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.

Research looks at COVID-19 in cancer patients

As the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, new questions arise as to the risk posed by the virus to different patient populations, including the elderly and those with underlying disease. A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv* in May 2020 deals with the risk of COVID-19 in the subgroup of patients with cancer.

21 May 2020

New technique reveals potentially treatable mutations in subset of prostate cancer patients

Prostate cancer patients who do not respond well to PSMA-targeted therapy often have potentially treatable mutations in their DNA damage-repair genes, according to research published in the May issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

20 May 2020

Radiation oncology clinics report fewer patients despite improved safety measures

Despite facing challenges such as limited access to personal protective equipment (PPE) following the COVID-19 outbreak, radiation oncology clinics quickly implemented safety and process enhancements that allowed them to continue caring for cancer patients, according to a new national survey from the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

20 May 2020

Trial E3311: Less intense treatment for HPV+ oropharynx cancer shows positive results

The final results of the randomized phase two trial E3311 will be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting, to occur virtually from May 29-31.

13 May 2020

Developing innovative radiation treatment for inoperable brain and spinal tumors

An innovative radiation treatment that could one day be a valuable addition to conventional radiation therapy for inoperable brain and spinal tumors is a step closer, thanks to new research led by University of Saskatchewan (USask) researchers at the Canadian Light Source (CLS).

13 May 2020

Nomograms can predict the risk of treatment delays for head and neck cancer patients

More than 65,000 Americans are diagnosed annually with head and neck cancer, which most often occurs inside the mouth and throat. For patients who undergo surgery to treat this cancer, guidelines recommend that prompt initiation of radiotherapy -- within six weeks -- is critical for best outcomes.

13 May 2020

Harnessing the formation of natural killer–tumor cell immunological synapse to treat solid cancers

There are immune cells in our bodies that directly destroy infected or cancer cells - they are called natural killer cells. Recently, a POSTECH research team has developed an integrative cancer therapy using adoptive natural killer cell therapy and chemotherapy.

13 May 2020

UOC develops new method to improve quality of CT scan imagery

Computerized tomography (CT) is one of the most effective medical tests for analyzing the effects of many illnesses, including COVID-19, on the lungs.

9 May 2020

Olanzapine drug can help manage nausea and vomiting in patients with advanced cancer

Olanzapine, a generic drug used to treat nervous, emotional and mental conditions, also may help patients with advanced cancer successfully manage nausea and vomiting unrelated to chemotherapy.

8 May 2020

Combination of schizophrenia drug and radiation shows promise in treating glioblastoma

Researchers at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and colleagues have found that adding a drug once commonly used to treat schizophrenia to traditional radiation therapy helped improve overall survival in mice with glioblastoma, one of the deadliest and most difficult-to-treat brain tumors.

2 May 2020

COVID-19 pandemic will bring additional cancer deaths

With over 3.25 million people infected, healthcare systems of even the most developed nations are overwhelmed. Cancer patients and survivors, for example, are particularly vulnerable during this epidemic and not only because of their increased vulnerable immunocompromised state, which makes them prone to the infection. They are also at risk of missing out on essential cancer care due to the unavailability of resources.

30 Apr 2020

Patients with aggressive form of skin cancer can benefit from new type of immunotherapy

In what is believed to be a first-of-its-kind study to evaluate the safety of a type of immunotherapy before surgery in patients with an aggressive form of skin cancer, researchers report that the treatment eliminated pathologic evidence of cancer in nearly half of the study participants undergoing surgery.

27 Apr 2020

Radiation therapy plays a crucial role in management of OPSCC

HPV-negative UM-SCC4 with and without transfection of HPV E6 oncoprotein, HPV-negative UPCI-SCC-089, and HPV-positive UPCI-SCC-099 cell lines were used in this study.

22 Apr 2020

AI may help eliminate use of biopsy for brain cancer patients

Brain cancer patients in the coming years may not need to go under the knife to help doctors determine the best treatment for their tumors.

21 Apr 2020

COVID-19 and immunodeficiency

COVID-19 disease, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is a highly infectious disease. As of today, over 170,000 people worldwide have succumbed to the infection. Reports have shown that some comorbidities and illnesses raise the risk of getting infected and also influence the severity of the disease. Having a compromised immune system can also drastically raise the risk of getting COVID-19.

21 Apr 2020

New drug preserves cognitive function in mice after brain irradiation

A study by researchers at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center has identified a possible new drug that could help prevent cognitive decline in people who undergo radiation therapy for brain tumors.

15 Apr 2020

Chronic stress can influence the efficacy of radiation therapy, study suggests

Radiation is one of the oldest and most common therapies for cancer, and typically is delivered locally, or to specific targeted sites in the body.

15 Apr 2020

Mathematical model can predict patient outcomes to adaptive prostate cancer therapy

Prostate cancer is the most common malignancy among men in the United States. It is also the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths. Despite improved treatments for prostate cancer, many patients with advanced disease eventually develop drug resistance.

9 Apr 2020

New framework to help guide decisions for prostate cancer radiotherapy during COVID-19 pandemic

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, a team of radiation oncologists from the U.S. and U.K. is recommending a new framework for making decisions about radiation therapy for prostate cancer patients that weighs risks and benefits during these difficult times.

27 Mar 2020

Transmission of COVID-19 among cancer patients in China

Researchers from Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University in China in collaboration with those from the National Cancer Centre Singapore, have come up with a study that reveals the transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 or novel coronavirus among patients with cancer in China.

25 Mar 2020

Radiation Therapy News and Research

Further Reading

Research looks at COVID-19 in cancer patients

New technique reveals potentially treatable mutations in subset of prostate cancer patients

Radiation oncology clinics report fewer patients despite improved safety measures

Trial E3311: Less intense treatment for HPV+ oropharynx cancer shows positive results

Developing innovative radiation treatment for inoperable brain and spinal tumors

Nomograms can predict the risk of treatment delays for head and neck cancer patients

Harnessing the formation of natural killer–tumor cell immunological synapse to treat solid cancers

UOC develops new method to improve quality of CT scan imagery

Olanzapine drug can help manage nausea and vomiting in patients with advanced cancer

Combination of schizophrenia drug and radiation shows promise in treating glioblastoma

COVID-19 pandemic will bring additional cancer deaths

Patients with aggressive form of skin cancer can benefit from new type of immunotherapy

Radiation therapy plays a crucial role in management of OPSCC

AI may help eliminate use of biopsy for brain cancer patients

COVID-19 and immunodeficiency

New drug preserves cognitive function in mice after brain irradiation

Chronic stress can influence the efficacy of radiation therapy, study suggests

Mathematical model can predict patient outcomes to adaptive prostate cancer therapy

New framework to help guide decisions for prostate cancer radiotherapy during COVID-19 pandemic

Transmission of COVID-19 among cancer patients in China

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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