enriched nutrition had a significantly better overall survival (P = 0.019) and better disease-specific survival (P = 0.022). Furthermore, the arginine-supplemented group had a significantly better locoregional recurrence-free survival (P = 0.027). No significant difference in the occurrence of distant metastases or occurrence of a second primary tumor was observed between the groups" - See L-arginine products at Amazon.com.
• Dietary Antioxidant and Mineral Intake in Humans Is Associated with Reduced Risk of Esophageal Adenocarcinoma but Not Reflux Esophagitis or Barrett' Esophagus - J Nutr. 2010 Aug 11 - "We found that overall antioxidant index, a measure of the combined intake of vitamin C, vitamin E, total carotenoids, and selenium, was associated with a reduced risk of EAC [odds ratio (OR) = 0.57; 95% CI = 0.33-0.98], but not BE (OR = 0.95; 95% CI = 0.53-1.71) or RE (OR = 1.60; 95% CI = 0.86-2.98), for those in the highest compared with lowest category of intake. Those in the highest category of vitamin C intake had a lower risk of EAC (OR = 0.37; 95% CI = 0.21-0.66; P-trend = 0.001) and RE (OR = 0.46; 95% CI = 0.24-0.90; P-trend = 0.03) compared with those in the lowest category. Vitamin C intake was not associated with BE, and intake of vitamin E, total carotenoids, zinc, copper, or selenium was not associated with EAC, BE, or RE. In conclusion, the overall antioxidant index was associated with a reduced risk of EAC. Higher dietary intake of vitamin C was associated with a reduced risk of EAC and RE. These results suggest that antioxidants may play a role in the pathogenesis of RE and EAC and may be more important in terms of progression rather than initiation of the disease process"
• Genistein induces growth inhibition and g2/m arrest in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells - Nutr Cancer. 2010 Jul;62(5):641-7 - "These findings provide new insights into the potential intervention of NPC with genistein"
• Coffee may protect against head and neck cancers - Science Daily, 6/22/10 - "participants who were regular coffee drinkers, that is, those who drank an estimated four or more cups a day, compared with those who were non-drinkers, had a 39 percent decreased risk of oral cavity and pharynx cancers combined"
• Coffee cuts risk of head, neck cancers - MSNBC, 6/22/10 - "Overall, the risk of developing head and neck cancers was 12 percent lower in people who drank coffee compared with those who didn't ... And the more coffee consumed, the lower the cancer risk. In those who gulped more than four cups a day, for instance, the risk was reduced by more than a third ... Besides caffeine, coffee contains more than a thousand chemicals ... the compounds cafestol and kahweol may be protective against carcinogens that would normally damage our genes"
• Zinc in cancer prevention - Nutr Cancer. 2009 Nov;61(6):879-87 - "Zinc not only improves cell mediated immune functions but also functions as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent. Oxidative stress and chronic inflammation have been implicated in development of many cancers. In patients with head and neck cancer, we have shown that nearly 65% of these patients were zinc deficient based on their cellular zinc concentrations. Natural killer (NK) cell activity and IL-2 generation were also affected adversely ... Zinc status also correlated with number of hospital admissions and incidences of infections. NF-kappa B is constitutively activated in many cancer cells, and this results in activation of antiapoptotic genes, VEGF, cyclin DI, EGFR, MMP-9 and inflammatory cytokines. Zinc inhibits NF-kappa B via induction of A-20. Thus, zinc supplementation should have beneficial effects on cancer by decreasing angiogenesis and induction of inflammatory cytokines while increasing apoptosis in cancer cells. Based on the above, we recommend further studies and propose that zinc should be utilized in the management and chemoprevention of cancer" - See Jarrow Zinc Balance at Amazon.com.
• Oral health and risk for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: the Carolina Head and Neck Cancer Study - Cancer Causes Control. 2010 Jan 5 - "squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck (SCCHN) ... Routine dental visits were associated with 30% risk reduction (OR: 0.68, 95% CI: 0.53, 0.87). CONCLUSIONS: These data provide support for a possible modest association of periodontal disease, as measured by self-reported tooth loss indicators, but not tooth loss per se, with SCCHN risk" - Interesting because I survived neck cancer with about a 1 in 10 chance of survival (it will be 5 years next month, click here).  I've been getting my teeth cleaned every three months for about twelve years.
• Indoleamine 2,3-Dioxygenase, an Immunomodulatory Protein, Is Suppressed by (-)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate via Blocking of gamma-Interferon-Induced JAK-PKC-delta-STAT1 Signaling in Human Oral Cancer Cells - J Agric Food Chem. 2009 Nov 24 - "In this study, (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), the major constituent of green tea, is found to significantly inhibit the expression of IDO in human oral cancer cell lines ... This study indicates that EGCG is a potential drug for immune and target therapy to enhance cancer therapy by increasing antitumor immunity" - See green tea extract at Amazon.com.
• Green Tea Shows Promise As Chemoprevention Agent For Oral Cancer - Science Daily, 11/5/09 - "Green tea extract has shown promise as cancer prevention agent for oral cancer in patients with a pre-malignant condition known as oral leukoplakia ... more than half of the oral leukoplakia patients who took the extract had a clinical response ... The extract's lack of toxicity is attractive" - See green tea extract at Amazon.com.
• Citrus fruit and cancer risk in a network of case-control studies - Cancer Causes Control. 2009 Oct 24 - "The ORs for the highest versus lowest category of citrus fruit consumption were 0.47 (95% confidence interval, CI, 0.36-0.61) for oral and pharyngeal, 0.42 (95% CI, 0.25-0.70) for esophageal, 0.69 (95% CI, 0.52-0.92) for stomach, 0.82 (95% CI, 0.72-0.93) for colorectal, and 0.55 (95% CI, 0.37-0.83) for laryngeal cancer"
• Curcumin May Inhibit Nicotine-induced Activation Of Head And Neck Cancers - Science Daily, 10/4/09 - "HNSCC cells were pre-treated with curcumin and then nicotine was introduced. The results of the studies showed that the curcumin was able to block the nicotine from activating cancer ... Although nicotine itself has not been shown to be carcinogenic, it has been shown to encourage the cancer-forming process" - See curcumin products at Amazon.com.
• Coffee may protect against oral cancers - MSNBC, 1/6/09 - "drinking coffee lowers the risk of developing cancer of the oral cavity or throat ... cancer of the mouth, pharynx and esophagus .... Compared with people who did not drink coffee, those who drank one or more cups per day had half the risk of developing these cancers ... the reduction in risk included people who are at high risk for these cancers, namely, those who were current drinkers and/or smokers at the start of the study"
• As Head And Neck Cancer Risks Evolve, More Treatment Options Emerge - Science Daily, 9/10/08 - "a compound from green tea enhances the effects of a FDA-approved drug (erlotinib) against head and neck cancer cells in animals, suggesting that it could work similarly in humans. The results are published in the September issue of International Journal of Cancer ... More than two-thirds of patients come to doctors with locally and regionally advanced disease, and their prognoses are dismal ... But head and neck cancers are potentially curable when diagnosed at an early stage" - Note:  I took about 8 capsules of green tea extract per day when I had my neck cancer.  Maybe that's one of the things that save me.
• Fruit and vegetable intake and head and neck cancer risk in a large United States prospective cohort study - Int J Cancer. 2007 Dec 18 - "Results from this large prospective observational study are consistent with previous case-control studies and support the hypothesis that total fruit and vegetable intake is associated with reduced risk of head and neck cancer"
• Glycemic index, glycemic load and thyroid cancer risk - Ann Oncol. 2007 Oct 19 - "Compared with the lowest tertile, the ORs in subsequent tertiles were 1.68 and 1.73 for GI, and 1.76 and 2.17 for GL. The OR for highest tertile of GI compared with lowest one was 1.70 for papillary and 1.57 for follicular thyroid cancer. The ORs for GL were 2.17 for papillary and 3.33 for follicular thyroid cancer ... Our study shows that high dietary levels of GI and GL are associated with thyroid cancer risk"
• Avocados May Help Prevent Oral Cancer, Study Shows - Science Daily, 9/4/07 - "Nutrients taken from avocados are able to thwart oral cancer cells, killing some and preventing pre-cancerous cells from developing into actual cancers"
• Vitamin E: Friend or Foe During Radiation Therapy? - Physician's Weekly, 7/16/07 - "Not only did it show that vitamin E supplementation was of no benefit to patients, but it was also associated with a nearly 40% increased risk of death when compared to study counterparts who received a placebo. Vitamin E, despite what patients may think, appears to be much more harmful for patients who have head and neck cancer who are receiving radiation therapy"
• Eat Your Fruits And Vegetables: One Extra Serving Per Day May Lower Your Risk Of Head And Neck Cancer - Science Daily, 4/16/07 - "participants who ate six servings of fruit and vegetables per day per 1000 calories had 29 percent less risk for head and neck cancer than did participants who consumed one and a half servings per 1000 calories per day"
• Flavonoids and laryngeal cancer risk in Italy - Ann Oncol. 2007 Mar 19 - "Significant inverse relations were found for the highest versus the lowest quintile of intake for flavan-3-ols (OR = 0.64), flavanones (OR = 0.60), flavonols (OR = 0.32) and total flavonoids (OR = 0.60)"
• Folic Acid May Fight Throat Cancer - WebMD, 6/12/06 - "Every eight hours, participants took oral supplements containing five milligrams (mg) of folic acid ... The participants' laryngeal leukoplakia didn't progress to cancer during the study. In addition, 12 patients (28%) had a "complete response," meaning the laryngeal leukoplakia faded away" - See iHerb or Vitacost folic acid products.
• Cottonseed Drug May Help in Head, Neck Cancer - WebMD, 7/21/05
• Compound From Chinese Medicine Shows Promise In Head And Neck Cancer - Doctor's Guide, 5/6/05
• A randomized trial of antioxidant vitamins to prevent second primary cancers in head and neck cancer patients - J Natl Cancer Inst. 2005 Apr 6;97(7):481-8 - "alpha-Tocopherol supplementation produced unexpected adverse effects on the occurrence of second primary cancers and on cancer-free survival"
• Honey May Help Patients Undergoing Head And Neck Radiation - Intelihealth, 4/15/03

Other News:

• Improved survival among patients with base of tongue and tonsil cancer in the United States - Cancer Causes Control. 2011 Nov 20 - "From the 1980s to the 2000s, the 5-year overall survival rates statistically significantly improved by 100% from 25 to 51% among patients with one primary base of tongue cancer and 28-60% among those with one primary tonsil cancer (p values for trend <0.001). In addition, the 5-year cancer-specific survival improved by 222.4 and 276%, respectively, among two types of patients. Survival improvement was more pronounced among male patients than among female patients regardless of young or old age, while the improvement was generally consistent among patients with different tumor stages and treatment methods. In contrast, however, those patients with subsequent multiple cancers showed no improvement in overall survival over time" - Note:  By multiple cancers I assume they mean it has spread to the lymph nodes.  Last I read, the survival rate was 25% in those cases.
• Mortality rates for pharynx and mouth cancers have decreased, with greater declines among patients with more education - Science Daily, 11/22/11
• Head and neck cancer: Study identifies factors associated with increased risk of death among two-year survivors - Science Daily, 11/22/11
• CDC Panel: All Young Boys Should Get HPV Vaccine - ABC News, 10/25/11 - "All males starting at age 11 should receive the HPV vaccine Gardasil to protect themselves against sexually transmitted forms of human papillomavirus, the cause of most cervical and anal cancers as well as most mouth and throat cancers, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory committee voted today" - Think water boarding which is used to torture and get information.  That's what it's like the first few weeks after throat surgery.  I've had both.  Anyone want their kids going through that?
• Cancer spike in men tied to HPV from oral sex - MSNBC, 10/3/11 - "Within the next decade, the study authors argue, the incidence of such cancers — which are almost always contracted as a result of oral sex — will surpass that of cervical cancer, and the majority of those cases are going to be in men ... in many cases, health experts believe that economics and health are aligned on this issue and that boys and young men ought to be receiving the HPV vaccine right now"
• Combination HPV diagnostic test for head and neck cancer outperformed other tests - Science Daily, 10/3/11
• MRI technique appears feasible to help identify involvement of jawbone by oral cancer - Science Daily, 9/19/11
• Population-Based Study of Competing Mortality in Head and Neck Cancer - 2011 Aug 15 - "The 5-year cumulative incidences of all-cause mortality, HNC-specific mortality, and competing mortality were 51.3% (95% CI, 50.8% to 51.9%), 23.8% (95% CI, 23.3% to 24.2%), and 27.6% (95% CI, 26.8% to 28.3%), respectively"
• Convergence in head and neck cancer - Science Daily, 7/28/11
• Explosive Rise in HPV Throat Cancer; Panel Mulls Vaccinating Boys - WebMD, 6/23/11 - "oropharyngeal (OP) cancer ... If current trends continue, OP cancer in men will pass cervical cancer in 2025 ... And HPV is to blame. Only a few decades ago, the major risk factors for throat cancer were smoking and alcohol. Not any more. In the five-year period of 1984-1989, only 16% of OP cancers were linked to HPV. By 2000-2004, HPV was behind 75% of OP cancers ... What are the risk factors? Not all are known, but HPV-related throat cancer risk goes up with increased oral sex and kissing ... Husbands of women with cervical cancer have a threefold higher risk of tonsil cancer. And people who have anal cancer have a fourfold to sixfold higher risk of tonsil cancer ... These findings are tipping the ACIP in favor of recommending routine HPV vaccination for boys"
• Certain head and neck cancer patients benefit from second round of treatment - Science Daily, 6/13/11
• Rise of Throat Cancer in Men Linked to Human Papillomavirus - WSJ.com, 5/31/11 - "Human papillomavirus is the most common sexually transmitted virus in the U.S. ... More than half of sexually active men and women are infected with HPV at some time in their lives ... About 20 million Americans are currently infected and about six million more get infected each year ... HPV can cause cervical cancer in women, which is the second-leading cause of cancer deaths in women world-wide ... HPV is linked to a four- to five-fold increase in certain oral cancers, especially in men; about 25% of mouth and 35% of throat cancers are caused by HPV ... There are more than 100 different types of HPV virus. Some are low-risk while highrisk types can cause several cancers, including head and neck cancer, which is becoming more prevalent"
• Low-dose sorafenib may improve therapy for head and neck cancer - Science Daily, 5/16/11
• Ways to help end dry mouth in cancer patients - Science Daily, 5/4/11
• Robotic surgery effective for removing hard-to-reach throat cancer, study suggests - Science Daily, 4/29/11
• Benefit of PET in patients with head and neck tumors cannot be assessed, study suggests - Science Daily, 4/29/11
• Stress and depression are associated with shorter survival in head and neck cancer patients - Science Daily, 4/28/11
• Pioglitazone Shows Promise for Oral Cancer Prevention - Medscape, 3/23/11 - "In a phase 2 clinical trial, the thiazolidinedione pioglitazone partially or completely eliminated two thirds of leukoplakia lesions, which can sometimes become cancerous ... Pioglitazone (Actos, Takeda Pharmaceuticals) "works pretty well — better than anything we've seen before ...Leukoplakia lesions, which are usually caused by irritation, appear on the tongue or sometimes on the insides of the cheek. About 17% of the lesions become invasive cancer, and no treatment has been shown to reliably prevent this ... The researchers randomly divided these patients so that 22 patients received pioglitazone 45 mg daily for 12 weeks and 22 patients served as a comparison group ...15 of the 22 patients in the pioglitazone group had a clinical and/or histologic response; they did not detect any change in the comparison group ... In the pioglitazone group, the lesions completely disappeared in 3 patients and partially disappeared in 12 patients, the epithelium completely returned to normal in 1 patient, and the dysplasia or hyperplasia reverted from advanced to early, or from early to normal, in 6 patients ... Because it is a diabetes drug, researchers checked the subjects' glucose levels, but they found no change, apparently because pioglitazone only affects glucose in diabetics" - See pioglitazone at OffshoreRx1.com.
• Oral Tongue Cancer Rates Rising in Young White Women - Medscape, 3/21/11 - "among people 18 to 44 years of age, the incidence of oral tongue cancer climbed 28% between 1975 and 2007. Among white people in this age group, the incidence increased 67%. The rising rates were most dramatic for white women, with a jump of 111% ... These trends, note the authors, might be explained by the decreased use of tobacco and the association between the carcinogenic strains of human papillomavirus (HPV) and cancer of the oral cavity ... I would say that if a young white person has complaints of a persistent sore on their tongue, cancer should be moved up higher on the differential, based on our study ... I would say that if a young white person has complaints of a persistent sore on their tongue, cancer should be moved up higher on the differential, based on our study"
• Oral tongue cancer increasing in young, white females - Science Daily, 3/8/11 - "the incidence of oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma rose 28 percent among individuals ages 18 to 44. Specifically, among white individuals ages 18 to 44 the incidence increased 67 percent. The increasing incidence was most dramatic for white females ages 18 to 44. They had a percentage change of 111 percent ... Over the past decade an association between the human papilloma virus with squamous cell carcinoma of the tonsil and tongue has been observed ... The researchers at UNC have preliminarily tested the cancers of the oral tongue of their young white female patients and have not found them to be associated with the virus. Other institutions have also noted the absence of the virus in young females with oral tongue cancer. The UNC researchers have also anecdotally observed that these young white female patients are typically non-smokers and non-drinkers"
• BNCT, a new generation radiation treatment pioneered in Finland, is effective in advanced head and neck cancer, study suggests - Science Daily, 3/4/11 - "The years of work done on developing and clinically testing of BNCT -- or Boron Neutron Capture Therapy -are now paying off. BNCT-based treatment has been successfully used to treat patients with advanced head and neck cancer who have not responded to previous treatments and generally have poor prognosis"
• New way to identify patients at risk of dysphagia after head and neck cancer treatment - Science Daily, 2/25/11 - "dysphagia (swallowing dysfunction) ... Dysphagia may be acute (starting in direct association with treatment) or late (starting months to years after treatment). Risk factors for developing severe acute dysphagia were large tumours, spreading of cancer cells to the lymph nodes, swallowing problems at the time of diagnosis, 6 treatments per week and tumour location other than the vocal cords. Risk factors for developing late dysphagia were large tumours, swallowing problems at the time of diagnosis and tumour location other than the vocal cords ... 83% of all head & neck cancer patients develop some kind of dysphagia"
• HPV vaccine works for boys: Study shows first clear benefits - Science Daily, 2/4/11 - "The vaccine for human papillomavirus (HPV) can prevent 90 percent of genital warts in men when offered before exposure to the four HPV strains covered by the vaccine ... In addition to preventing warts, the vaccine also effectively prevented HPV-persistent infection in 86 percent of the participants without previous exposure ... while they find it likely that the prevention of HPV infection and disease in men will have additional benefits, such as preventing anal, genital and throat cancers, these benefits need to be directly demonstrated through further clinical trials"
• Voice-saver: Light therapy for early-stage laryngeal cancer - Science Daily, 1/29/11
• Three-Drug Combo Best for Head and Neck Cancer - Medscape, 1/13/11
• Estrogen May Boost Progression of Head and Neck Cancer - Medscape, 1/5/11
• Tumor Cells in Blood May Signal Worse Prognosis in Head and Neck Cancer Patients - Science Daily, 12/21/10
• Most Patients Can Speak, Swallow After Combination Treatment for Head and Neck Cancer - Doctor's Guide, 12/20/10
• Osteoporosis drug reduces bone loss, tumor size in oral cancer - Science Daily, 12/13/10
• Never-smokers fare far better than smokers after radiation therapy for head and neck cancer - Science Daily, 11/16/10
• Hearing loss common following radiation therapy for head and neck cancer - Science Daily, 11/15/10
• HPV Vaccine: Not Just for Women? - US News and World Report, 11/10/10 - "the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is deliberating whether to issue a public recommendation that boys and men be vaccinated with Gardasil, the only HPV vaccine approved for that group, just as it's recommended for women" - Note: The author talks about several cancers but leaves out head and neck which I believe is the main reason for boys to get vaccinate with Gardasil.  I was given a 25% chance of survival six years ago from cancer of the tonsil that spread to the lymph nodes.  They believe it was caused by HPV.  Somehow I made it through that with just a 6 inch scar on my neck that's hardly noticeable but I went through a lot of agony with that operation, lost about 15 pounds from not being able to eat for a long time after the operation plus about 15 months with the doctors convinced it would return because I refused radiation and chemo.  I still need to be very careful with eating meat because the muscle tissue they took from my tonsil area makes it difficult to swallow.  I mostly eat turkey meat balls for the protein portion of meals.  That may have been prevented by Gardasil.
• Combining radiation therapy, chemotherapy safely treats head and neck cancer patients, study finds - Science Daily, 11/3/10
• Improved outcomes for HPV-positive head and neck cancer with cetuximab and IMRT, study suggests - Science Daily, 10/25/10 - "Two year progression free survival rates were 60 percent for those with HPV compared to 23 percent for those with HPV negative tumors (p=0.05)"
• HPV Oral Cancers on Rise as Oral Sex Becomes More Popular, May Spread Human Papilloma Virus - ABC News, 10/20/10 - "Cure rates are higher than for smoking-related throat cancers, but still only 50 percent" - The video claims that they can't rule out the the virus can be transmitted via sharing a spoon or a drink.
• Virus Behind Oral Cancer Epidemic - WebMD, 10/13/10 - "Researchers warn of an ongoing epidemic of oral cancer caused by the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV) ... cases of oral cancer -- primarily cancer of the tonsils -- increased sevenfold from 1970 to 2007 ... As a virologist, I am not aware of a vaccine that works in one part of the body and not in another, so I think this vaccine would prevent oral cancer in boys as well as in girls" - Note:  I can't remember reading of any other disease that has increased by a factor of seven.
• New robotic head and neck cancer surgery preserves speech, without scarring, study shows - Science Daily, 9/7/10 - "TORS allows surgeons to completely remove tumors of the head and neck while preserving speech, swallowing, and other key quality of life issues such as eating. There also is no visible scaring or disfigurement"
• Toxicity increases with combined chemo/radiation treatments for nasopharyngeal carcinoma - Science Daily, 7/15/10
• Pain, dry mouth may play role in sleep quality of head and neck cancer patients - Science Daily, 7/12/10
• Tumor virus is best predictor of throat cancer survival - Science Daily, 6/7/10 - "the presence of human papilloma virus (HPV) in tumors accounts for better response to therapy, rather than other favorable factors that may be present, such as young age and small tumors ...The three-year overall survival rate for patients with HPV-positive tumors was 82.4 percent compared to 57.1 percent with HPV-negative cancer. Progression-free survival rates were 73.7 percent and 43.4 percent, respectively"
• New Report Compares Radiation Approaches in Head and Neck Cancer - Medscape, 6/1/10
• Advanced radiation techniques reduce side effects in head and neck cancer treatment - Science Daily, 5/10/10
• Immune cells predict success of head and neck cancer treatment - Science Daily, 4/26/10
• Enzyme found to be a predictive marker of survival in head and neck cancer - Science Daily, 4/19/10
• Possible new drug target for head and neck cancers - Science Daily, 3/15/10
• Larynx preservation treatments result in low instance of severe voice disability, nutritional dysfunction - Science Daily, 2/25/10
• Proton beam therapy shows encouraging long-term outcome for patients with locally advanced sinonasal cancers - Science Daily, 2/25/10
• Accelerated radiation therapy reduces toxicity in patients with advanced head and neck cancers - Science Daily, 2/25/10
• Pretreatment SUV associated with head and neck cancer treatment outcomes, may help decide treatment plans - Science Daily, 2/25/10
• Most (56 percent) of young adults in new sexual relationship infected with HPV, study finds - Science Daily, 1/14/10 - "more than half (56 per cent) of young adults in a new sexual relationship were infected with human papillomavirus (HPV). Of those, nearly half (44 per cent) were infected with an HPV type that causes cancer ... HPV is sexually transmitted and causes cervical cancer as well as other cancers, including those of the vulva, vagina, anus, and penis" - Note: They forgot head and neck cancer.
• FDA clears TransOral robotic surgery - Science Daily, 1/4/10
• Adverse Events Common With Chemoradiation for Head and Neck Cancer - Medscape, 12/22/09
• Head and neck cancer survivors who use alcohol and cigarettes have increased death risk - Science Daily, 12/3/09
• Imaging techniques may help predict response to head and neck cancer treatment - Science Daily, 11/23/09
• Chemoradiation Confers Long-Term Benefits in Head and Neck Cancer - Medscape, 11/2/09
• Risk factors and survival by HPV-16 E6 and E7 antibody status in human papillomavirus positive head and neck cancer - Int J Cancer. 2009 Oct 28 - "E6 and/or E7-positive/p16-positive cases had better disease-specific (2.1 years vs. 1.1 years, p=0.06) and recurrence-free (2.3 years vs. 1.1 years, p=0.03) survival compared to E6-/E7-/p16- cases"
• Oropharyngeal Cancer Patients Experience Post-surgery Sleep Apnea - Science Daily, 10/6/09
• Speaking, Eating Possible After Tonsil Cancer Surgery With Reconstruction - Science Daily, 10/2/09 - "A new technique for reconstructing the palate after surgery for tonsil cancer maintained patients' ability to speak clearly and eat most foods"
• Incomplete Radiation Therapy Common Among Medicare Recipients With Head And Neck Cancer - Science Daily, 9/21/09
• New Reconstruction Technique Makes Speaking, Eating Possible After Tonsil Cancer Surgery - Doctor's Guide, 9/21/09
• Minimally Invasive Treatment Found Effective For Esophageal Cancer - Science Daily, 9/13/09
• Chronic periodontitis and the incidence of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma - Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2009 Sep;18(9):2406-12 - "Patients with periodontitis were more likely to have poorly differentiated oral cavity SCC than those without periodontitis (32.8% versus 11.5%"
• Prevent Periodontitis To Reduce The Risk Of Head And Neck Cancer - Science Daily, 9/8/09 - "Chronic periodontitis, a form of gum disease, is an independent risk factor for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma"
• Should Young Men Be Vaccinated With Gardasil®? - Medscape, 8/24/09 - "Gardasil® safety and immunogenicity trials included 9- to 15-year-old boys and demonstrated a robust immunologic response in this population. If efficacy in males is demonstrated in clinical trials, it is likely that vaccination may be recommended for prevention of anogenital warts (and, indirectly, infection and anogenital neoplasia and warts in partners); a subset of anal, penile, oral, and head and neck cancers; and juvenile respiratory papillomatosis in their children"
• Post-treatment Pain In Head And Neck Cancer Patients Linked To Recurrence, Lower Survival Rate - Science Daily, 8/20/09
• HPV Linked to Throat Cancer Survival - WebMD, 7/29/09
• Oral Sex Cause of Throat Cancer Rise - WebMD, 7/29/09
• Low Prevalence Of HPV Infection May Be Tied To Poor Prognosis For Blacks With Head And Neck Cancer - Science Daily, 7/29/09 - "Only 4 percent of black patients with squamous cell carcinoma in the study were HPV-positive, compared with 34 percent of white patients. The median overall survival was more than three-fold higher for whites (70.6 months) than for blacks (20.9 months) who were treated with chemotherapy and radiation. Dr. Cullen says the survival rate at five years for HPV-positive patients was about 85 percent, compared to 35 percent for HPV-negative patients. Survival was similar for HPV-negative patients, regardless of race. The study's findings confirm that HPV infection relates specifically to a type of head and neck cancer -- cancer of the oropharynx, which include the tonsils, soft palate and base of the tongue ... Overall, about 25 percent of head and neck cancers are tied to HPV infection"
• Voice Box Can Be Preserved, Even With The Largest Cancers, Study Suggests - Science Daily, 6/25/09
• New Treatment Combination Proves Safe For Head And Neck Cancer Patients, Study Suggests - Science Daily, 5/30/09
• Ohio State study: HPV status predicts oral cancer progression, survival - Campus - Ohio State, 5/19/09
• How Should Dry Mouth Be Treated? - Medscape, 4/30/09
• New Diagnostic Advance Seen For Head, Throat Cancer - Science Daily, 4/28/09
• Experimental Drug Shows Promise Against Head And Neck Cancer - Science Daily, 4/28/09
• Cancer Survival: Pretreatment Alcohol, Tobacco, Fruit, Exercise Habits Linked To Head And Neck Cancer Survival - Science Daily, 4/10/09
• High Dosage Brachytherapy Obtains Excellent Results In Head And Neck Tumors - Science Daily, 4/4/09
• Health Behaviors and Survival in Head and Neck Cancer - Medscape, 4/3/09
• Sharp Increase In HPV-positive Tonsil Cancer Found - Science Daily, 4/2/09 - "Because the tumours produce so few symptoms, patients seek medical care when the disease is relatively advanced, often after the tumours have spread to the lymph glands of the throat, possibly making the prognosis much worse ... More recent studies, however, have demonstrated a link between HPV and tonsil cancer, so that today an HPV infection is also one of the established risk factors ... Since 1970, the cumulative incidence of HPV-positive tonsil cancer has increased from 23 to 93 per cent"
• Survival Of Head And Neck Cancer Patients Is Greatly Affected By Coexisting Ailments - Science Daily, 11/19/08
• Oral Rinses Used For Tracking HPV-positive Head And Neck Cancers Holds Promise For Cancer Screening - Science Daily, 10/31/08
• ABC News: The Oral Sex Cancer Connection -  ABC News, 10/15/08 - "These are patients that are young. They are in their 30s and 40s. They are nonsmokers, and they don't drink alcohol ex ... There is absolutely a link between oral sex and oral cancer" - Click here for the 7 minute video.  I says that boys may want to get the HPV vaccine.
• Alternating Treatment Regimen Shows Promise - Medscape, 9/15/08
• Cetuximab and Survival in Head and Neck Cancer - Medscape, 9/11/08
• Head And Neck Cancer: Quick Way To Determine If Cancer Has Spread - Science Daily, 7/22/08
• Exhaustive Review of the Literature Reveals Even Moderate Alcohol Intake Increases Risk of Cancer - bu.edu, 5/08 - "Alcohol intake of approximately 2 drinks per day increases the risk of cancer of the oral cavity and pharynx by 75 percent, the risk of esophageal cancer by 50 percent, and the risk of laryngeal cancer by 40 percent" - Complete 194 study.
• Combining Radiation And Surgery Significantly Improves Survival For Head And Neck Cancer Patients - Science Daily, 6/9/08 - "The patients were surveyed approximately 4.4 years after treatment, and the researchers found that adding radiation to surgery improved patients’ chance of survival by 25 percent in all nodal stages (N1-N3), including N1 stage patients, even though radiation is typically recommended only for N2 and N3 stage patients"
• Tooth Loss Strongly Linked To Risk Of Esophageal, Head And Neck, And Lung Cancer - Science Daily, 5/14/08
• New Surgery Improves Head And Neck Cancer Treatment - Science Daily, 4/30/08
• HPV-related oral cancers rise among younger men - baltimoresun.com, 4/14/08 - "They're men in their 40s, and even 30s, whose cancer is brought on by the increasingly common human papillomavirus (HPV) ... researchers now believe that the increase in certain oral cancers can be traced to the spread of the virus through oral sex ... New studies suggest that HPV-related oral cancer cases are on pace to eventually surpass cases of cervical cancer in the United States ... many doctors do not realize that they should be on the lookout for oral cancer in younger patients ... The public is unaware of this"
• Sex, Drugs, and Cancer? - WebMD, 3/11/08 - "Head and neck cancers that were positive for HPV 16 were associated with having more oral sex partners and smoking more marijuana ... Head and neck cancers that were negative for HPV 16 weren't linked to sex or marijuana. Instead, they were tied to smoking tobacco, drinking alcohol, and having poor oral hygiene" - I know what people are thinking who have read my past newsletters about my neck cancer scare and no, I've never been a pot head and I've never smoked.  I've was a very light drinker, maybe two beers per week and I've always brushed my teeth at least once per day.
• Incidence trends for human papillomavirus-related and -unrelated oral squamous cell carcinomas in the United States - J Clin Oncol. 2008 Feb 1;26(4):612-9 - "oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCCs) ... Life-table analyses were used to compare 2-year overall survival for HPV-related and HPV-unrelated OSCCs. RESULTS: HPV-related OSCCs were diagnosed at younger ages than HPV-unrelated OSCCs (mean ages at diagnosis, 61.0 and 63.8 years, respectively; P < .001). Incidence increased significantly for HPV-related OSCC from 1973 to 2004 (annual percentage change [APC] = 0.80; P < .001), particularly among white men and at younger ages. By contrast, incidence for HPV-unrelated OSCC was stable through 1982 (APC = 0.82; P = .186) and declined significantly during 1983 to 2004 (APC = -1.85; P < .001). When treated with radiation, improvements in 2-year survival across calendar periods were more pronounced for HPV-related OSCCs (absolute increase in survival from 1973 through 1982 to 1993 through 2004 for localized, regional, and distant stages = 9.9%, 23.1%, and 18.6%, respectively) than HPV-unrelated OSCCs (5.6%, 3.1%, and 9.9%, respectively). During 1993 to 2004, for all stages treated with radiation, patients with HPV-related OSCCs had significantly higher survival rates than those with HPV-unrelated OSCCs"
• Oral sex-related cancer at 30-year high - New Scientist, 2/28/08 - "The incidence of oral cancer due to a virus transmitted during oral sex has increased steeply over the last 30 years ... The rise was largest among young white males, suggesting this group is more likely to have oral sex at a younger age now than it was 20 years ago ... What is not in doubt, says Gillison, is the need to consider giving boys the HPV vaccine, to protect them from the disease ... These strains are also thought to cause oral cancer, as well as penile and anal cancer"
• HPV-positive Head And Neck Cancer Patients Fare Better Than HPV-negative Patients - Science Daily, 2/12/08
• HPV-Related Oral Cancers on the Rise in Men - oncologystat.com, 2/2/08 - "The virus usually associated with cervical cancer has been linked to oral cancer in men, and is responsible for as many cases of the disease as tobacco and alcohol"
• Aggressive Treatment Favored for Advanced Laryngeal Cancer - Medscape, 1/3/08
• Human Papillomavirus in Cervical and Head-and-Neck Cancer - Medscape, 12/17/07 - "mounting epidemiological, molecular and clinical evidence indicates that high-risk HPVs (especially HPV.16) account for the development of headand-neck carcinoma in some individuals who do not have the classical risk factors for this disease (i.e. a history of tobacco use and/or alcohol consumption)"
• What Factors Are Associated With Survival In Advanced Laryngeal Cancer? - Science Daily, 12/17/07
• Newer Radiation Treatment Easier for Some Throat Cancer Patients - Doctor's Guide, 12/5/07
• Loud and clear on oral cancer - USATODAY.com, 11/25/07 - "The most likely culprit, he says: the same strains of human papillomavirus (HPV) that cause most cases of cervical cancer. A likely mode of transmission is oral sex"
• It kills thyroid cancer, but is radiation safe? - USATODAY.com, 11/19/07
• Combined Treatment for Head and Neck Cancer - Medscape, 10/31/07
• Docetaxel Improves Head/Neck Cancer Survival - Medscape, 10/25/07
• Docetaxel Plus Induction Chemotherapy Improves Survival in Head and Neck Cancer - oncologystat.com, 10/24/07
• Obesity Boosts Gullet Cancer Risk 6-fold - Science Daily, 10/10/07
• Sanofi-Aventis' Taxotere Adds New Head And Neck Cancer Indication - oncologystat.com, 9/28/07
• Patients With Head And Neck Cancer May Have Impairment Of Some Driving Skills - Science Daily, 9/17/07
• Human Papilloma Virus Vaccines May Decrease Chances Of Oral Cancer - Science Daily, 8/30/07 - "oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OOSCC) have been linked to high-risk HPV strains, the same strains that cause cervical cancer ... It's possible that oral and oropharyngeal cancers could be reduced if vaccination were more widespread; however, additional research is needed"
• Oral Sex Implicated in Some Throat and Neck Cancers - washingtonpost.com, 8/27/07 - "Human papillomavirus (HPV), which is believed to be responsible for most cervical cancers, may also be at the root of many cancers of the mouth and throat ... Previous research has found that up to 50 percent of nonsmokers with throat and mouth cancers were infected with HPV"