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 aimed at increasing shelf life of radiation drugs offers hope for cancer patients

People with hard-to-reach cancers in the kidney, gut and prostate will have improved hope for early diagnosis and treatment with new research aimed at increasing the shelf life of revolutionary radiation drugs.

19 Mar 2020

Researchers solve the riddle of superbug toxin damage to gut

A powerful Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute (BDI) collaboration has revealed that a bacterial superbug can prevent stem cells in the gut from carrying out their vital role of regenerating the inner lining of the intestine.

16 Mar 2020

A miRNA signature linked to local-regional failure and overall survival after pancreatic cancer resection

The cover for issue 10 of Oncotarget features Figure 3, "Overall survival (OS) for high (red) versus low (black) risk groups in the (A) OSU, (B) TCGA, and (C) SNU resected cohorts," by Wolfe, et al.

13 Mar 2020

NCCN publishes recommendations for assessing quality improvements in cancer care

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network has published a curated list of high-impact measures for assessing quality improvements in cancer care.

10 Mar 2020

Inhibiting specific protein could make radiation therapy for colon cancer more effective

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis appear to have discovered a way to make radiation therapy for colorectal cancer more effective by inhibiting a protein found in cancer cells in the gut.

3 Mar 2020

Combination of radiation and immunotherapy shows promise for advanced head and neck cancers

A new phase II trial finds that a combination of radiation therapy and immunotherapy led to encouraging survival outcomes and acceptable toxicity for patients with locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

27 Feb 2020

Drug used for breast, renal cancers may provide survival benefit for patients with head and neck cancers

A targeted therapy drug used for breast and kidney cancers may also extend progression-free survival for patients with advanced head and neck cancer who are at high risk for recurrence after standard treatment.

27 Feb 2020

UC researchers uncover potential new treatment for patients with metastatic melanoma

Researchers at the University of Cincinnati have uncovered a potentially more beneficial treatment regimen for patients with metastatic melanoma.

26 Feb 2020

Advances in surgical care for patients with pancreatic cancer

Earlier this year, doctors and researchers celebrated the news that the five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer had crossed into double digits for the first time - up from just 6% in 2011.

23 Feb 2020

Administering immunotherapy alongside chemoradiation for advanced NSCLC appears to be safe and tolerable

Research from Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey shows administering the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab together with chemotherapy given at the same time as radiation treatment (chemoradiation) is safe and tolerable as a first-line therapy for patients with stage 3 non-small cell lung cancer.

21 Feb 2020

NRG Oncology trial: Hippocampal avoidance during whole-brain radiotherapy reduces risks

Results from the NRG Oncology clinical study NRG-CC001 concluded that lowering radiotherapy dose to hippocampal stem cells improves cognitive and patient-reported outcomes for patients with brain metastases.

18 Feb 2020

Researchers develop new way to monitor radiation doses for cancer patients

More than half of all cancer patients undergo radiation therapy and the dose is critical. Too much and the surrounding tissue gets damaged, too little and the cancer cells survive.

16 Feb 2020

Thoracic radiation therapy can have negative impact on cancer patients' quality of life

Radiation doses to the heart that occur during radiation therapy treatments for lung cancer, breast cancer and lymphoma can increase fatigue, cause difficulty breathing and lower capacity for physical activity in patients with cancer, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology's Advancing the Cardiovascular Care of the Oncology Patient course.

14 Feb 2020

Treating soft tissue sarcoma with shorter radiation treatment found to be safe, effective

A new study led by researchers at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center found that treating soft tissue sarcoma with radiation over a significantly shorter period of time is safe, and likely just as effective, as a much longer conventional course of treatment.

13 Feb 2020

Study provides new details about therapy-associated polyposis in childhood cancer survivors

In a paper published online today, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers provide new details about a recently discovered condition in which childhood cancer survivors develop numerous colorectal growths called polyps despite not having a hereditary susceptibility to the condition.

12 Feb 2020

New research could lead to 'breakthrough' for myelodysplastic syndrome

Korean researchers have observed cup-shaped red blood cells in the peripheral blood of a patient with myelodysplastic syndrome.

From Tomocube Inc. 30 Jan 2020

Researchers develop first non-invasive way to monitor oxygen in tumors during radiation therapy

Oxygen in cancer tumors is known to be a major factor that helps radiation therapy be successful. Hypoxia, or starvation of oxygen, in solid tumors is also thought to be an important factor in resistance to therapy.

29 Jan 2020

High carbon dioxide levels due to respiratory diseases may aggravate pancreatic cancer

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD is associated with higher rates of many cancers, including lung, esophagus, colon, bladder and breast cancer.

29 Jan 2020

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in England

In the health agency’s report, there were 49,029 diagnoses made in 2018, which is about 8,000 more than the previous year, surpassing breast cancer with 47,476 cases. Lung cancer followed with 38,996 cases. The new data reveals that there were more cancers detected in 2018 in men than in women, with a total of 15,228 cases and 151,452, respectively.

28 Jan 2020

Study evaluates the impact of prostate cancer treatment decisions

A five-year follow-up study of more than 2,000 U.S. men who received prostate cancer treatment is creating a road map for future patients regarding long-term bowel, bladder and sexual function in order to clarify expectations and enable men to make informed choices about care.

27 Jan 2020