Brachytherapy News and Research

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Brachytherapy is a minimally invasive procedure that involves the use of radioactive seeds the size of rice grains. Brachytherapy, an out-patient procedure, usually takes 45 minutes to an hour to perform. Most patients can return to their normal activities within days. The success rates of prostate brachytherapy have compared favorably with success rates of radical prostatectomy and external beam radiation. In comparison studies, prostate brachytherapy has shown to have a favorable side effect profile when compared with other modalities. Clinical studies have shown that prostate brachytherapy has a cure rate of 94% for appropriately selected patients.

Combination of radiotherapy and anti-hormone treatment can prevent recurrence of hormone-driven breast cancer

Women with early, low risk, hormone-driven breast cancer are less likely to have a recurrence of their disease if they have radiotherapy after surgery, as well as anti-hormone treatment, according to results from a trial that has followed 869 women for ten years.

26 Apr 2019

New technology provides clearer picture to clinicians treating gynecological cancer

New technology developed at Western University is providing an improved way for radiation oncologists to deliver treatment to women with gynecological cancers, including vaginal, cervical and uterine cancer.

9 Apr 2019

UMGCCC uses Gammapod radiotherapy to treat breast cancer patients

Radiation oncologists at the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center are now treating patients with the GammaPod™, a new FDA-cleared radiation therapy for early-stage breast cancer.

6 Dec 2018

LDR brachytherapy for treating early-stage prostate cancer lacks conclusive data

Interstitial brachytherapy uses slightly radioactive particles implanted into the prostate to deliver radiation directly to the tumour (low-dose-rate, LDR).

20 Nov 2018

NIH awards over $1.8 million to husband-and-wife doctors to test new breast cancer approach

Husband-and-wife doctors at the University of Virginia Cancer Center have been awarded more than $1.8 million from the National Institutes of Health for their effort to improve radiation therapy and breast surgery for patients with early-stage breast cancer.

16 Nov 2018

Patient-reported data confirms efficacy of brachytherapy alone in intermediate risk prostate cancer

Oncology trial RTOG 0232 comparing a combined treatment of external beam therapy and brachytherapy to transperineal interstitial permanent brachytherapy alone indicate a significantly different clinician and patient-reported late toxicity profile between arms despite similarities in progression-free survival results.

22 Oct 2018

$New guideline supports hypofractionated radiation therapy for men with prostate cancer$

New guideline supports hypofractionated radiation therapy for men with prostate cancer

Three prominent medical societies today issued a new clinical guideline for physicians treating men with early-stage prostate cancer using external beam radiation therapy (EBRT). Adoption of the guideline could make treatment shorter and more convenient for many patients with prostate cancer, the most common malignancy among American men.

12 Oct 2018

Robot could become the 'weapon' of choice for detecting and treating prostate cancer

A robot could become the 'weapon' of choice for detecting and treating the most common cancer in men, improving results and reducing side effects.

4 Oct 2018

RaySearch and Eckert & Ziegler BEBIG sign partnership agreement regarding brachytherapy

RaySearch and Eckert & Ziegler BEBIG, a leading European supplier of brachytherapy products, have signed a partnership agreement. Both the RayStation treatment planning system and the RayCare oncology information system will be integrated with the Eckert & Ziegler BEBIG brachytherapy systems.

From RaySearch Laboratories AB 4 Jul 2018

Hitachi awarded contract to supply 6 ultrasound systems for innovative RAPID program in the UK

Hitachi Medical Systems Europe wins the contract to supply 6 ultrasound systems in the UK helping to improve prostate cancer diagnosis as part of the innovative RAPID program at three major hospitals across South West London.

6 Jun 2018

Coveted BMJ award bestowed on The Clatterbridge Cancer Center

A coveted British Medical Journal award was recently bestowed on the Papillon Contact X-ray Brachytherapy team at the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre. The Cancer Care Team of the year category was won by the entry—Papillon for Rectal Cancer.

From Ariane Medical Systems 24 May 2018

Rutgers Cancer Institute nurses research various topics to enhance patient experience

From peer and patient education to addressing treatment side effects and other patient care needs, nurses at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey researched a number of topics with an aim of enhancing the patient experience.

18 May 2018

Researchers evaluate need for biopsies during follow-up care for breast cancer patients

In an analysis of more than 120,000 women diagnosed with and treated for early-stage breast cancer, researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center determined the rate of additional breast biopsies needed for these patients during their follow-up care.

31 Jan 2018

New gel offers protection for organs at risk during prostate cancer treatment

Radiation therapy is a popular and effective treatment for many men with prostate cancer, and now a temporary gel offers greater protection for organs at risk during treatments.

23 Jan 2018

AAD releases new guidelines of care for management of nonmelanoma skin cancer

Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States, and nonmelanoma skin cancer is the most common type of skin cancer, affecting more than 3 million Americans every year.

10 Jan 2018

RayStation chosen for new ultra-modern cancer center in Quebec

CRIC (Centre régional intégré de cancérologie) is an initiative to create a new ultra-modern cancer center in Levis, close to Quebec City. The facility will serve the Chaudière-Appalaches region. It will have the capacity to treat up to 1,700 patients per year, with the first treatments expected to take place in April 2019.

20 Dec 2017

Offering lifesaving treatment for cervical cancer results in a net loss for hospitals

The evidence is clear: Cervical cancer is best treated with brachytherapy, a form of radiation therapy. Yet the use of this potentially lifesaving treatment has been declining, and a new study from the University of Virginia School of Medicine may explain why.

15 Dec 2017

Updated guidelines offer support for appropriate, safe use of accelerated partial-breast irradiation

Cleveland Clinic researcher Chirag Shah, M.D., led the development of updated guidelines for the appropriate and safe utilization of accelerated partial-breast irradiation. The guidelines are published online in the journal, Brachytherapy.

26 Oct 2017

Queen's University Belfast leads new research to better understand biology of prostate cancer

Queen's University Belfast has led the world's largest research study using a diagnostic test developed by Almac Diagnostics, to better understand the biology of prostate cancer tumors, which could lead to a transformation in how prostate cancer is diagnosed and treated.

23 Oct 2017

Xstrahl receives FDA 510 (k) clearance for marketing its Photoelectric Therapy System

The Photoelectric Therapy System is a compact and ergonomic superficial X-Ray therapy system operating in the 10 kV to 80 kV range intended for superficial radiotherapy and surface electronic brachytherapy treatment of primary malignant epithelial neoplasms of the skin and keloids.

From Xstrahl 19 Oct 2017