Dental Tribune Asia Pacific No. 7+8, 2016

03 Dental Tribune Asia Pacific Edition | 7+8/2016 WORLD NEWS By DTI HOUSTON, USA: World Hepatitis Day is one of four official dis- ease-specific World Health Organ- ization (WHO) health days. It aims to raise awareness about viral hepatitis, which can be trans- mitted through unsafe injection practices and inadequate steriliza- tion in the health care setting. Hepatitis C is associated with liver cirrhosis and other diseases. For example, a new study has shown that individuals infected with the hepatitis C virus are at a greater risk of developing oral cancer. In the study, researchers at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center investigated med- ical records of 409 patients with new-onset primary oropharyn- geal or nonoropharyngeal head and neck cancers, as well as 694 controls with smoking-associated cancer of the lung, esophagus or urinary bladder, who were all tested for the hepatitis C virus from 2004 through 2014 at the center. They found that the preva- lence of the hepatitis C virus was higher in oropharyngeal cancer patients (14 per cent), particularly human papillomavirus-positive oropharyngeal cancer patients, and nonoropharyngeal head and neck cancer patients (20 per cent) compared with controls (6.5 per cent). The findings are of great inter- est for future research, according to Dr Harrys A. Torres, one of the study authors and an associate professor at the center. Given the connection found between the two viruses in this patient popu- lation, Torres and his colleagues plan to investigate other HPV- associated cancers and their pos- sible link to hepatitis C. WHO estimates that about 130–150 million people globally have chronic hepatitis C infection and approximately 700,000 peo- ple worldwide die each year from hepatitis C-related liver diseases. The most affected regions are Africa and central and east Asia. The hepatitis C virus is blood- borne and thus mainly spread through blood-to-blood contact. In rare cases, it can be transmitted through certain sexual practices and during childbirth. There is currently no vaccine for hepa- titis C. The WHO introduced World Hepatitis Day in 2010, to be cele- brated each year on 28 July. Mil- lions of people across the world now take part to raise awareness about viral hepatitis and to call for improved access to treatment, better prevention programs and government action. The study, titled “Association between hepatitis C virus and head and neck cancers,” was published in the August issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute by Oxford University Press. NOW AS A FLOW! Tetric ® N-Ceram Bulk Fill The efficient posterior composite P ATENTED L IGHT INITI A T O R Ivocerin ® Tetric® N-Flow Bulk Fill flowable Tetric® N-Ceram Bulk Fill sculptable * Compared with Tetric ® N-Flow and Tetric ® N-Ceram Data available on request. www.ivoclarvivadent.com Ivoclar Vivadent AG Bendererstr. 2 | 9494 Schaan | Liechtenstein | Tel.: +423 235 35 35 | Fax: +423 235 33 60 on time* and achieve amazing results 55% Save AD World Hepatitis Day: Infection increases mouth cancer risk © Dmitry Lobanov/Shutterstock.com Bendererstr. 2 | 9494 Schaan | Liechtenstein | Tel.: +4232353535 | Fax: +4232353360

Dental Tribune Asia Pacific No. 7+8, 2016

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