Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition

T he US-based Universi- ty of Rochester Medi- cal Center (URMC) and Lucifics, a photomedical technology start-up company, have been awarded a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop and test prototypes of a new generation of medical devices to treat oral cancer. URMC and Lucifics have been awarded the Small Busi- ness Technology Transfer Phase I grant from the NIH’s National Cancer Institute (NCI) to build and evaluate single-use photodynamic de- vices. The partners will col- laborate on the development of an initial set of devices which are anticipated to be ready for clinical testing with- in a year. The devices will be tailored to treat common oral cancer sites, including the lateral border of the tongue, ventral tongue, gumline, and floor of the mouth. “Photodynamic therapy has a lot to offer patients suf- fering from cancer of the oral cavity, but the complex anat- omy and the difficulties cre- ated by scattered treatment light illuminating and poten- tially damaging sensitive nor- mal tissue present significant technical challenges”, said Thomas Foster, PhD, a pro- fessor of Imaging Sciences at URMC. Photodynamic therapy com- bines a class of drugs with light to selectively destroy cancer cells. The drug is injected into the patient and absorbed by the body’s cells. The drug tends to remain in cancer cells for a longer period of time. When ex- posed to a specific wavelength of light, often administered by a laser, the drugs produce a form of oxygen that kills nearby cells. This therapy is currently used to treat certain forms of oral can- cer, in addition to other cancers. However, current oral cancer technologies have the potential to damage other healthy cells in the throat and mouth during treatment. Lucifics – founded in 2011 by University of Rochester gradu- ate William Cottrell – is devel- oping a new technology that more effectively focuses photo- dynamic treatment on cancer cells and shields other parts of the oral cavity from the reflect- ed light that can cause the drug to activate and damage healthy tissue. “It is an outstanding oppor- tunity to advance treatment for oral cancer in partnership with the University of Rochester,” said Cottrell. “It is estimated that by 2030, there will be 790,000 cases of oral cancer worldwide, Our goal is develop a way to treat oral cancer effectively, but limit the traumatic side effects and after- math that come with the current treatment methods.” DT Photodynamic therapy under spotlight T he Mouth Cancer Foundation is launch- ing its 2012 Mouth Cancer Awareness Week ini- tiative by calling for dentists across the UK and Ireland to take part in a pilot scheme for a brand new thorough screen- ing accreditation initiative. The Mouth Cancer Screen- ing Accreditation Scheme rec- ognises dental practices that demonstrate a visible com- mitment to increasing public awareness of mouth cancer screening to all patients and to establish a documented referral pathway with a local specialist department. Awareness is integral to achieving early detection of head and neck cancers, thus saving lives. The Mouth Can- cer Foundation will accredit dental practices that routine- ly participate in oral cancer screening. The programmes will include professional development and training programmes suitable for all members of the practice team to ensure regular screening benefits practice patients. The Mouth Cancer Screen- ing Accreditation Scheme aims to improve outcomes for head and neck cancers in accordance with the British Dental Association’s occa- sional paper for the early de- tection and prevention of oral cancer and NICE guidelines. Dr Vinod Joshi, founder of the Mouth Cancer Foundation said: “A thorough head and neck cancer screening can be carried out by dentists in just 90 seconds. “If a clear referral path- way is established, head and neck cancers will be caught earlier so as well as lives be- ing saved the costs on the NHS and Irish Healthcare Authori- ties will reduce dramatically.” The Mouth Cancer Screen- ing Accreditation Scheme is open to any dentist registered with the GDC or any den- tal practice whose clinicians are registered with the GDC. Dentists who take part in the pilot scheme will receive associate accreditation when the Mouth Cancer Screen- ing Accreditation Scheme launches. For more information or to take part in the pilot scheme please contact the Mouth Cancer Foundation via info@mouthcancerfounda- tion.org or call +44 (0) 1924 950 950 DT C hewing betel quid - the fourth most popular psychoactive substance in the world after tobacco, al- cohol and caffeine - exposes its 600 million users to substances that act as direct carcinogens in the mouth, according to a new study in ACS’ journal Chemical Research in Toxicology. Betel Quid (BQ) consists of nuts from the areca tree, some- times combined with spices, such as cardamom or saffron, and other ingredients. Avail- able in commercial forms, BQ is popular among people in China, India and other Asian countries, and people of Asian heritage living in other coun- tries. Scientists have known for decades that chewing BQ can lead to oral cancer, and showed recently that the sub- stances in BQ could be changed into carcinogens in the body. The authors of this study ex- plored whether there were any substances in the areca nut that can cause cancer directly, without any need for the body to change or “activate” them. They discovered that com- pounds in the areca nut can “alkylate” the genetic material DNA, causing changes that in- crease the risk of cancer, and they are present in betel quid in amounts high enough to do so. “Our study showed that these alkylating agents are present at levels sufficient to cause DNA damage and could potentially have adverse im- plications to human health, particularly in the case of the development of oral cancer for BQ chewers,” said study au- thors Mu-Rong Chao and Chi- ung-Wen Hu. DT Chewing Betel Quid increases risk of cancer It takes just 90 seconds to save a life! M outh Cancer Ac- tion Month takes over November once again, fighting the battle against oral cancer. The campaign, co-ordinat- ed by the British Dental Health Foundation, takes place from 1 - 30 November, with the aim to improve awareness of the symptoms, risk factors and early warning signs of the disease. Signs include ulcers that do not heal within three weeks, red and white patches in the mouth, lumps in the neck and unusual changes in the mouth. More than 1,800 people die from mouth cancer in the UK each year, with almost 6,000 new cases being diagnosed annually. As it stands, people with mouth cancer are more likely to die than those with cervical cancer or melanoma skin cancer. As part of Mouth Cancer Action Month, dental practices across the UK are offering free mouth cancer screenings. The East Yorkshire practice Per- fect 32 is taking part, and will be holding screenings every morning from Monday 12th to Friday 16th November. Practice Manager Nicki Rowland said: “Last year we screened 54 people complete- ly free of charge in one day. This year we are offering free screening for a full week be- cause we want to encourage as many people as possible to be screened. We want to invite any one over the age of sixteen to come in particularly if they smoke, drink, are sexually active and have a poor diet, or are exposed to any combi- nation of these predisposing factors. Hopefully by raising awareness of this terrible dis- ease we will encourage more people to self-check and visit their dentist for the regular examinations that could save their life.” The British Dental Health Foundation is also holding a reception at the Houses of Par- liament in aid of the campaign. Professor Simon Rogers, a consultant oral and maxillo- facial surgeon at Aintree Uni- versity Hospital and professor at the Evidence-based Practice Research Centre, Edge Hill University will be speaking at the event, highlighting current treatment and advances in the field, and also the work being done around patients’ quality of life and experiences. DT Move over Movember, this month is all about action against oral cancer 2 News November 12 - 18, 2012United Kingdom Edition