A new cancer detection technique could save many lives

Up to Your Neck

One mouthwash gives, and another mouthwash takes away.

I’ll start with the potential lifesaver…

Researchers at the University of Miami have developed something simple and amazing: a mouthwash that detects head and neck cancers.

It’s a saline oral rinse. You just swish, gargle and spit. Then antibodies are added. Forty-eight hours later, any molecules of a protein called CD44 show up in color. CD44 is a biomarker that indicates the presence of a head and neck cancer.

The Miami team mounted a study with 102 head and neck cancer patients. In about 70 patients, the cancer was benign. The oral rinse method accurately distinguished between malignant or benign cancer in about 90 percent of the cases.

This could be a huge breakthrough. Only about one in three head and neck cancer patients are cured because the disease is usually not caught in the early stages. Researchers believe that wide use of the oral rinse might dramatically change all that, raising the cure rate to as much 80 percent.

Elizabeth Franzmann, M.D. – leader of the Miami team – told Ivanhoe Newswire that they hope to develop a head and neck cancer test that’s inexpensive and available over-the- counter.

I wish them luck. As I’ve mentioned before, I lost a close friend to this cancer a few years ago and it was grueling. So saving lives is just part of the upside. Helping patients forgo the horrendous treatments and their side effects will be a huge benefit.

Alcohol problem

Now about that OTHER mouthwash…alcohol is the root of the problem.

Researchers from two Australian dental schools reviewed a variety of research projects that investigated the effects of alcohol on oral health. One of those sources included more than 3,200 subjects in a trial that indicated daily mouthwash use might be a significant risk factor for head and neck cancer.

The Australian study concluded: “There is now sufficient evidence to accept the proposition that alcohol-containing mouthwashes contribute to the increased risk of development of oral cancer.”

The study notes that several popular mouthwash brands actually have higher alcohol content than beer or wine. The other obvious difference is that beverages are swallowed, but mouthwash is swished throughout the mouth. Lead researcher, Prof. Michael McCullough told The Daily Telegraph that when alcohol permeates the oral cavity, a toxic metabolite called acetaldehyde can accumulate.

Acetaldehyde is the component of alcohol that makes you feel ill after having too much to drink. And far worse, the Environmental Protection Agency has concluded that acetaldehyde is a “probable human carcinogen.”

Prof. McCullough’s review shows that cigarette smokers who use an alcohol mouthwash daily may have as much as nine times greater risk of oral cancer compared to those who don’t use mouthwash. Alcohol drinkers who use alcohol mouthwash daily may also be at considerably greater risk.

Prof. McCullough recommends that alcohol mouthwash should not be used on a regular basis.

To Your Good Health,

Jenny Thompson

Sources:
“Cancer Detecting Mouthwash” Ivanhoe Newswire, 12/2/09, ivanhoe.com
“The Role of Alcohol in Oral Carcinogenesis with Particular Reference to Alcohol-Containing Mouthwashes” Australian Dental Journal, Vol. 53, No. 4, December 2008, interscience.wiley.com
“Mouthwash Linked to Cancer” Clair Weaver, The Daily Telegraph, 1/11/09, news.com.au