Deputy steps up: Manamela's 7-year apprenticeship put to the test
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New York Post
28 minutes ago
- New York Post
Pairing cigarettes with this other habit ups your chance of oral cancer by 624% in the next 5 years
Smoking leaves more than just a bad taste in your mouth — it could be fueling your oral cancer risk. Studies have consistently reported that cigarette users are five to 10 times more likely to develop oral cancer than non-smokers. A new study out of UC San Diego suggests that a chronic weed habit carries a higher risk of oral cancer as well. Researchers determined that people who often smoke marijuana are 3.25 times more likely to contract the disease within five years compared to those without cannabis use disorder. Advertisement 3 Researchers determined that people who often smoke marijuana are 3.25 times more likely to develop oral cancer within five years compared to those without cannabis use disorder. Getty Images/iStockphoto 'Cannabis smoke contains many of the same carcinogenic compounds found in tobacco smoke, which have known damaging effects on the epithelial tissue that lines the mouth,' said Raphael Cuomo, an associate professor in the Department of Anesthesiology at UC San Diego School of Medicine and member of UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center. 'These findings add to a growing body of evidence suggesting that chronic or problematic cannabis use may contribute to cancer risk in tissues exposed to combustion products.' Advertisement Oral cancer encompasses cancers of the lips, tongue, gums and the lining of the cheeks and mouth. The American Cancer Society projects that there will be nearly 60,000 new US cases of oral cavity or oropharyngeal cancer this year and about 12,800 deaths. 3 Oral cancer encompasses cancers of the lips, tongue, gums and the lining of the cheeks and mouth. TommyStockProject – Known risk factors of oral cancer include tobacco use, chronic alcohol consumption and human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Advertisement Cuomo's team analyzed health data from over 45,000 oral cancer patients, including 949 who had been formally diagnosed with cannabis use disorder. They accounted for age, sex, body mass index and smoking status. They calculated that tobacco smokers with a cannabis addiction are 624% more likely to contract oral cancer within five years compared to cigarette users not prone to smoking marijuana. The researchers posited that the inhaled smoke is to blame because it can damage mouth tissues. Advertisement Edibles and beverages infused with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in cannabis, don't seem to carry a similar oral cancer risk as smoking weed. 'Research is still evolving, so regular self-checks and dental exams remain wise for all cannabis users,' Cuomo told The Post. His findings were published in the September edition of Preventive Medicine Reports. 3 Studies have consistently reported that cigarette users are five to 10 times more likely to develop oral cancer than non-smokers. The risk goes up if cigarette smokers also smoke weed. Getty Images/iStockphoto The researchers emphasized that there should be more exploration of the long-term effects of cannabis, and oral health awareness should be highlighted in substance use disorder treatment and counseling. The UCSD study is not the first to sound the alarm about cannabis use and cancer. A 2024 study out of the University of Southern California linked daily marijuana use to a three to five-fold increase in the risk of head and neck cancers. Oral cancer is a type of head and neck cancer. Advertisement Cuomo suggests seeing a dentist or an ear, nose and throat specialist if you have a sore, ulcer or red or white patch in your mouth that has not healed after two weeks, especially if you have a lump, numbness, bleeding or pain when swallowing. 'Early evaluation is critical because oral cancers caught in the first stage are usually curable,' he said.
Medscape
12 hours ago
- Medscape
ART-Treated Children Remain at Risk for Vascular Disease
Children born with HIV and treated early with antiretroviral therapy (ART) continued to show elevated immune markers in adolescence, based on data presented at the International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Science. Although universal early ART has improved long-term health outcomes for children with perinatal HIV, data on long-term effects of ART exposure are limited, wrote Claire Davies, PhD, a researcher at Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa, and colleagues. 'Prior to 2008-2009, antiretroviral therapy for children living with perinatal HIV was withheld until HIV disease was advanced,' Davies said in an interview. 'The reasoning was that ART, having been developed from cancer chemotherapy, had significant toxicity and it was thought best to spare infants from those toxicities until benefit clearly outweighed risk,' she said. In 2009, the landmark CHER trial showed that apparently well infants living with HIV who were given empiric ART soon after birth had approximately 400% better survival compared with those with no intervention. 'Immediate worldwide implementation of this intervention has led to emergence of an entirely new disease profile: Since 2009, early initiation of ART has been standard-of-care for perinatally-infected infants,' Davies told Medscape Medical News . 'Since early-treated children living with HIV [CHIV] would then be spared from repeated opportunistic infections and years of ongoing HIV replication, it was hoped that they would also be spared from the enormous chronic inflammation that typically accompanied those infections,' she said. Chronic inflammation that persists over years is a powerful driver of cardiovascular disease (CVD), which leads to premature strokes and heart attacks in adulthood, she emphasized. The researchers reviewed data from 185 individuals aged 7-16 years who were part of a study of early ART in South Africa. The study population included 65 CHIV and 118 HIV-unexposed children who served as control individuals. The CHIV began ART within 3 months of birth and were deemed clinically well at the time of blood testing for biomarkers. The participants underwent a median of two measures of blood serum 4 years apart, yielding a total of 321 observations; 26 biomarkers were measured. After adjusting for multiple variables, the CHIV group had significantly higher levels of C-reactive protein, soluble CD14 (a marker of monocyte activation), and vascular endothelial growth factor than the unexposed children. The researchers also found specific effects in different age groups. Levels of Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), interleukin 6, and P-selectin in CHIV aged 6-8 years were significantly higher than matched control individuals, whereas MCP-1 was significantly higher in the CHIV group aged 13-16 years than control individuals. No other significant differences in biomarkers appeared between the groups. When the current study began, it was entirely unknown whether early-treated children living with HIV would suffer from the same chronic inflammation and consequent premature CVD, or to what extent early lifelong ART might prevent CVD in these children as they grew, Davies told Medscape Medical News . 'We hoped that by removing ongoing HIV replication and opportunistic infections, children living with HIV would be spared from the chronic inflammation that drives premature CVD in early adulthood,' she said. The researchers had hoped to find that early ART had a greater impact on preventing chronic inflammation, but the results showed otherwise, said Davies. The data should alert clinicians to the increased risk for premature strokes and heart attacks in adulthood for children treated early with ART, she said. For the study population treated with ART, their chronic inflammation can no longer be a result of ongoing HIV replication and opportunistic infections because these factors are no longer present, Davies told Medscape Medical News . 'We now need to understand what is driving their ongoing chronic inflammation so that we can find treatments to help reduce it, and in so doing, reduce their risk of premature strokes and heart attacks in adulthood,' she said. ART Alone is Not Enough 'While early ART dramatically improves long-term outcomes for children born with perinatal HIV, it remains unclear whether early ART alters the long-term inflammatory and immune activation profile,' said Jason E. Zucker, MD, an assistant professor of medicine and infectious diseases specialist at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York City, in an interview. 'These profiles are critical, as they are linked to future risk of noncommunicable diseases, such as cardiovascular and metabolic disorders,' said Zucker, who was not involved in the study. The current study fills a key gap by examining longitudinal biomarker data to assess persistent immune dysregulation in early treated children compared with uninfected control individuals, he said. Zucker said he was slightly surprised by the findings of extensive immune activation and elevated biomarkers, into adolescence, especially those associated with monocyte activation. 'The key takeaway is that early ART alone may not fully normalize immune activation in perinatally HIV-infected children,' he said. 'The data underscore the need for long-term monitoring and potentially adjunctive interventions to mitigate inflammation and reduce future disease risk, even among virologically suppressed youth,' he added. Some limitations of the study include the modest sample size and lack of any long-term clinical outcomes, Zucker told Medscape Medical News . 'Biomarker assessments, while robust, do not confirm clinical endpoints such as actual cardiovascular events, and future research should track these cohorts longitudinally into adulthood to determine whether the observed immune profiles translate into actual disease, and explore therapeutic strategies,' he said.
New York Post
a day ago
- New York Post
Trump admin plans first ‘Golden Dome' test of space-based missile defense system: report
Pentagon officials are aiming to test President Trump's space-based Golden Dome missile defense system to safeguard the US in the fourth quarter of 2028, according to a report. That timeframe lines up with Trump's ambitious goal to 'have it done in three years' and comes amid pitches from defense contractors to score coveted contracts to develop the cutting-edge system. 'They want a win to point to in November [2028],' a defense official told CNN. 'And DoD [Department of Defense] wants to avoid anything they perceive will slow them down.' Advertisement The test, which will be conducted by the Missile Defense Agency, is expected to be called FTI-X, which stands for 'Flight Test Integrated,' in a nod to how it will assess the Golden Dome's vast array of sensors and weapons systems, according to the report. Development of the state-of-the-art missile defense system is expected to cost about $175 billion, according to Trump, who tapped Gen. Michael Guetlein, vice chair of operations at the Space Force, to oversee the ambitious project in May. 4 President Trump wants the US to develop a state-of-the-art missile defense system to protect the homeland from advanced attacks. Getty Images Advertisement 4 The Golden Dome system is intended to safeguard the colossal continental US. AP Congress has already allocated $25 billion in funding for the Golden Dome in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which Trump signed into law last month. Military officials have explored space-based missile defense technologies for decades, including during Ronald Reagan's Star Wars program, also known as the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). Space-based missile defense technology can be advantageous because it can help thwart an enemy missile much earlier in its trajectory than other technologies that the US currently has in its arsenal. Advertisement It can also reduce geographical barriers and catch certain types of enemy missiles at a stage when they are slower and easier to intercept. However, there are many drawbacks. The US would need to make significant technological advances to develop that system, which is likely to be very costly and could entice other countries to weaponize space. 4 Skeptics have raised questions about whether the Golden Dome can be completed on time and within the budget President Trump laid out. Getty Images The defense official called it a 'hard problem, and technically very risky,' CNN reported. Advertisement 'The possible number of satellites needed to achieve a probability of engagement success is going to be very high, given the time and area needed to cover the continental United States,' the defense official said. Plans for the test in 2028 are expected to be 'phase one' of the project. A deluge of defense contractors and other private companies have been jockeying for contracts to help develop the massive defense system. Precise details of how the Golden Dome system will function are not fully known. Trump has taken inspiration from Israel's feted Iron Dome system, which helps defend populated areas from short-range attacks. Trump's plans would encompass much more sophisticated missiles, such as ballistic and hypersonic missiles, that may potentially be fired off from much more distant locations than what Iron Dome defends against. 'Once fully constructed, the Golden Dome will be capable of intercepting missiles even if they are launched from other sides of the world,' Trump teased in May. 4 Precise details about how the Golden Dome system will function are not clear. Getty Images Guetlein has admitted that the Pentagon faces enormous challenges in successfully completing the project. Advertisement 'I think the real technical challenge will be building of the space-based interceptor,' Guetlein said at a summit last month. 'That technology exists, I believe. I believe we have proven every element of the physics, that we can make it work.' 'What we have not proven is, first, can I do it economically, and then second, can I do it at scale? Can I build enough satellites to get after the threat? Can I expand the industrial base fast enough to build those satellites?' The initiative comes amid advancements in the American space industry, with tycoons such as Elon Musk working to bring down the costs of launching satellites. The Defense Department didn't reply to a request for comment Sunday.
