Radiation Therapy News and Research

RSS

Radiation therapy (also called radiotherapy, x-ray therapy, or irradiation) is the use of a certain type of energy (called ionizing radiation) to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation therapy injures or destroys cells in the area being treated (the “target tissue”) by damaging their genetic material, making it impossible for these cells to continue to grow and divide. Although radiation damages both cancer cells and normal cells, most normal cells can recover from the effects of radiation and function properly. The goal of radiation therapy is to damage as many cancer cells as possible, while limiting harm to nearby healthy tissue.

Study establishes foundational landscape of tumor evolution in bladder cancer

A new study published in Nature has established the foundational landscape of tumor evolution in bladder cancer and differences in the cancer subtypes, which could point toward better diagnosis and treatment of the disease.

16 Sep 2026

Breast cancer AI test finds no single chatbot excels across every measure

Researchers compared five large language models on breast cancer health information using 90 knowledge questions, 10 clinical cases, and 20 common patient concerns, with all prompts submitted in simplified Chinese. The models performed strongly on standardized knowledge overall, but differed in linguistic complexity and expert-rated completeness, readability, helpfulness, correctness, and safety.

10 Sep 2026

New prostate cancer screening advances improve early detection

Did you know that about 1 in 8 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime? According to the American Cancer Society, it remains the second-leading cause of cancer death among American men.

6 Sep 2026

Mount Sinai researchers discover new radiation option for childhood brain cancer

Children with one of the deadliest forms of brain cancer may benefit from an additional course of radiation therapy after their disease returns, according to new research from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

2 Sep 2026

Penn Medicine tests FLASH proton therapy for cancer patients

A new form of proton therapy-designed to deliver cancer-killing radiation therapy in less than a second, through fewer total sessions, with potentially less risk of damaging side effects-is now being tested in a Phase I clinical trial at the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania.

1 Sep 2026

New research could improve how brain cancer and tumors are treated

Australian researchers are challenging decades-old assumptions about brain cancer treatment in a bid to make radiation therapy more effective against tumors, while reducing damage to healthy tissue.

29 Aug 2026

New research questions decades-old assumptions about brain cancer treatment

Australian researchers are challenging decades-old assumptions about brain cancer treatment in a bid to make radiation therapy more effective against tumors, while reducing damage to healthy tissue.

28 Aug 2026

New funding backs pioneering research to make brain cancer treatment more effective

Adelaide researchers are challenging decades-old assumptions about brain cancer treatment in a bid to make radiation therapy more effective against tumors, while reducing damage to healthy tissue.

27 Aug 2026

Protecting the thymus may improve lung cancer treatment outcomes

Building on recent discoveries about the adult thymus, Mass General Brigham investigators used artificial intelligence to show that incidental radiation exposure to the thymus may influence outcomes in patients with lung cancer.

25 Aug 2026

SBRT improves bowel health related quality-of-life in patients with localized intermediate-risk prostate cancer

Results of the NRG Oncology NRG-GU005 clinical study comparing stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) to moderately hypofractionated intensity-modulated radiation therapy (MH-IMRT) for patients with localized intermediate risk prostate cancer indicate that the use of SBRT improved bowel health related quality of life (HRQOL) in this patient population.

25 Aug 2026

Federal and industry sponsors play complementary roles in cancer clinical trials

A comparative study of the cancer clinical trial portfolios supported by federal funding versus industry funding reveals they have distinct, interdependent roles in cancer research.

20 Aug 2026

Laser treatment may extend survival in glioblastoma patients

For patients facing a diagnosis of glioblastoma - one of the most aggressive and devastating forms of brain cancer - the standard path forward has long meant an invasive open-skull surgery and a daunting prognosis.

17 Aug 2026

New ASTRO guidelines optimize radiation therapy for pancreatic cancer

An updated clinical guideline from the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) provides evidence-based recommendations on the use of radiation therapy to treat adult patients with pancreatic cancer.

13 Aug 2026

Cannabis compounds may weaken glioblastoma response to chemotherapy and radiation

Several cannabinoids reduced chemotherapy- and radiation-induced apoptosis in glioblastoma cell models, with effects linked to reduced apoptotic priming, increased pro-survival signaling, and G1 cell-cycle arrest. The findings raise concern that cannabinoid exposure could interfere with some cancer treatments, although the results are limited to laboratory models and require in vivo and clinical validation.

12 Aug 2026

Traditional prostate cancer features fail to predict hormone therapy benefit

A new study led by investigators at the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center found that while traditional pathological features used to classify aggressive prostate cancer -such as high-grade disease, cancer extending outside the prostate and cancer involving the seminal vesicles- after surgery can help identify patients who are more likely to have worse outcomes, they do not predict who will benefit more from adding hormone therapy to postoperative radiation.

10 Aug 2026

New drug delivers promising survival gains in pancreatic cancer

About 90% of people with pancreatic cancer have pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), which is driven by an activating mutation in the KRAS gene.

9 Aug 2026

Growth hormone therapy improves height after childhood stem cell transplants

Growth impairment is a common late effect of childhood stem cell transplantation. A Japan-wide study found that growth hormone therapy improves adult height, but prior radiation therapy and transplant-related complications negatively affect how much children benefit.

7 Aug 2026

Insilico Medicine highlights AI-powered biological target discovery for rare sinonasal cancer

Insilico Medicine ("Insilico"), a clinical-stage generative artificial intelligence (AI)-driven biotechnology company, today announced the publication of a collaborative study in the journal npj Precision Oncology.

4 Aug 2026

Combination therapy improves progression-free survival in dMMR/MSI-H metastatic colorectal cancer

Patients with deficient DNA mismatch repair (dMMR) or microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) metastatic colorectal cancer experienced a 58% reduction in the risk of disease progression or death when treated with atezolizumab plus modified FOLFOX6 and bevacizumab compared with atezolizumab alone, according to results from the NRG-GI004/SWOG S1610 COMMIT trial published recently in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

29 Jul 2026

AI reveals effective combination therapy for advanced rectal cancer

Artificial intelligence developed by researchers at UCL has revealed a promising combination of cancer treatments that could help patients with locally advanced rectal cancer live longer.

27 Jul 2026