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.

American Shared Hospital Services fourth quarter revenues increase 8.4% to $4,500,000

AMERICAN SHARED HOSPITAL SERVICES, a leading provider of turnkey technology solutions for advanced radiosurgical and radiation therapy services, today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and 2011.

From Elekta 15 Mar 2012

Researchers identify first gene mutation associated with chronic, often fatal form of neuroblastoma

Researchers have identified the first gene mutation associated with a chronic and often fatal form of neuroblastoma that typically strikes adolescents and young adults. The finding provides the first clue about the genetic basis of the long-recognized but poorly understood link between treatment outcome and age at diagnosis.

14 Mar 2012

MRI perfusion imaging can help determine brain tumor progression

Gliomas, the most common malignant brain tumors in adults, can be difficult to treat because of their aggressive and invasive nature. In treating patients with gliomas, it is increasingly important that doctors be able to detect tumor changes early when there's a better chance for recovery.

14 Mar 2012

Elekta Clarity 3D system transforms prostate radiotherapy at UHG

Soft tissue imaging with 3D ultrasound both at therapy simulation and just before treatment has transformed prostate radiotherapy at University Hospital Galway.

From Elekta 9 Mar 2012

Combining radiation therapy with ipilimumab shows promise against melanoma

Research published today in the New England Journal of Medicine by scientists at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR) and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) showed that combining targeted radiation therapy with immunotherapy (ipilimumab), fostered a strong immune response and a favorable clinical outcome in a patient with melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer.

8 Mar 2012

Sosei initiates SO-1105 Phase I trial in oropharyngeal candidiasis

Sosei Group Corporation, the biopharmaceutical company, today announces that its wholly owned Japanese subsidiary, Sosei Co., Ltd., has initiated a Japanese Phase I trial for SO-1105 for the treatment of oropharyngeal candidiasis.

8 Mar 2012

African Americans more likely to develop keloid after head and neck surgery

African Americans are seven times more likely than Caucasians to develop an excessive growth of thick, irregularly shaped and raised scarring on their skin - known as a keloid - following head and neck surgery, according to a new study from Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

7 Mar 2012

Carl Zeiss Meditec wins NFSB award for excellence in customer service

Medical technology provider Carl Zeiss Meditec has been awarded the NorthFace ScoreBoard (NFSB) Award(SM) from the Omega Management Group Corp. in recognition of achieving excellence in customer service and support in 2011. This is the ninth straight year that the company has been honored with this award.

6 Mar 2012

Combining two common cancer-fighting strategies may have 'tremendous synergy'

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have found that a molecule found at elevated levels in cancer cells seems to protect them from the "cell-suicide" that is usually triggered by chemotherapy or radiation.

2 Mar 2012

UCSD first to treat glioma with investigational viral vector

UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center researchers and surgeons are among the first in the nation to treat patients with recurrent brain cancer by directly injecting an investigational viral vector into their tumor. The treatment is being developed by a local San Diego Company, Tocagen Inc.

2 Mar 2012

KCC's geriatric oncology symposium to take place on March 9

Approaches to treating elderly cancer patients are evolving as more of the population ages and the need for specialized care becomes more evident. To address these issues and others, national thought leaders in geriatric oncology will gather at a unique symposium at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson (KCC) in Philadelphia on Friday, March 9, 2012, where they will present an overview of the latest advances in the understanding and treatment of cancer in older adults in an effort to impact patient care.

29 Feb 2012

Collaborative study of physical activity patterns, eating habits in colorectal cancer patients

The five hospitals of Meridian Health, a System Partner of The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ), have joined forces with CINJ in offering a clinical research study that examines physical activity patterns and eating habits in colorectal cancer patients who have recently finished treatment.

27 Feb 2012

Elekta to highlight Clarity with Autoscan at Radiosurgery Society meeting

Clarity soft tissue visualization system now provides an Autoscan option for automated ultrasound scanning from outside of the treatment room, employing a motorized probe positioned at the patient's perineum.

From Elekta 20 Feb 2012

James E. Cary Cancer Center to implement RayStation treatment planning system

RaySearch Laboratories AB has received an order for its RayStation treatment planning system from the James E. Cary Cancer Center located in Hannibal, Missouri.

20 Feb 2012

Elekta's Fraxion integrates all proven cranial immobilization options in a single solution

The Fraxion head frame helps ensure accuracy and precision in stereotactic radiation therapy (SRT) of cancer targets in the brain and cranium. Elekta's Fraxion is the first to introduce an innovative system that integrates all proven cranial immobilization options in a single solution.

From Elekta 18 Feb 2012

Lung cancer patients with severe COPD can benefit from SBRT

Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) provides better overall survival rates than surgery for lung cancer patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a disease commonly associated with lung cancer, according to a study in the upcoming March issue of the International Journal of Radiation, Oncology, Biology, Physics, the official scientific journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology.

17 Feb 2012

Researchers test nanoscale carbon clusters for cancer chemotherapy

A mixture of current drugs and carbon nanoparticles shows potential to enhance treatment for head-and-neck cancers, especially when combined with radiation therapy, according to new research by Rice University and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

16 Feb 2012

MV-GFP extends survival of animals with medulloblastoma

A strain of measles virus engineered to kill cancer cells prolongs survival in a model of medulloblastoma that is disseminated in the fluid around the brain, according to a new study by researchers at Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute and the Mayo Clinic.

16 Feb 2012

Combination of therapeutic cancer vaccines and chemotherapy shows promise

Therapeutic cancer vaccines, which stimulate the body's immune system to target and destroy cancer cells, are being used in combination with conventional chemotherapy with growing success, as described in several illuminating articles in Cancer Biotherapy and Radiopharmaceuticals, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

16 Feb 2012

Postoperative radiotherapy does not really help elderly lung cancer patients

A controversial radiation treatment for patients who've had lung cancer surgery may not help elderly people live longer, U.S. researchers have found. Postoperative radiotherapy, or PORT, is thought to cut the chances that a tumor will return. But it can damage the heart and lungs, which might cancel out any potential benefits -- particularly in the elderly.

14 Feb 2012