New Test Shows Promise for Detecting Hard-to-Find Cervical Cancers

In findings with potentially important implications for cervical cancer screening, scientists at the National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Montefiore Einstein Cancer Center (MECC) have developed a test for detecting a type of cervical cancer that Pap tests often miss. The findings published online today in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI).

HPV Self-Collection Kits Increase Screening Among Under-screened, Under-served Women in North Carolina

Five years ago, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced a global call to eliminate cervical cancer. Because nearly all cervical cancers are caused by an initial infection with oncogenic types of human papillomavirus (HPV), screening for the virus is critical to preventing and treating the disease.However, providing HPV screening only within clinical settings may limit access to screening for many under-served women across the United States and here, in North Carolina.

New AACC Guidance Aims to Serve as a Roadmap for Healthcare Professionals Navigating Cervical Cancer Testing Options

With the goal of improving cervical cancer care, AACC has published a new guidance document with expert recommendations on detecting this cancer. The guidance aims to update healthcare and laboratory medicine professionals on the latest advancements in this field, and to help them select the most effective cervical cancer detection strategy for their patients.

MD Anderson Research Highlights for February 22, 2023

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Highlights showcases the latest breakthroughs in cancer care, research and prevention. These advances are made possible through seamless collaboration between MD Anderson’s world-leading clinicians and scientists, bringing discoveries from the lab to the clinic and back. Recent developments include a new understanding of how HPV drives cancer development, a combination therapy to overcome treatment resistance in mantle cell lymphoma, novel insights into memory T cell formation and potential therapeutic strategies for brain cancers, improved survival outcomes for metastatic colorectal cancer, targeting myeloperoxidase to improve immunotherapy responses in melanoma, and preclinical results of a combination therapy that could effectively treat a subset of acute myeloid leukemia.

Saint Louis University Researcher Receives $2.83 Million NIH Grant to Increase HPV Prevention Strategies in Nigeria

When designing strategies to create lasting impact in a particular community, there is no better resource than the strength and intelligence of the community members themselves, and in this case, girls and women. Using crowdsourcing as a framework, a Saint Louis University researcher aims to increase HPV vaccination and HPV screening to lower incidents of cervical cancer among girls and women in Nigeria.

Moffitt Cancer Center Joins Weill Cornell Medicine and University of North Carolina to Improve HIV-Related Cancer Care Abroad

Moffitt Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine and the University of North Carolina School of Medicine have received a $3.5 million, five-year grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to improve screening and preventative treatment of cervical cancer for women living with HIV in low-resource countries.

American Cancer Society Releases Latest Cancer Statistics, Launches Initiative to Address Prostate Cancer Resurgence and Disparities

Today, the American Cancer Society released Cancer Statistics, 2023, the organization’s annual report on cancer facts and trends. According to the report, overall cancer mortality has dropped 33% since 1991, averting an estimated 3.8 million cancer deaths. Based on ACS data, in 2023 there are projected to be 1,958,310 new cancer cases and 609,820 cancer deaths in the United States.

CDC Data Suggests Attitudes Are Shifting about the HPV Vaccine: Utah Vaccine Rates among Teens Increased More than 16%

Many more Utah teens are getting vaccinated for HPV, protecting them against six types of cancer. The state saw a significant increase in HPV vaccinations after a long history of mixed messages and misunderstandings about the vaccine. Huntsman Cancer Institute experts explain what’s working, and one woman tells about her harrowing cancer journey.

Molecular Musical Chairs

The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is safe and effective – but it’s not for everyone. Michelle Ozbun, PhD, and her team at UNM Cancer Center published a research article earlier this year in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy in which they describe how a drug called protamine sulfate blocks HPV infection. Like a game of musical chairs among molecules, the drug molecules bind to heparan sulfate cell receptors, preventing HPV virus particles from doing so.

MD Anderson Research Highlights for August 24, 2022

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Highlights provides a glimpse into recent basic, translational and clinical cancer research from MD Anderson experts. Current advances include confirmation of improving response rates in Phase I trials over the last 20 years, a novel targeted therapy combination and biomarkers of response for chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy in B-cell lymphomas, a combination therapy for patients with melanoma brain metastases, and new treatment options for metastatic sarcomas, HPV-driven cancers and uterine cancer.

Mayo Clinic researchers find new treatment for HPV-associated oral cancer

Mayo Clinic researchers have found that a new, shorter treatment for patients with HPV-associated oropharynx cancer leads to excellent disease control and fewer side effects, compared to standard treatment.

The new treatment employs minimally invasive surgery and half the standard dose of radiation therapy, compared to current treatments. The new treatment also lasts for two weeks, rather than the standard six weeks.

New Patient Guide from NCCN Jumpstarts Important Conversations About Anal Cancer

New and updated patient and caregiver resources from National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) offer jargon-free, state-of-the-art information on diagnosis, treatment, and surveillance for anal, colon, and rectal cancers.

Sanford Burnham Prebys and other top U.S. cancer centers call for urgent action to get cancer-preventing HPV vaccination back on track

Sanford Burnham Prebys has joined doctors & scientists across America at National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer centers & other organizations to issue a joint statement urging the nation’s physicians, parents & young adults to get the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination back on track.

Top Cancer Centers Call for Urgent Action to Get Cancer-Preventing HPV Vaccination Back on Track

As part of a unanimous effort on the part of the nation’s 71 National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer centers, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center is urging the nation’s physicians, parents and young adults to get cancer-preventing human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination back on track.

Mayo Clinic Cancer Center joins national call to get HPV vaccinations back on track

Mayo Clinic Cancer Center has joined 71 National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers in calling on the nation’s health care providers, parents and young adults to help get HPV vaccinations back on track. HPV causes several types of cancers, and nearly everyone gets infected with HPV by age 50.

Cervical Cancer Testing Tech Could Replace Pap Smears, Save Lives

Emerging technologies can screen for cervical cancer better than Pap smears and, if widely used, could save lives in areas where access to health care may be limited. In Biophysics Reviews, scientists at Massachusetts General Hospital write advances in nanotechnology and computer learning are among the technologies helping develop HPV screening that take the guesswork out of the precancer tests. That could mean better screening in places that lack highly trained doctors and advanced laboratories.

A World without Cervical Cancer: Preventive Medicine publishes special issue to further global efforts to eliminate deadly disease

Cervical cancer is a serious global health threat which kills more than 300,000 women every year. Recognizing this urgent public health issue, the editorial team of Preventive Medicine is publishing a special issue titled “From Science to Action to Impact: Eliminating Cervical Cancer,” which outlines the required courses of action to eliminate cervical cancer. Dr. Anna Giuliano and Dr. Linda Niccolai, two giants in the field of cervical cancer prevention research, served as guest editors for the issue.

Behaviors Surrounding Oral Sex May Increase HPV-Related Cancer Risk

A wide breadth of behaviors surrounding oral sex may affect the risk of oral HPV infection and of a virus-associated head and neck cancer that can be spread through this route, a new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center suggests. These findings add nuance to the connection between oral sex and oropharyngeal cancer — tumors that occur in the mouth and throat — and could help inform research and public health efforts aimed at preventing this disease.

Albert Einstein College of Medicine Researchers Receive $5 Million NIH Grant to Study HIV and HPV Cancers in Africa

A team of scientists from Albert Einstein College of Medicine has received a five-year, $4.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to establish a research center to investigate HIV- and human papillomavirus (HPV)-related cancers in Africa.

‘Pinprick’ biomarker blood test offers diagnostic potential for HPV-related cancers – clinical study shows rising antibody levels predict the course of cancer

A potential breakthrough in the early detection of the neck, head and anal cancers linked to human papilloma viruses (HPV) has emerged. It is based on a highly specific diagnostic test that appears to indicate cancer, and predict its course, from just a pinprick of blood.

$111 Million NIH Grant Awarded to Prevent and Treat HIV-Associated Cancers

The widespread use of antiretroviral therapy to suppress the HIV virus has helped tens of millions of people with HIV live healthier, longer lives—but an unfortunate consequence of people living longer with HIV is an increased risk of cancer. For 25 years, the AIDS Malignancy Consortium (AMC) has led national and international efforts to prevent and treat of HIV-related cancers. Now, Montefiore Health System and Albert Einstein College of Medicine have received a five-year, $111 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to lead this research consortium.

HPV Vaccinations During Global Pandemic

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection and the cause of most cervical cancers, and some vaginal, penile, anal and oral cancers. The HPV vaccine has proven effective in preventing infection and six types of HPV-attributable cancers. …

10 Things to Know About HPV and Throat Cancer

As we observe World Head and Neck Cancer Day 2020 (July 27), nationally known expert Tom Thomas, MD, MPH, has set out to clear up misunderstandings about how one type of head and neck cancer is related to human papillomavirus (HPV), which has historically been thought of primarily as a cause of cervical cancer. Dr. Thomas is medical director, Head and Neck Reconstructive Surgery and Transoral Robotic Surgery, Leonard B. Kahn Head and Neck Cancer Institute at Atlantic Health System’s Morristown Medical Center and Carol G. Simon Cancer Center. He is one of the leaders of the Atlantic HPV Center.

Gaps in Cure Rate Appear Linked to Race and Insurance Status for a Common HPV-Related Cancer, According to New Research

Largest population-based analysis on factors that affect survival outcomes for HPV-positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) find significant racial and socioeconomic disparities, according to new study in JNCCN-Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.

Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center Patient First for New Cell Engineering Platform

VICC is the first cancer center to enroll a patient in a clinical trial for this new technology developed by SQZ Biotechnologies of Watertown, Massachusetts. The investigational product is generated from the company’s technology that uses high-speed cell deformation to squeeze cells, creating a temporary disruption of their membranes and offering a window for the insertion of tumor antigens.

Anal cancer rates and mortality have risen dramatically among Americans

Rates of new anal cancer diagnoses and deaths related to human papillomavirus (HPV), the most common sexually transmitted infection, have increased dramatically over the last 15 years, according to researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth). The results of their study will be published in the November issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.