OralDNA® Labs Marks Oral Cancer Awareness Month by Publishing Free White paper on the Oral HPV/Oral Cancer Link



Nashville, TN – April 21, 2011 – OralDNA® Labs Inc. (www.OralDNA.com), leaders in advancing wellness in dentistry through salivary diagnostics, and a subsidiary of Quest Diagnostics® Incorporated (NYSE: DGX), is observing Oral Cancer Awareness Month (April) by offering a free white paper entitled “Oral HPV: An Overview of the Infection and its Role in the Development of Oral Cancer.”

The white paper is intended to alert dental professionals about the increasing incidence of oral HPV, a mucosal viral infection which can lead to oral cancer.  HPV is now one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases in the United States.1-3

What’s more, although heavy tobacco and alcohol users have traditionally fit the high-risk profile for oral cancer, an alarming number of new oral cancer cases are being diagnosed each year among persons who do not fit this profile.1

According to OralDNA® Labs’ Medical Director Ronald C. McGlennen, MD, “Dental clinicians can no longer limit their screening efforts by looking for yesterday’s suspects Especially when 50% of all new cases of oral cancer in the US are being attributed to the HPV virus.4 “

The whitepaper examines the following topics:

·         What is oral HPV?
·         How HPV infection leads to oral cancer
              ·         The importance of early detection
·         The dental professional’s role in overall wellness
·         Ways to detect oral HPV
·         Salivary diagnostics
·         Patient education and communication

According to the white paper, the two most common methods of oral cancer screening used by dental professionals; tissue fluorescence and brush biopsy devices, cannot directly screen for HPV.  In fact, the most convenient non-invasive way to definitively detect oral HPV is through a salivary diagnostic test such as OralDNA® Lab’s OraRisk® HPV Test. 

Strong candidates for the OraRisk® HPV test include patients with the following profile characteristics:

·    Sexually active
·    Family history of oral cancer 
·    Signs and symptoms of oral cancer
·    Traditional risk factors for oral cancer
·    Suspicious oral lesions

Oral HPV is a silent, serious infection that can now be immediately detected and closely monitored,” states OralDNA® Labs’ Chief Dental Officer, Thomas W. Nabors, DDS. The laboratory report derived from the OraRisk® HPV salivary diagnostic test enables the dental professional to identify the specific types(s) of oral HPV present, and also to determine the associated risk profile for each type of HPV variant detected in the patient’s oral cavity.”

The white paper entitled “Oral HPV: An Overview of the Infection and its Role in the Development of Oral Cancer” will be available to dental professionals as a free download from http://www.oraldna.com/HPVWhitePaper.aspx

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