The following are highlights of new cancer research being presented at the American Society for Radiation Oncology's (ASTRO) 51st Annual Meeting on November 1-5, 2009, in Chicago.
For full copies of the abstracts and press releases, contact Beth Bukata at bethb@astro.org or Nicole Napoli at nicolen@astro.org. Studies are embargoed until the time of presentation or unless otherwise stated.
Short-term hormone therapy added to radiation increases survival for medium-risk, but not low-risk, prostate cancer patients (late-breaking study)
Short-term hormone therapy given prior to and during radiation treatment to medium-risk prostate cancer patients increases their chance of living longer, compared to those who receive radiation alone, however there is no significant benefit for low-risk patients, according to the largest randomized study of its kind presented at the plenary session, November 2, 2009…
Shorter radiation course as effective as standard therapy for prostate cancer recurrence
A shorter, five-week course of radiation treatment that delivers higher doses of radiation in fewer sessions, known as hypofractionation, appears to be just as effective and as safe in reducing the risk of prostate cancer from returning as standard radiation therapy, yet is delivered in two-and-a-half weeks less time, according to interim results of a randomized study presented Wednesday, November 4, 2009…
Shorter radiation course stops cancer growth in high-risk prostate cancer patients
Hypofractionated radiation treatment, a newer type of radiation treatment that delivers higher doses of radiation in fewer treatments than conventional radiation therapy, is significantly more effective in stopping cancer from growing in high risk patients, compared to receiving standard radiation treatment, according to a study presented on Wednesday, November 4, 2009…
Radiation after surgery reduces chance of melanoma returning
High-risk melanoma patients who are treated with radiation after surgery have a significantly lower risk of their cancer returning to the lymph nodes (19 percent), compared to those patients who do not have radiation therapy (31 percent), according to the first randomized study-of-its-kind presented at the plenary session on Monday, November 2, 2009…
Stereotactic radiotherapy stops lung cancer from growing in frail patients
Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) stopped the growth of cancer at its original site in the lung for three years among nearly 98 percent of patients with early non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who are unable to have the cancer surgically removed, according to an updated three-year study presented on Monday, November 2, 2009…
Adding proton therapy "boost" to X-ray radiation therapy reduces prostate cancer recurrences
Men who receive a "boost" of proton therapy after receiving a standard course of X-ray radiation therapy have fewer recurrences of their prostate cancer compared to men who did not receive the extra dose of proton radiation, according to a first-of-its-kind study presented November 2, 2009…
Proton therapy is well-tolerated in prostate cancer patients
Proton beam therapy can be safely delivered to men with prostate cancer and has minimal urinary and rectal side effects, according to a study presented November 2, 2009…
Cancer patients want honesty, compassion from their oncologist
What do patients want from their radiation oncologists? The most significant preference is that more than one-third of female cancer patients (37 percent) prefer to have their hands held by their radiation oncologists during important office visits, compared to 12 percent of men, according to a randomized study presented on Wednesday, November 4, 2009…