The Epidemiology of the HPV/Head and Neck Cancer connection
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/01/is-oral-sex-to-blame-for-the-surge-in-cancer-of-the-mouth-and-throat/251759/
Comments
-
only the shadow knows.....
Because I sure don't. There are non-sexual ways to get genital HPV. That much is proven. The author correctly points out that we really don't know what cause and effect are operative here. That's basically a repitition of what infectious diseases have done throughout recorded history.
A great example of this is the plague. At one time in recorded history the plague wiped out a very significant fraction of humanity. Something has changed about the organism, and although the plague is still around, it isn't nearly as virulent a disease as before. It is not as infective, and not as lethal as it was centuries ago. Why? Only the shadow knows.0 -
Women An Gay Men....
Though I don't think there is any one standard and definitive way of contraction, I have read studies showing higher instances of HPV of gay women, suggesting sexual transmittance.
Personally, being only with my wife for 20+ years, and neither having any sexual contact with others during that time frame.
I can only surmise that either I could have gotten it 20 years prior and it lay dormant, or I was recent exposed and for whatever reason, my immune system didn't reject it.
As many recent studies have reported, nearly 80% of the population under 40 have been exposed to HPV. Most of the time, just like cancer cells, our body fights it off...sometimes it doesn't.
I don't think there is anything that could probably prevent exposure under a normal lifestyle that isn't being done.
Unfortunately sometimes it just comes down to the luck of the draw...it is what it is.
Best,
John0 -
Plague....longtermsurvivor said:only the shadow knows.....
Because I sure don't. There are non-sexual ways to get genital HPV. That much is proven. The author correctly points out that we really don't know what cause and effect are operative here. That's basically a repitition of what infectious diseases have done throughout recorded history.
A great example of this is the plague. At one time in recorded history the plague wiped out a very significant fraction of humanity. Something has changed about the organism, and although the plague is still around, it isn't nearly as virulent a disease as before. It is not as infective, and not as lethal as it was centuries ago. Why? Only the shadow knows.
Wasn't the plague primarily spread by rats...more specifically fleas on rats?
But, and I have no knowledge, it eventually died out with modern meds and better sanitary conditions. But man, it was nasty during the time that it was at the peak.
JG0 -
Plague FleasSkiffin16 said:Plague....
Wasn't the plague primarily spread by rats...more specifically fleas on rats?
But, and I have no knowledge, it eventually died out with modern meds and better sanitary conditions. But man, it was nasty during the time that it was at the peak.
JG
Yep - the fleas were the culprits. That's where my Irish grandmother got the superstition (which she tried to foist on us with the others) that it was bad luck to kill a spider living in your house - spiders catch/kill fleas - flea can't bite/infect humans. It was YEARS later that I learned of the plague link.0 -
Thass right....Pam M said:Plague Fleas
Yep - the fleas were the culprits. That's where my Irish grandmother got the superstition (which she tried to foist on us with the others) that it was bad luck to kill a spider living in your house - spiders catch/kill fleas - flea can't bite/infect humans. It was YEARS later that I learned of the plague link.
You can still get the plague. Those of us who prairie dog hunt know not to handle the critters for that reason. But the plague is now an endemic disease, not an epidemic disease, and no one has ever found a reason why. It represents a change in the Yersinia pestis organism over time. Its still around, just not the threat to the world it was when it chewed up Europe.0 -
Not into chicksSkiffin16 said:Women An Gay Men....
Though I don't think there is any one standard and definitive way of contraction, I have read studies showing higher instances of HPV of gay women, suggesting sexual transmittance.
Personally, being only with my wife for 20+ years, and neither having any sexual contact with others during that time frame.
I can only surmise that either I could have gotten it 20 years prior and it lay dormant, or I was recent exposed and for whatever reason, my immune system didn't reject it.
As many recent studies have reported, nearly 80% of the population under 40 have been exposed to HPV. Most of the time, just like cancer cells, our body fights it off...sometimes it doesn't.
I don't think there is anything that could probably prevent exposure under a normal lifestyle that isn't being done.
Unfortunately sometimes it just comes down to the luck of the draw...it is what it is.
Best,
John
As a 40 yr old woman who has never had sex with another female, and was diagnosed with HPV tonsil cancer in October 2011, I too lean towards the concept of dormancy. I have been with my husband for 18 years, and although one can never be sure, I would say that neither of us have had any extra marital affairs......this would have to mean exposure happened prior to our meeting. I had chronic issues with my tonsils my whole life. Not sure why they were not removed, but the one I had issues with was the one who tested positive for cancer.
I am a rarity..a woman with tonsil cancer of this type. If I knew how I contracted it, I would gladly scream it from a mountain top, to spare anyone else from going throug the process of treating it! May researchers find the answers to this epidemic quickly, so that this disease can be irradicated.
Jen0 -
LOL, Not Suggesting....Jennfer39 said:Not into chicks
As a 40 yr old woman who has never had sex with another female, and was diagnosed with HPV tonsil cancer in October 2011, I too lean towards the concept of dormancy. I have been with my husband for 18 years, and although one can never be sure, I would say that neither of us have had any extra marital affairs......this would have to mean exposure happened prior to our meeting. I had chronic issues with my tonsils my whole life. Not sure why they were not removed, but the one I had issues with was the one who tested positive for cancer.
I am a rarity..a woman with tonsil cancer of this type. If I knew how I contracted it, I would gladly scream it from a mountain top, to spare anyone else from going throug the process of treating it! May researchers find the answers to this epidemic quickly, so that this disease can be irradicated.
Jen
Not suggesting or guessing on anyones sexual preference or exposure.... Personally myself, I am more inclines to believe it can be contracted many ways...the gay woman connection may have some merit, not sure if any more than kissing, sexual or casual contact/exposure.
I just think (even more so than dormancy), that we are exposed in various ways through our daily routines. Again presuming our bodies in a healthy immune system fights it off...sometimes it doesn't, perhaps in a slightly weakened state.
JG0 -
Not offendedSkiffin16 said:LOL, Not Suggesting....
Not suggesting or guessing on anyones sexual preference or exposure.... Personally myself, I am more inclines to believe it can be contracted many ways...the gay woman connection may have some merit, not sure if any more than kissing, sexual or casual contact/exposure.
I just think (even more so than dormancy), that we are exposed in various ways through our daily routines. Again presuming our bodies in a healthy immune system fights it off...sometimes it doesn't, perhaps in a slightly weakened state.
JG
Just so you know SKIFF...I wasnt offended by your post. I have a quirky sense of humor, honed by yearsbof being raised with four brothers.
These two diseases offend me. HPV and cancer.
The fact that I have no idea how to keep my two teenage children safe from the possibility of contracting oral cancer from HPV exposure......One boy and one girl.
Praying that researchers figure this twisted mess out!
Jen0 -
GARDASILJennfer39 said:Not offended
Just so you know SKIFF...I wasnt offended by your post. I have a quirky sense of humor, honed by yearsbof being raised with four brothers.
These two diseases offend me. HPV and cancer.
The fact that I have no idea how to keep my two teenage children safe from the possibility of contracting oral cancer from HPV exposure......One boy and one girl.
Praying that researchers figure this twisted mess out!
Jen
GARDASIL is about the only thing I know at least marketed as a possible deterrent at least in girls, though more boys are beginning to have the injections also.
Not sure if there are any actual medically controlled study results though.
No problem on the humor, LOL...I'm one of many on here belonging to the Abi-Normal Clan....
JG0 -
HPV
I was told by my doctor at M D Anderson that they know it is transmitted sexually but many think it could also be transmitted by as simply kissing or eating or drinking after someone who has HPV although this has never been documented.I was also told I could have had it for at least 15 yrs and it had gone undetected mainly because no one knew what it was and did not know to look for it.I was seen by my family doctor and an ENT for 3 years due to constant illness,(sore throat,ear aches,fatigue) before changing my ENT and the new one found it on my first visit.
There is much more information coming out about this now.0 -
Found It...par said:HPV
I was told by my doctor at M D Anderson that they know it is transmitted sexually but many think it could also be transmitted by as simply kissing or eating or drinking after someone who has HPV although this has never been documented.I was also told I could have had it for at least 15 yrs and it had gone undetected mainly because no one knew what it was and did not know to look for it.I was seen by my family doctor and an ENT for 3 years due to constant illness,(sore throat,ear aches,fatigue) before changing my ENT and the new one found it on my first visit.
There is much more information coming out about this now.
So how did the new ENT find it.....other than biopsy of a thought infected area of tissue?
As mentioned, morethan likely it can be transmitted sexually....among the other ways, and probably even more not known at this time.
Even sexually, I don't think it's a given that it's always passed on, or if it is, it's killed out by the immune system of the other partner (most of the time).
Best,
JG0 -
How he found itSkiffin16 said:Found It...
So how did the new ENT find it.....other than biopsy of a thought infected area of tissue?
As mentioned, morethan likely it can be transmitted sexually....among the other ways, and probably even more not known at this time.
Even sexually, I don't think it's a given that it's always passed on, or if it is, it's killed out by the immune system of the other partner (most of the time).
Best,
JG
I guess I should have been clearer.By finding it I meant in the first five minutes of his examination he felt my throat and then basically stuck his finger down my throat and then said I had a lump.He said he thought it was tonsil cancer.I went on to explain that I did not have my tonsils and he said well a mass is there and I think it is cancer.Mrt soon followed ,then everyones favorite tube up the nose and down the throat and then a biopsy.
I guess my point was that many doctors had for 3 yrs. tried to figure out what was wrong but it took one who knew what to look for and what the symptoms were to figure it out.
I am lucky it is a slow growing type cancer.I was shocked when they told me it was HPV as I had never heard of a male having any disease caused by that.I talked to many men during treatment that were in the same situation and they had never heard of HPV causing cancer in males.Not trying to be crude but 3 men could have been with the same woman at different times and only one end up with cancer.Maybe due to their immune systems.just a guess.And like Skiffin said,It is what it is.0 -
Do research on Gardasil before vaccinating your teensSkiffin16 said:GARDASIL
GARDASIL is about the only thing I know at least marketed as a possible deterrent at least in girls, though more boys are beginning to have the injections also.
Not sure if there are any actual medically controlled study results though.
No problem on the humor, LOL...I'm one of many on here belonging to the Abi-Normal Clan....
JG
Do research on Gardasil before vaccinating your teens. I'm still reading the post but will post more info on where to research. The vaccine is too new & there are no studies to show it even works. There are studies being done on side effects.
Anyone considering the vaccine; needs to make sure their child is 100% healthy & even then; they can be one affected by side effects & possibly bedridden for years/life. More stories come out all of the time as people realize their once healthy child had the vaccine & has had health issues since then...0 -
A few parts of the article
A few parts of the article for those that don't have time to read the whole thing. These were good parts. Note the last paragraph about the vaccine... They hope teens being vaccinated will not get oral cancer; it will be hard to prove & take a long time.
Is Oral Sex to Blame for the Surge in Cancer of the Mouth and Throat?
http://goo.gl/ChgO5
Like investigators elsewhere, we're seeing an increased incidence of oropharyngeal cancer," says Dr. John Deeken, a medical oncologist at Georgetown's Lombardi Cancer Center. Cancer-causing HPV strains tend to infect immune cells at the base of the tongue and tonsils, Deeken explains. "This may be why we're seeing the virus in tumors in those parts of the oropharynx, while the incidence of lip, larynx, and vocal cord cancers is not going up." If the cancer were simply caused by infection with HPV upon sexual transmission there would be more cases in women, he considers.
The epidemiology is perplexing," he says. "The assumption, when we noticed the trend eight or nine years ago, was that this was a sexually transmitted disease due to more oral sex," he says. "But at least at Georgetown, we have patients in their 80s with this kind of cancer," he notes. "That raises questions about the sexual habits of Americans who are older, or about HPV."
The latency period between initial HPV infection and cancer can last decades, confirms Dr. Maura L. Gillison, an oncologist and professor at Ohio State who has published seminal findings on HPV and cancer.
Human papillomavirus was one of the first viruses identified in human cancers. Approximately 40 subtypes spread sexually. Two types, HPV-16 and HPV-18, account for most cases of cervical cancer in the U.S. Most women with HPV are asymptomatic and don't get cervical cancer; when and if malignancy develops, it's usually 20, 30 years or longer after initial infection. Most often, oropharyngeal cancers are caused by the HPV-16 subtype.
"The mechanisms by which HPV causes cancer are pretty well-established," Gillison says. Two viral genes, called E6 and E7, are implicated. The virus itself contains only a few genes; it can't propagate apart from human cells. But once HPV has infected squamous cells like those lining the cervix, anus, or pharynx, E6 and E7 take over critical machinery that control processes like DNA repair, cell cycle, and maturation, she explains. Because the virus interferes with signals that normally regulate cell growth, HPV-infected cells tend to survive and replicate.
The E6 and E7 proteins, encoded by the genes, are necessary but not sufficient for cancer formation, Gillison considers. As is the case for HPV infection in the genitals, most individuals infected with HPV in the mouth don't develop tumors. The key question is what other factors -- like damage to the oral cavity from nicotine or other toxins, immune changes, or possibly a genetic disposition -- lead to oropharyngeal tumors in some people, typically years after the initial infection.
For patients with oropharyngeal cancer linked to HPV, the prognosis is relatively good. "We're seeing higher cure rates with HPV cancers than for other head and neck cancers," Deeken says. "The patients tend to respond more readily and completely to treatment no matter what we give them, whether it's chemo or radiation."
Deeken also supports a primary prevention, by vaccination of young people against HPV. "Hopefully in decades ahead, teenagers who are getting vaccinated now will not be developing oropharyngeal cancer," he says. "But that will be hard to prove, and it will take a long time."0 -
My hub is similar. He knewpar said:How he found it
I guess I should have been clearer.By finding it I meant in the first five minutes of his examination he felt my throat and then basically stuck his finger down my throat and then said I had a lump.He said he thought it was tonsil cancer.I went on to explain that I did not have my tonsils and he said well a mass is there and I think it is cancer.Mrt soon followed ,then everyones favorite tube up the nose and down the throat and then a biopsy.
I guess my point was that many doctors had for 3 yrs. tried to figure out what was wrong but it took one who knew what to look for and what the symptoms were to figure it out.
I am lucky it is a slow growing type cancer.I was shocked when they told me it was HPV as I had never heard of a male having any disease caused by that.I talked to many men during treatment that were in the same situation and they had never heard of HPV causing cancer in males.Not trying to be crude but 3 men could have been with the same woman at different times and only one end up with cancer.Maybe due to their immune systems.just a guess.And like Skiffin said,It is what it is.
My hub is similar. He knew he had an enlarged gland; my daughter (16 at the time) & hub had them at the same time around December 2008. By July 2009; they both went to Tenn to visit friends; hub came back; his discoid lupus (which was diagnosed 8/08) had flared up & the node in his neck (centered on the right main artery) went to golf ball size in that week. He saw his derm for the lupus who sent him for an ultrasound on the ride home. I was called; told to find an oncologist but they would not see him because he was not actually diagnosed. I decided to call my daughters ENT who also knew it was cancer; yet he was careful not to actually say it.. 2 needle biopsies before confirmed; but they knew it did not start there. We decided to go straight to Thomas Jefferson- ENT there knew exactly where it started. He scoped him right there & everything was biopsied during the big surgery.. This ENT knew exactly what was infected
I am a big believer that if you are not getting satisfaction locally; find the largest University hospital & be seen there. If anyone knows what's wrong; they do.0 -
More men than women haveDaddisgrl said:A few parts of the article
A few parts of the article for those that don't have time to read the whole thing. These were good parts. Note the last paragraph about the vaccine... They hope teens being vaccinated will not get oral cancer; it will be hard to prove & take a long time.
Is Oral Sex to Blame for the Surge in Cancer of the Mouth and Throat?
http://goo.gl/ChgO5
Like investigators elsewhere, we're seeing an increased incidence of oropharyngeal cancer," says Dr. John Deeken, a medical oncologist at Georgetown's Lombardi Cancer Center. Cancer-causing HPV strains tend to infect immune cells at the base of the tongue and tonsils, Deeken explains. "This may be why we're seeing the virus in tumors in those parts of the oropharynx, while the incidence of lip, larynx, and vocal cord cancers is not going up." If the cancer were simply caused by infection with HPV upon sexual transmission there would be more cases in women, he considers.
The epidemiology is perplexing," he says. "The assumption, when we noticed the trend eight or nine years ago, was that this was a sexually transmitted disease due to more oral sex," he says. "But at least at Georgetown, we have patients in their 80s with this kind of cancer," he notes. "That raises questions about the sexual habits of Americans who are older, or about HPV."
The latency period between initial HPV infection and cancer can last decades, confirms Dr. Maura L. Gillison, an oncologist and professor at Ohio State who has published seminal findings on HPV and cancer.
Human papillomavirus was one of the first viruses identified in human cancers. Approximately 40 subtypes spread sexually. Two types, HPV-16 and HPV-18, account for most cases of cervical cancer in the U.S. Most women with HPV are asymptomatic and don't get cervical cancer; when and if malignancy develops, it's usually 20, 30 years or longer after initial infection. Most often, oropharyngeal cancers are caused by the HPV-16 subtype.
"The mechanisms by which HPV causes cancer are pretty well-established," Gillison says. Two viral genes, called E6 and E7, are implicated. The virus itself contains only a few genes; it can't propagate apart from human cells. But once HPV has infected squamous cells like those lining the cervix, anus, or pharynx, E6 and E7 take over critical machinery that control processes like DNA repair, cell cycle, and maturation, she explains. Because the virus interferes with signals that normally regulate cell growth, HPV-infected cells tend to survive and replicate.
The E6 and E7 proteins, encoded by the genes, are necessary but not sufficient for cancer formation, Gillison considers. As is the case for HPV infection in the genitals, most individuals infected with HPV in the mouth don't develop tumors. The key question is what other factors -- like damage to the oral cavity from nicotine or other toxins, immune changes, or possibly a genetic disposition -- lead to oropharyngeal tumors in some people, typically years after the initial infection.
For patients with oropharyngeal cancer linked to HPV, the prognosis is relatively good. "We're seeing higher cure rates with HPV cancers than for other head and neck cancers," Deeken says. "The patients tend to respond more readily and completely to treatment no matter what we give them, whether it's chemo or radiation."
Deeken also supports a primary prevention, by vaccination of young people against HPV. "Hopefully in decades ahead, teenagers who are getting vaccinated now will not be developing oropharyngeal cancer," he says. "But that will be hard to prove, and it will take a long time."
More men than women have oral cancer virus
http://goo.gl/su6gN
About 7 percent of adults and teens in the United States are orally infected with the human papillomavirus, or HPV, a new study says. This represents about 14.9 million people.
More men are affected than women: About 10 percent of men ages 14 to 69 have an oral HPV infection, compared with 3.6 percent of women, the study showed.
The new findings were "reassuring," according to study researcher Dr. Maura Gillison, chair of cancer research at The Ohio State University , because they show that while oral infection with the virus is common, cancer cases as a result of these infections are rare. In other words, most infected people don't get cancer. The American Cancer Society estimates there will be about 40,000 new cases of cancer of the oral cavity and pharynx in 2012.
The findings also show oral HPV infections are, for the most part, sexually transmitted. People who reported engaging in oral sex were twice as likely to have an oral HPV infection as those who did not engage in oral sex. People who had had sex of any kind, including vaginal sex or oral sex, were eight times more likely to have an oral HPV infection than those who had not had sex. Among those who'd had 20 or more sexual partners, one in five had an oral HPV infection.
However, there are clues HPV may also spread by kissing. Oral HPV infections were more common among sexually experienced people who had not engaged in oral sex than among sexually inexperienced individuals, a finding that is "consistent with transmission by other sexually associated contact (eg, deep kissing)," the researchers wrote in their study.
"This study of oral HPV infection is the critical first step toward developing potential oropharyngeal cancer prevention strategies," Gillison said. "This is clearly important, because HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer is poised to overtake cervical cancer as the leading type of HPV-caused cancers in the U.S."
More studies are needed to know whether the HPV vaccine effectively prevents oral HPV infections, the researchers said. Currently, the vaccine is recommended to prevent cervical cancer, anal cancer and genital warts.
In the new study, Gillison and colleagues analyzed data from more than 5,500 men and women in the United States. Participants answered questions about their sexual behavior and substance use. They were also asked to gargle mouthwash for 30 seconds, and cells that were exfoliated into the rinse were analyzed for evidence of HPV infection.
The researchers found HPV in the cells of 6.9 percent of the participants, and HPV 16 in 1 percent.
The infection was most common among those ages 60 to 64 years, (at 11.4 percent), and those ages 30 to 34 (at 7.3 percent).
Physicians should encourage their patients who engage in oral sex to use barrier protection, Dr. Hans P. Schlecht, of the Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, wrote in an editorial accompanying the study.
Smokers and alcohol users also had a high prevalence of HPV. About 20 percent of those who said they smoke 20 or more cigarettes per day had oral HPV infection.
It's not clear why oral HPV infection was more common among men than women. It could be that HPV is more likely to be transmitted through oral sex on women versus men, the researchers said. Differences in hormone levels between the sexes could also affect the duration of an infection.
Smoking may suppress the immune system, leading to longer infections with the virus, the researchers said.
The researchers noted their findings are based on study participant's reports of their sexual behavior and smoking, which may not be completely accurate.
Researchers need to follow people over time to better understand the effects of age, gender, sexual behavior and smoking on the incidence and duration of oral HPV infections, the researchers said.0 -
Gardasil- Read the articles I copied in below.Skiffin16 said:GARDASIL
GARDASIL is about the only thing I know at least marketed as a possible deterrent at least in girls, though more boys are beginning to have the injections also.
Not sure if there are any actual medically controlled study results though.
No problem on the humor, LOL...I'm one of many on here belonging to the Abi-Normal Clan....
JG
Want to say that I'm impressed with how civil this conversation is because at the other board; it is not. Apparently; some are ashamed to have HPV+ cancer
From the articles I copied in below- #1- Is Oral Sex to Blame for the Surge in Cancer of the Mouth and Throat? - Deeken also supports a primary prevention, by vaccination of young people against HPV. "Hopefully in decades ahead, teenagers who are getting vaccinated now will not be developing oropharyngeal cancer," he says. "But that will be hard to prove, and it will take a long time."
#2 More men than women have oral cancer virus - More studies are needed to know whether the HPV vaccine effectively prevents oral HPV infections, the researchers said. Currently, the vaccine is recommended to prevent cervical cancer, anal cancer and genital warts.
Here are links to start research to decide if the Gardasil vaccine is safe for your children. As I copied the direct quotes; the vaccine is not specifically for oral cancer. Weigh side effects against information that is known. Note that if they currently have muscle or joint pain or heart problems; they should not get it. Also make sure you give full medical history & insist that your daughter have an HPV test; in case they are sexually active without you knowing it.
Gardasil- Manufacturers page - helps protect against 2 types of HPV that cause about 75% of cervical cancer cases, and 2 more types that cause 90% of genital warts cases. In boys and young men ages 9 to 26, GARDASIL helps protect against 90% of genital warts cases.. It may not fully protect everyone, nor will it protect against diseases caused by other HPV types or against diseases not caused by HPV. GARDASIL does not prevent all types of cervical cancer, so it’s important for women to continue routine cervical cancer screenings. GARDASIL does not treat cancer or genital warts. GARDASIL is given as 3 injections over 6 months. There is no long term studies showing that Gardisil will protect Gardasil vaccinated kids from cancer
Great Gardasil video on you tube
Truth about Gardcasil - Web site devoted to stories from/ of those affected by the Gardasil vaccine
Melbourne woman, crippled by Gardasil, leads class action against Merck - Monday, November 21, 2011
VEARS database of vaccine reports pertaining to Gardasil - search the database & add your own if it applies
If You Think You Know Everything About Vaccines... Think Again! *Note; if the link does not work; click here to see this one or search google for the article title
Judicial Watch Uncovers FDA Gardasil Records Detailing 26 New Reported Deaths
Dr. Tenpenny on Vaccines
HPV Info0 -
Michele BachmannDaddisgrl said:Do research on Gardasil before vaccinating your teens
Do research on Gardasil before vaccinating your teens. I'm still reading the post but will post more info on where to research. The vaccine is too new & there are no studies to show it even works. There are studies being done on side effects.
Anyone considering the vaccine; needs to make sure their child is 100% healthy & even then; they can be one affected by side effects & possibly bedridden for years/life. More stories come out all of the time as people realize their once healthy child had the vaccine & has had health issues since then...
Those kind of sound like comments from the above.....
I'm sure that people die or have long lasting effects from chemo also...does it cure cancer?
HPV Vaccines - National Cancer Institute
HPV Vaccines - CDC
I believe there have been some studies performed that have yield some favorable results.
I do agree though as far as do your research first, and make your own informed decision on what you feel is best for your child.
JG0 -
Deeken is my guyDaddisgrl said:A few parts of the article
A few parts of the article for those that don't have time to read the whole thing. These were good parts. Note the last paragraph about the vaccine... They hope teens being vaccinated will not get oral cancer; it will be hard to prove & take a long time.
Is Oral Sex to Blame for the Surge in Cancer of the Mouth and Throat?
http://goo.gl/ChgO5
Like investigators elsewhere, we're seeing an increased incidence of oropharyngeal cancer," says Dr. John Deeken, a medical oncologist at Georgetown's Lombardi Cancer Center. Cancer-causing HPV strains tend to infect immune cells at the base of the tongue and tonsils, Deeken explains. "This may be why we're seeing the virus in tumors in those parts of the oropharynx, while the incidence of lip, larynx, and vocal cord cancers is not going up." If the cancer were simply caused by infection with HPV upon sexual transmission there would be more cases in women, he considers.
The epidemiology is perplexing," he says. "The assumption, when we noticed the trend eight or nine years ago, was that this was a sexually transmitted disease due to more oral sex," he says. "But at least at Georgetown, we have patients in their 80s with this kind of cancer," he notes. "That raises questions about the sexual habits of Americans who are older, or about HPV."
The latency period between initial HPV infection and cancer can last decades, confirms Dr. Maura L. Gillison, an oncologist and professor at Ohio State who has published seminal findings on HPV and cancer.
Human papillomavirus was one of the first viruses identified in human cancers. Approximately 40 subtypes spread sexually. Two types, HPV-16 and HPV-18, account for most cases of cervical cancer in the U.S. Most women with HPV are asymptomatic and don't get cervical cancer; when and if malignancy develops, it's usually 20, 30 years or longer after initial infection. Most often, oropharyngeal cancers are caused by the HPV-16 subtype.
"The mechanisms by which HPV causes cancer are pretty well-established," Gillison says. Two viral genes, called E6 and E7, are implicated. The virus itself contains only a few genes; it can't propagate apart from human cells. But once HPV has infected squamous cells like those lining the cervix, anus, or pharynx, E6 and E7 take over critical machinery that control processes like DNA repair, cell cycle, and maturation, she explains. Because the virus interferes with signals that normally regulate cell growth, HPV-infected cells tend to survive and replicate.
The E6 and E7 proteins, encoded by the genes, are necessary but not sufficient for cancer formation, Gillison considers. As is the case for HPV infection in the genitals, most individuals infected with HPV in the mouth don't develop tumors. The key question is what other factors -- like damage to the oral cavity from nicotine or other toxins, immune changes, or possibly a genetic disposition -- lead to oropharyngeal tumors in some people, typically years after the initial infection.
For patients with oropharyngeal cancer linked to HPV, the prognosis is relatively good. "We're seeing higher cure rates with HPV cancers than for other head and neck cancers," Deeken says. "The patients tend to respond more readily and completely to treatment no matter what we give them, whether it's chemo or radiation."
Deeken also supports a primary prevention, by vaccination of young people against HPV. "Hopefully in decades ahead, teenagers who are getting vaccinated now will not be developing oropharyngeal cancer," he says. "But that will be hard to prove, and it will take a long time."
btw, I just thought I would mention that Deeken is/was my med onc. He is a great guy as well as a fine doc. I am fortunately not one of those patients in their 80s who are so confounding.
Also, my experience with the ENT at Georgetown was similar. My normal ENT tried to treat the lymph node growth and, when it didn't go away, referred me to GU Hospital (and to Hopkins as well as we live between the two). When the GUH ENT doc stuck his fingers down my throat he knew instantly, though he didn't say so until it was confirmed soon after by the biopsy he immediately ordered.
So, I agree with the earlier advice that, if it doesn't seem right, get thee right away to a big university or Comprehensive Cancer Center that treats this stuff every day. This is not for fooling around.
Doug0 -
Goalie and I have probably passed in the GU hallwaysGoalie said:Deeken is my guy
btw, I just thought I would mention that Deeken is/was my med onc. He is a great guy as well as a fine doc. I am fortunately not one of those patients in their 80s who are so confounding.
Also, my experience with the ENT at Georgetown was similar. My normal ENT tried to treat the lymph node growth and, when it didn't go away, referred me to GU Hospital (and to Hopkins as well as we live between the two). When the GUH ENT doc stuck his fingers down my throat he knew instantly, though he didn't say so until it was confirmed soon after by the biopsy he immediately ordered.
So, I agree with the earlier advice that, if it doesn't seem right, get thee right away to a big university or Comprehensive Cancer Center that treats this stuff every day. This is not for fooling around.
Doug
Deeken is my guy too. He's really a great guy. My first appointment, he easily spent an hour talking with me about my cancer, HPV, everything. Goalie and I have probably passed in the hallways.
I wrote something on my blog about the ACS data and the recent research out of Ohio State.
http://myfortyeighthyear.tumblr.com/post/16732289605/howd-this-happen0
Discussion Boards
- All Discussion Boards
- 6 CSN Information
- 6 Welcome to CSN
- 121.2K Cancer specific
- 2.8K Anal Cancer
- 440 Bladder Cancer
- 306 Bone Cancers
- 1.6K Brain Cancer
- 28.4K Breast Cancer
- 391 Childhood Cancers
- 27.9K Colorectal Cancer
- 4.6K Esophageal Cancer
- 1.2K Gynecological Cancers (other than ovarian and uterine)
- 12.9K Head and Neck Cancer
- 6.3K Kidney Cancer
- 666 Leukemia
- 789 Liver Cancer
- 4.1K Lung Cancer
- 5.1K Lymphoma (Hodgkin and Non-Hodgkin)
- 235 Multiple Myeloma
- 7.1K Ovarian Cancer
- 53 Pancreatic Cancer
- 486 Peritoneal Cancer
- 5.3K Prostate Cancer
- 1.2K Rare and Other Cancers
- 532 Sarcoma
- 717 Skin Cancer
- 647 Stomach Cancer
- 190 Testicular Cancer
- 1.5K Thyroid Cancer
- 5.8K Uterine/Endometrial Cancer
- 6.3K Lifestyle Discussion Boards