Is this a stretch? There are clinical trials in England for a vaccine for HPV that causes cervical cancer. Which is squamous cell carcinoma...which is what most oral cancer is. So...if we volunteered for the trials for this vaccine would that help stop a reoccurance of oral cancer? Just a thought -Kris

Kris,

Is this a new trial. I have only found older trials from 2001-2002.

If you have any more infor, let me know.

Thanks,
-rh

Sorry. My bad. Here is what I found so far it looks very encouraging.

positive result


Years of clinical trials have yeilded promising results for a vaccine that would protect women from a virus that causes colon and cervical cancer, researchers have said.

Four years after being vaccinated, 94 per cent of the 755 women who participated in the study were protected against the human variant of the papilloma virus 16 (HPV), according to a report presented at the American Society for Microbiology's world conference.

According to the study, only seven of the women were infected with the HPV virus, but none showed any precancerous symptoms.

In comparison, in the group of 750 women injected with a placebo, 111 were infected by the virus and 12 developed precancerous cells.

The research was financed by Merck pharmaceutical laboratories, which expects a green light from US government regulators to start the vaccine's production in 2005.

Colon and uterus cancer affects 500,000 women around the world each year and half of them die of the illness, researchers said.

British laboratories GlaxoSmithKline are also working on an anti-HPV vaccine, and is hoping for approval from US and British regulating agencies.

ok guys,
this leads me to a question that I have wondered about......

if squamous cell cancer is/may be caused by HPV, and cervical cancer is caused by HPV, and HPV is sexually transmitted......

are women with oral scc at greater risk for cervical cancer?? Should they been screened more often than the standard 1-3 year pap smear and should they be tested specifically for HPV (normal pap smears DON"T test for HPV)

If HPV is sexually transmitted what risks are there to sexual partners of H&N cancer patients.

I have NOT heard of any links, but have wondered.

Anyone (Brian Hill?) have any info to direct us to?

signed,
just curious

Michelle,

Good questions. I hope you get an answer. It would be valuable info for all.


I'm actually posting to thank you for the private message last month. I did respond, but I see you never read it. I just wanted to let you know I appreciated it greatly.

Thanks,
Rosie

sorry rosie,
I've read your message, I guess I'm not too familiar with some of the other messaging features of this forum!
michelle

If you would all take a read through the news section of the web site (over 300 articles posted over the last 2.5 years) you will find many that address the questions that you are bringing up in this thread. When the vaccine was just an idea on the horizon, I put the news article about that up, when a conclusive link from HPV to oral cancer, transmitted sexually was found, that news article went up. When the clinical trials that you are referring to showed positive results recently, I put that one up.

If there is news of consequence about oral cancer or anything related to it, I see (now with the assistance of Sheldon who helps me stay on top of all this) that the articles are put in the news section. It is updated at least three times a week. If after doing a little reading any of you still have questions about this, please post them and I will answer them. Two of OCF's board of advisors are among the world's leaders in research of the HPV oral cancer link. (Dr's Gillison and Sidransky at Johns Hopkins.) I think that we have the most current versions of the knowledge about all this on the web site right now.

Brian-I know you are in this site 24/7, but the rest of us usually have limited time to sit at a computer and we usually just run to the forum site. Would love to read all of the articles, but maybe you already know the answer. Is there a way to volunteer for a trial on the vaccine in the US? If not, is there a way to be involved in the UK trial? Thanks - Kris

Brian,
Thanks for the reminder about checking THIS site for articles & updates! I think many of us check that out when we first come to the site and then forget that it is here as a resource when we have new questions.

I didn't realize how often it is updated - A tremendously, big THANK YOU for the work you have done, and continue to do to bring us this site.

Michelle

On the contrary, I am not on this site all the time, as a matter of fact I can only get to the boards about once or twice a week now. The work of the foundation has really started to involve travel to Washington, the NCI, the ADA and more. This is where we will make the changes necessary so that this disease gets caught at an earlier stage. And while I am receiving thanks here, I want you all to know, that the reason the news is updated so often, is because we have enlisted the help of a volunteer, Sheldon, to take some of the work off of my shoulders in clipping the articles and getting them up on the site almost daily. Were it not for his help, over the last couple of months when I have been literally living out of a suitcase making our case in front of the powers that be, the news section would have fallen behind.

The trials that you are referring to in the US have very strict protocols for participation, as do all FDA sanctioned clinical trials. The main part of these is now finished. The next run at them will involve a new set of protocols that you will have to qualify for, and be recommended for by your docs or treatment center. All clinical trials are centered around gathering together a significantly similar group of people. So they may all have to be the same age group, sex, stage of cancer, received the same types of treatments, etc. etc. When the new trials are set up, they will be listed at various sites (and certainly at your oncology centers trials office) and they use search engines to find appropriate trials for various patients. On the resources page of the OCF site there are two links to sites that provide specific information about ongoing clinical trials. But finding a trial that you qualify for on your own can be a daunting task. This stage of the vaccine trials is over for now to the best of my knowledge. So now that they have shown these positive results, they will have to set up a new trial protocol with the FDA, and when the efficacy and safety of that trial proposal is approved, then begin recruiting new patients for the next phase. Don't forget that half the patients in any given trial are not receiving the vaccine or drug. Even if you qualify, there is no guarantee that you will be in the group that receives the treatment/drug/vaccine in question. The doctors themselves won't even know, because it is a double blind trial to assure that the data that comes from the trial is accurate and free from human bias.

Rest assured that I will always do my best to find answers for those who ask. But I am only one person, and as you say, like you, I also have limited time. I am no martyr, but the last three weeks have been concurrent 12 to 15 hour days at my own choosing as opportunities and demands have increased as the foundation becomes more than a website, and more of a vehicle for proactive change. Besides the work of the foundation, I get about 25-45 emails from patients and family members a day. I try my best to answer as many as possible in as timely a way as possible, but I am only one person. While it is always easier to just ask the question, sometimes we have to use the resources available to find the answers for ourselves, time consuming or otherwise. That is why so much effort is put into putting the core information on the main section of the web site. Many of the answers are right there, since I, and others who work so hard to try and be there with answers on this board, may not be able to answer any particular question immediately. While you may get fast answers on the board sometimes, the information that is in the main body of the site has been reviewed by several doctors and it is accurate. I and others here, while knowledgeable, may not always have the right or correct answer, only an opinion.

Lastly, trials are run concurrently by many different groups all with the same protocol. This may be in various institutions in the US, and it may also include institutions outside the US. That way the data is likely to be accurate if results are duplicated at multiple sites. It is unlikely that you could enroll in a UK trial as you would have to be there to receive the treatments and be monitored.