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.

Immunotherapy and chemotherapy combined, slows tumor progression and extends survival of patients with glioblastoma multiforme

Researchers at Cedars-Sinai's Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute have found that the combination of immunotherapy and chemotherapy significantly slowed tumor progression and extended survival of patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).

17 Aug 2004

New treatment strategy for brain cancer

Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center researchers have found that combining ionizing radiation with a secreted protein that selectively inhibits tumor cell growth and survival can target cancer cells and leave healthy cells alone, perhaps presenting a new approach for treating the deadliest type of brain tumor.

9 Aug 2004

Aggressive treatment for nasopharyngeal cancer shown to be more effective

Radiation therapy (RT) has been the most important treatment modality with curative potential in treating patients with cancer of the nasopharynx, the part of the pharynx that lies above the soft palate.

9 Aug 2004

Knowledge about oral and head and neck cancer is severely lacking in the American public

Most adult Americans know how to light a cigarette and order a drink, but a great number of them are clueless about the consequence of these two destructive habits – oral and head and neck cancer.

9 Aug 2004

Physicians offer several promising and unique approaches to brain tumor treatment

An estimated 41,000 new cases of primary brain tumors are expected to be diagnosed in 2004, according to the American Brain Tumor Association.

5 Aug 2004

Moderate exercise helps beat fatigue from prostate radiation

Men who get a moderate amount of exercise during radiation for prostate cancer are better able to cope with the fatigue the treatment can cause, researchers from Scotland report in the journal Cancer.

5 Aug 2004

ASTRO and ACS join to promote cancer survivorship

As part of an initiative to give back to the cancer communities in the cities visited during its annual scientific meetings, the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology is partnering with the Atlanta chapter of the American Cancer Society to raise awareness of cancer survivorship.

5 Aug 2004

Research to develop ways to inhibit head and neck cancers, the fifth most common cancer worldwide

A University of Queensland researcher has been awarded $850,000 by one of Australia’s largest private, charitable, medical foundations to develop ways to inhibit head and neck cancers, the fifth most common cancer worldwide.

29 Jul 2004

Tool that enables women with breast cancer to choose their own course of treatment

McMaster University cancer researcher, Tim Whelan, a radiation oncologist with the Juravinski Cancer Centre, has developed a tool that enables women with breast cancer to choose their own course of treatment.

29 Jul 2004

Combination of hormonal therapy, radioactive seed implant and external beam radiation therapy increases chance of cancer cure

High-risk prostate cancer patients who undergo a combination of hormonal therapy, radioactive seed implant (also called brachytherapy) and external beam radiation therapy are shown to have an increased chance of cancer cure

29 Jul 2004

Light-sensitive probe to help doctors spot breast cancer

A light-sensitive probe is being developed to help doctors spot breast cancer in some of the 70,000 American women each year whose malignancies fail to show up in needle biopsies.

26 Jul 2004

Bladder-sparing treatment shows promise against cancer

For patients with invasive bladder cancer, treatment has typically meant an operation to remove the bladder and nearby organs. This requires up to a week in the hospital and leaves patients with a reconstructed bladder or urostomy bag.

21 Jul 2004

Today's prostate cancer treatments are more aggressive and successful

In recent years, doctors have become more willing to treat prostate cancer more aggressively with radiation therapy, and as a result, more patients are being cured of their cancer

15 Jul 2004

Educating patients can help limit side effects of chemotherapy and radiation

A new study finds patients about to undergo chemotherapy or radiation expect a high number of side effects, and that age, gender, educational background, and the type of cancer all influence how many side effects a patient expects.

12 Jul 2004

Chemoradioimmunotherapy for advanced breast cancer

A successful, and novel, technique to kill metastatic breast cancer cells by circumventing their chemo- and radioresistant mechanisms was by presented by Dr John Giannios, Head of Radiotherapeutic Cancer Research at the IASO Hospital

8 Jul 2004

New information helps lung cancer patients better understand treatment

According to the American Cancer Society, nearly 175,000 Americans will learn they have lung cancer this year. Of these patients, it is estimated that nearly two-thirds of them will receive radiation therapy, either alone or in combination with other treatments.

7 Jul 2004

Combining targeted immunotherapy with chemotherapy and radiation therapy to successfully kill metastatic tumour cells

A successful, and novel, technique to kill metastatic breast cancer cells by circumventing their chemo and radioresistant mechanisms was by presented by Dr. John Giannios, Head of Radiotherapeutic Cancer Research at the IASO Hospital

7 Jul 2004

HERCULES laser could revolutionize the way cancer is treated

University of Michigan researchers recently produced what is believed to be the highest-intensity laser pulse ever obtained.

26 Jun 2004

Early patient response to Forteo in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis

Changes in markers of bone remodeling after one month of treatment with FORTEO® (teriparatide [rDNA origin] injection) may provide important early evidence of treatment response, according to new data presented today at the 86th Annual Meeting of The Endocrine Society (ENDO).

17 Jun 2004

Chemical agents extracted from Caribbean sea squirt may help find cancer treatments for certain deadly tumours

European Union funding is helping to find cancer treatments for certain deadly tumours using small marine animals. European researchers are using chemical agents extracted from a type of Caribbean sea squirt, named Ecteinascidia turbinata, to treat some tumours.

11 Jun 2004

Radiation Therapy News and Research

Further Reading

Immunotherapy and chemotherapy combined, slows tumor progression and extends survival of patients with glioblastoma multiforme

New treatment strategy for brain cancer

Aggressive treatment for nasopharyngeal cancer shown to be more effective

Knowledge about oral and head and neck cancer is severely lacking in the American public

Physicians offer several promising and unique approaches to brain tumor treatment

Moderate exercise helps beat fatigue from prostate radiation

ASTRO and ACS join to promote cancer survivorship

Research to develop ways to inhibit head and neck cancers, the fifth most common cancer worldwide

Tool that enables women with breast cancer to choose their own course of treatment

Combination of hormonal therapy, radioactive seed implant and external beam radiation therapy increases chance of cancer cure

Light-sensitive probe to help doctors spot breast cancer

Bladder-sparing treatment shows promise against cancer

Today's prostate cancer treatments are more aggressive and successful

Educating patients can help limit side effects of chemotherapy and radiation

Chemoradioimmunotherapy for advanced breast cancer

New information helps lung cancer patients better understand treatment

Combining targeted immunotherapy with chemotherapy and radiation therapy to successfully kill metastatic tumour cells

HERCULES laser could revolutionize the way cancer is treated

Early patient response to Forteo in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis

Chemical agents extracted from Caribbean sea squirt may help find cancer treatments for certain deadly tumours

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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