Radiation Therapy News and Research

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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.

Promising study may lead to potential new therapeutics for women facing triple-negative breast cancer

Using a small molecule decoy, investigators funded by the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation have managed to block protein interactions and induce epigenetic reprogramming in human and mouse breast cancer cells, essentially changing the gene expression of breast cancer cells to behave in a more normal manner.

9 Jul 2010

Study finds EUS associated with improved outcomes in patients with localized pancreatic cancer

A new study has found that endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) is associated with improved outcomes in patients with localized pancreatic cancer, possibly due to the detection of earlier cancers and improved stage-appropriate management, including more selective performance of curative intent surgery. This is the first study to analyze a large population-based cancer registry and demonstrate that EUS evaluation is associated with improved pancreatic cancer survival.

9 Jul 2010

Calithera Biosciences completes Series A financing totaling $40M

Calithera Biosciences, a company developing novel oncology therapeutics, today announced the completion of a Series A financing totaling $40 million. Morgenthaler Ventures led the financing with U.S. Venture Partners, Advanced Technology Ventures, Delphi Ventures and Mission Bay Capital also participating in the round. The capital will be used to support the company's pioneering efforts to develop activators of caspases, the proteases that promote apoptotic cell death, for the treatment of cancer and other proliferative diseases.

8 Jul 2010

Idera announces issuance of patents for synthetic immune modulatory oligonucleotides targeted to TLRs

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the issuance of patents covering compositions and methods of using its synthetic immune modulatory oligonucleotides targeted to Toll-like receptors (TLRs). The Company's intellectual property portfolio currently contains over 500 patents and patent applications worldwide and includes claims for TLR-targeted compounds, second-generation antisense chemistry, and oral delivery of certain oligonucleotides.

8 Jul 2010

EUSA grants Ohara Japanese rights to Erwinase oncology therapy

EUSA Pharma, a transatlantic specialty pharmaceutical company focused on oncology, pain control and critical care, today announced that it has granted the Japanese development and commercialization rights to its oncology therapy Erwinase(R) to Ohara Pharmaceutical Company Limited. The agreement represents the first product partnership EUSA has established in Japan.

6 Jul 2010

Heart patients treated for lymphoma at increased risk of cardiac problems

Older patients with Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and a history of heart disease face a high risk of hospitalization for cardiac complications after completing treatment, according to research published online today in Blood, the journal of the American Society of Hematology. HL is a form of cancer of arising in the lymph nodes, and approximately 8,500 people were diagnosed with the disease in 2009, according to the American Cancer Society.

3 Jul 2010

64-year-old female Latin American receives Elekta VMAT radiotherapy enhanced with Monaco planning software

A 64-year-old female patient with mediastinal metastasis recently became the first in Latin America to receive Elekta VMAT radiotherapy treatment enhanced with Monaco® planning software. Using the arc-based Elekta VMAT delivery method, Monaco displays how the radiation dose should be applied — its distribution and strength on the target. The result is a therapy that not only is rapid, but also fine-tuned to treat cancer and avoid healthy tissues.

From Elekta 3 Jul 2010

HL patients with heart disease at increased risk of hospitalization for cardiac complications after treatment

2 Jul 2010

Proton Therapy USA, CareCapital form Proton Therapy Global Management

Proton Therapy USA and CareCapital plc announced today the formation of Proton Therapy Global Management (PTGM). The Company will design, develop and manage a global network of proton therapy centers, providing access to this specialized and highly effective treatment to the world's growing population of cancer patients. Proton therapy is a precise form of radiation treatment that has been very successful in treating a wide range of localized tumors, while leaving healthy tissue mostly intact.

30 Jun 2010

Seventh Annual HealthGrades Maternity Care in Hospitals Study ranks Good Samaritan in top 5%

Good Samaritan Hospital's maternity care is in the top 5 percent in the nation for the third year in a row according to a new study issued today by HealthGrades, Inc., the independent ratings organization. The Seventh Annual HealthGrades Maternity Care in Hospitals Study used state-government data to compare hospitals in terms of complication rates for vaginal and C-section deliveries as well as neonatal mortality.

30 Jun 2010

International symposium to highlight current and future applications of MR-guided ultrasound

Leading research and clinical experts from around the world are scheduled to speak at the 2nd International Symposium for MR-guided Focused Ultrasound, which will be held October 17 to 20 in the Washington, D.C. area.

From Elekta 29 Jun 2010

Experts to meet in Miami to discuss new ways of avoiding errors in radiation therapy

A meeting in Miami this week will bring together some of the world's leading experts from inside and outside the clinic to discuss safety in radiation therapy -- a critical method for treating cancer.

25 Jun 2010

Hoag Hospital launches IORT program for breast cancer treatment

Hoag Hospital announced the launch of its Intraoperative Radiation Therapy program as part of its progressive, comprehensive approach to breast cancer treatment. IORT is a radiation therapy technique in which a concentrated dose of radiation is delivered to a cancerous tumor site during surgery after the tumor is removed. Hoag Hospital is the first in Orange County to offer IORT brachytherapy for breast cancer as a component of a definitive treatment approach.

24 Jun 2010

BSD Medical showcases MicroThermX Microwave Ablation System at WCIO 2010 meeting

BSD Medical Corporation today announced that the Company exhibited the MicroThermX® Microwave Ablation System at the World Conference on Interventional Oncology (WCIO) meeting, which was held June 9 to June 12, 2010, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

23 Jun 2010

IsoRay, Hologic complete exclusive worldwide distribution agreement for GliaSite radiation therapy system

IsoRay, Inc. announced today that it has completed a license agreement with Hologic, Inc. for exclusive worldwide distribution rights to the GliaSite® radiation therapy system, the world's only FDA-cleared balloon catheter device used in the treatment of brain cancer. The system's balloon catheter is a landmark technology that allows physicians to treat more patients than ever before with brachytherapy or internal radiation and provides important benefits over other radiation treatment options.

From Hologic, Inc. 23 Jun 2010

Oxsoralen-Ultra therapy for severe psoriasis now available in the U.S. on a limited supply basis

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International today announced that Oxsoralen-Ultra, its therapy for severe psoriasis, is now available again in the United States on a limited supply basis.

23 Jun 2010

Concord Medical adds two new centers by furthering partnership with Navy General Hospital

Concord Medical Services Holdings Limited, the operator of the largest network of radiotherapy and diagnostic imaging centers in China, today announced that it will add two new centers to its extensive network by furthering its partnership with the PLA Navy General Hospital, located in Beijing.

22 Jun 2010

Cancer survivor organizes first Chattanooga Oral Cancer Awareness Walk

Recently, oral cancer survivor Jeanna Richelson, organized the first Chattanooga Oral Cancer Awareness Walk, which raised donations for the Oral Cancer Foundation, and much needed awareness of a disease that too few Americans know about. According to the foundation's executive director Brian Hill, "I don't believe there has ever been an oral cancer walk that was this successful in its first year. This was an absolutely amazing effort by Jeanna and those who helped her make this possible."

21 Jun 2010

Active surveillance sufficient for patients with low-risk prostate cancer

Active surveillance or watchful waiting might be sufficient treatment for patients with prostate cancer that has a low risk of progression, according to a new study published online June 18 in The Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

19 Jun 2010

ASTRO participates in FDA's meeting to discuss highest level of safety for radiation therapy patients

The American Society for Radiation Oncology continued to advance its Target Safely initiative by participating in the Food and Drug Administration's public meeting on Device Improvements to Reduce the Number of Under-Doses, Over-Doses, and Misaligned Exposures from Therapeutic Radiation on June 9 and 10.