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.

Patients who have an undetectable level of PSA after therapy have good chance of being cured

Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers report that radiation therapy alone can reduce prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels below detectable amounts in prostate cancer patients. Patients who have an undetectable level of PSA after therapy have less chance of biochemical failure than other patients and a good chance of being cured.

4 Nov 2009

Obese lung cancer patients with diabeties more likely to develop chest wall pain after receiving stereotactic body radiation therapy

Obesity, not the amount of radiation given, is the greatest factor in whether early-stage lung cancer patients develop chest wall pain after receiving stereotactic body radiation therapy to the chest wall, with obese patients being more than twice as likely to develop chronic pain compared to those who have less body weight, according to a first-of-its-kind study presented Tuesday, November 3, 2009, at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

4 Nov 2009

HER2-positive breast cancer patients can be treated with Trastuzumab and adjuvant radiation therapy

Standard adjuvant treatment for HER2-positive breast cancer patients, following primary surgery for their cancer, is Trastuzumab (Herceptin)--typically used in combination with chemotherapy.

4 Nov 2009

Combination of high-dose radiotherapy and chemotherapy shows encouraging results in treating LSCL

Treating limited stage small cell lung cancer(LSCL) with a combination of accelerated high-dose radiotherapy and chemotherapy has shown encouraging results, opening the door to larger scale investigation, according to new research from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

4 Nov 2009

Radiation treatment as effective and as safe in reducing the risk of prostate cancer from returning

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 November 4, 2009, at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

4 Nov 2009

Advanced equipment targets radiation to specific areas in the brain

Radiation oncologists at Rush University Medical Center are intent on finding ways to avoid damage to the critically important hippocampus and limbic circuit of the brain when cranial radiation is required to treat existing or potential metastatic cancers.

4 Nov 2009

Stereotactic radiosurgery effectively controls pain in patients with cancer

Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), a radiation therapy procedure pioneered at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) that precisely delivers a large dose of radiation to tumors, effectively controls pain in patients with cancer that has spread to the spine, according to researchers from UPCI.

4 Nov 2009

PET imaging is not the basis for increasing dosage level

Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of non-small cell lung cancer prior to receiving radiation therapy should not be the basis for determining areas that may benefit from higher doses of radiation, according to research presented by investigators at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital at the 51st ASTRO Annual Meeting (Abstract #2583/B-186).

4 Nov 2009

$Optic nerve sheath meningioma patients can be cured using fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy$

Optic nerve sheath meningioma patients can be cured using fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy

Optic nerve sheath meningiomas are rare tumors that are traditionally treated with surgery, which is typically a blinding procedure. However, researchers from Thomas Jefferson University Hospital have found that a specialized type of radiation therapy offers the same local control, with fewer adverse effects on vision.

4 Nov 2009

SBRT stops the growth of cancer for 98% of patients with NSCLC

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 November 2, 2009, at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

3 Nov 2009

New study to assess preventative brain radiation therapy for lung cancer patients

A new study is taking a closer look at the benefits versus risks for lung cancer patients to undergo preventative brain radiation therapy as a means to stop cancer from spreading to the brain.

3 Nov 2009

Melanoma patients treated with radiation after surgery at lower risk of cancer recurrence

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, November 2, 2009, at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

3 Nov 2009

Early tolerance of proton therapy excellent 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, at the American Society for Radiation Oncology's 51st Annual Meeting in Chicago.

3 Nov 2009

Calypso Medical Technologies presents its real-time tracking technology at 51st ASTRO annual meeting

Calypso Medical Technologies, Inc., a developer of real-time localization technology used for the precise tracking of tumor targets, today announced Calypso’s real-time tracking technology is included in 36 scientific presentations and posters at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), now underway at McCormick Place in Chicago.

3 Nov 2009

Siemens Healthcare to distribute Candelis' ImageGrid PACS-RT Appliance and ImageGrid RT Viewer

Today, Candelis, Inc. announced its plans to distribute and sell the ImageGrid™ PACS-RT Appliance and the ImageGrid™ RT Viewer through Siemens Healthcare’s Oncology Care Systems Business Unit.

3 Nov 2009

Patients with non-small cell lung cancer treated with PCI decrease their risk of developing brain metastases

Patients with non-small cell lung cancer treated with preventative brain radiation (called prophylactic cranial irradiation or PCI), significantly decrease their risk of developing brain metastases (cancer spread in the brain) by more than 50 percent (from 18 percent to 8 percent), compared to those who did not receive the treatment, according to a randomized study presented at the plenary session November 2, 2009, at the 51st Annual Meeting of American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

3 Nov 2009

Stereotactic radiosurgery effective in eliminating Parkinson's disease tremors

Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) offers a less invasive way to eliminate tremors caused by Parkinson's disease and essential tremor than deep brain stimulation (DBS) and radiofrequency (RF) treatments, and is as effective, according to a long-term study presented November 2, 2009, at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

3 Nov 2009

IMC-RT does not benefit breast cancer patients

After mastectomy, breast cancer patients who receive radiation treatment to the lymph nodes located behind the breast bone do not live longer than those who do not receive radiation to this hard-to-treat area, according to a randomized 10-year study presented at the plenary session, November 2, 2009, at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

3 Nov 2009

ASTRO commends CMS for limiting payment reductions proposed for radiation oncology

ASTRO, the American Society for Radiation Oncology, today praised the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for limiting the payment reductions initially proposed for radiation oncology and spreading the remaining cuts over four years.

3 Nov 2009

Extra dose of proton 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, at the American Society for Radiation Oncology's 51st Annual Meeting in Chicago.

3 Nov 2009

Radiation Therapy News and Research

Further Reading

Patients who have an undetectable level of PSA after therapy have good chance of being cured

Obese lung cancer patients with diabeties more likely to develop chest wall pain after receiving stereotactic body radiation therapy

HER2-positive breast cancer patients can be treated with Trastuzumab and adjuvant radiation therapy

Combination of high-dose radiotherapy and chemotherapy shows encouraging results in treating LSCL

Radiation treatment as effective and as safe in reducing the risk of prostate cancer from returning

Advanced equipment targets radiation to specific areas in the brain

Stereotactic radiosurgery effectively controls pain in patients with cancer

PET imaging is not the basis for increasing dosage level

Optic nerve sheath meningioma patients can be cured using fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy

SBRT stops the growth of cancer for 98% of patients with NSCLC

New study to assess preventative brain radiation therapy for lung cancer patients

Melanoma patients treated with radiation after surgery at lower risk of cancer recurrence

Early tolerance of proton therapy excellent in prostate cancer patients

Calypso Medical Technologies presents its real-time tracking technology at 51st ASTRO annual meeting

Siemens Healthcare to distribute Candelis' ImageGrid PACS-RT Appliance and ImageGrid RT Viewer

Patients with non-small cell lung cancer treated with PCI decrease their risk of developing brain metastases

Stereotactic radiosurgery effective in eliminating Parkinson's disease tremors

IMC-RT does not benefit breast cancer patients

ASTRO commends CMS for limiting payment reductions proposed for radiation oncology

Extra dose of proton radiation therapy reduces prostate cancer recurrences

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

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