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.

Georgia Institute receives EUREKA grant to design brain tumor treatment

The Georgia Institute of Technology has received a EUREKA grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to design a new way to treat invasive brain tumors by capturing the migrating cells that spread the disease. The EUREKA -- Exceptional, Unconventional Research Enabling Knowledge Acceleration -- program helps scientists test new, unconventional ideas or tackle major methodological or technical challenges.

11 Aug 2010

American Shared Hospital Services second-quarter revenue decreases to $4.16 million

AMERICAN SHARED HOSPITAL SERVICES, a leading provider of turnkey technology solutions for advanced radiosurgical and radiation therapy services, today announced financial results for the second quarter of 2010.

11 Aug 2010

Scientist develops nano-methods to destroy tumors with fewer side effects

Though a valuable weapon against cancerous tumors, radiation therapy often harms healthy tissue as it tries to kill malignant cells. Now, Prof. Israel Gannot of Tel Aviv University's Department of Biomedical Engineering is developing a new way to destroy tumors with fewer side effects and minimal damage to surrounding tissue.

10 Aug 2010

Elekta receives Surescripts certification for MOSAIQ oncology information system

With health care providers' desire to increase accuracy, lower costs and increase efficiency, e-prescription use in the United States is exploding. Surescripts reports that by the end of 2009, approximately 18 percent of eligible prescriptions were prescribed electronically compared with just 6.6 percent at the end of 2008. And, the number of prescriptions routed electronically jumped from 68 million in 2008 to 191 million in 2009.

From Elekta 7 Aug 2010

TrueBeam technology reduces cancer radiation treatment time

The Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Comprehensive Cancer Center is among the world's first to begin using radiation technology that dramatically reduces treatment times.UAB's Hazelrig-Salter Radiation Oncology Center is the third U.S. site to acquire TrueBeam technology. TrueBeam, by Varian Medical Systems Inc., can complete a standard 40-minute radiation therapy in less than a minute for select patients. The precision of the instrument, measured in increments of less than a millimeter, comes from real-time patient imaging, positioning, beam shaping and many other data points synchronized continually as treatment progresses.

7 Aug 2010

Surgery offers high survival rate for prostate cancer patients: Study

Surgery for localized prostate cancer offers a significantly higher survival rate than either external-beam radiation or hormonal therapies, according to a new study led by researchers at UCSF.The differences among therapies were more prominent at higher levels of cancer risk, and suggest, the researchers say, that in many cases surgery should play a greater role in treatment strategies for patients with prostate cancer that is likely to recur or spread.

7 Aug 2010

OncoGenex reports net income in second-quarter 2010 against loss last year

OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today reported unaudited financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2010 and reviewed the Company's highlights for the second quarter of 2010.

7 Aug 2010

HF-WBI effective for patients with early stage breast cancer

The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has released evidence-based guidelines to define appropriate fractionation of whole breast irradiation (WBI), finding that hypofractionated (HF) WBI is effective for many patients with early-stage breast cancer. These guidelines are published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology-Biology-Physics, the official journal of ASTRO.

5 Aug 2010

Siteman Cancer Center to test radiotherapy system from ViewRay

Researchers at the Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, a national leader in the early adoption and use of advanced treatments for cancer patients, will soon become the first in the world to test an innovative radiotherapy system from ViewRay, Inc. The ViewRay system is designed to improve the accuracy of cancer treatments through a combination of medical imaging and radiotherapy delivery.

4 Aug 2010

Proton therapy to treat patient’s tumor without compromising quality of life

The radiation oncologist's mantra is to deliver the maximum dose of radiation to the malignant tumor, while limiting damage to healthy surrounding tissue. In proton therapy, this balance is achieved by using proton particles, accelerated to nearly the speed of light, to mimic the shape of a tumor and effectively deposit their energy within the confines of it with sub-millimeter precision.

4 Aug 2010

Smokers are 11 times more likely to develop subareolar abscess

Women who smoke or pierce their nipples are more likely to develop a breast abscess, according to a new study in the July issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. Researchers at the University of Iowa found the odds of developing primary breast abscess were six times higher in smokers than in nonsmokers, and smokers were 11 times more likely to develop subareolar abscess. Breast abscesses were 15 times more likely to recur in smokers than in nonsmokers. In addition, this study is one of the first to provide clinical evidence that nipple piercing is also a risk factor for subareolar breast abscess, with the onset of abscess occurring from one month to seven years from the time of piercing.

4 Aug 2010

ARO uses Elekta VMAT system for prostate cancer patients

In the expansive region of Australasia—which includes Australia, New Zealand and neighboring islands—Auckland Radiation Oncology Centre is the first to use Elekta VMAT, treating a patient with prostate cancer using a single 100-second arc of radiation. Such rapid treatments change the entire therapy experience for these patients, who have had to remain completely still for seven minutes during radiation delivery for each of 37 to 39 separate treatment sessions or "fractions."

From Elekta 2 Aug 2010

OHSU acquires BSD-500 Hyperthermia System

BSD Medical Corporation is pleased to announce that Oregon Health & Science University has acquired a BSD-500 Hyperthermia System. OHSU is a leading university that provides world-class treatment for the most complex health care needs. OHSU has been ranked in U.S. News & World Report's annual rankings as one of America's Best Hospitals for 15 consecutive years and has been recognized in the medical specialties of cancer and endocrinology.

2 Aug 2010

CPF announces nationwide advertising campaign to increase awareness about PF

The Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis announced today a nationwide advertising campaign to spread the word about Pulmonary Fibrosis is underway in an untraditional setting – on the nation's interstates. Together, a billboard ad and truck ads are part of a nationwide campaign to raise eyebrows and awareness of the deadly lung disease.

30 Jul 2010

Allos reports topline results from Phase 2b trial of FOLOTYN vs erlotinib in advanced NSCLC

Allos Therapeutics, Inc. today announced topline results from the Company's randomized Phase 2b investigational trial of FOLOTYN® (pralatrexate injection) versus erlotinib in patients with Stage IIIB/IV (advanced) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who had received one or two prior systemic treatments including at least one prior platinum-based regimen. The objective of the trial was to estimate the efficacy of FOLOTYN compared to that of erlotinib as assessed by overall survival.

28 Jul 2010

NYU Langone opens vascular-targeted photodynamic therapy trial to men with localized prostate cancer

NYU Langone Medical Center has begun a clinical trial offering vascular-targeted photodynamic therapy to patients with localized prostate cancer. This novel, minimally invasive procedure uses a light-activated drug to deliver light energy waves by way of laser fibers in order to destroy prostate cancer cells.

28 Jul 2010

CvergenX acquires global rights to InterveneXRT technology for individualization of radiation therapy

Moffitt Cancer Center and CvergenX, Inc., announced today that they have entered into a licensing agreement under which CvergenX has acquired the exclusive worldwide rights to a technology platform that individualizes radiation therapy, InterveneXRT™. Researchers at Moffitt have used gene expression analysis and systems biology to create a radio-sensitivity classification index for individual tumors.

28 Jul 2010

Report shows most men with low PSA undergo aggressive therapy

Most men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer appear to under undergo aggressive therapy, even if they have a low prostate-specific antigen level and low-risk disease, according to a report in the July 26 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

27 Jul 2010

Study on treatment needs of prostate cancer patients with low level PSA

Controversy has long existed over the benefit of the prostate specific antigen (PSA) test used to screen for the presence of prostate cancer, and there has been little study to document the risk profile of men who have a PSA level at or below what is considered 'normal.' New research published in the latest edition of Archives of Internal Medicine (Vol. 170, No. 14) by a team of investigators at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ), further explores this population. The findings show that most men with prostate cancer who tested below the normal PSA level and had low-risk disease nevertheless underwent aggressive treatment. CINJ is a Center of Excellence of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

27 Jul 2010

Brainlab launches ExacTrac Infrared Monitoring device for patient positioning during radiation therapy

Brainlab announced the availability of ExacTrac® Infrared Monitoring, an add-on device to existing treatment machines for monitoring patient positioning during radiation therapy treatments, at the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) Annual Meeting last week.

26 Jul 2010