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.

Lymph node status after preoperative therapy determines survival of esophageal cancer patients

According to a new study, the status of lymph nodes rather than the status of the primary tumor following preoperative neoadjuvant chemotherapy or chemoradiation therapy is the most important factor that determines whether patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer will survive.

2 May 2018

As proton centers struggle, a sign of a health care bubble?

The Maryland Proton Treatment Center chose "Survivor" as the theme for its grand opening in 2016, invoking the reality-TV show's tropical sets with its own Tiki torches, palm trees and thatched booths piled with pineapples and bananas.

2 May 2018

Parkinson's disease pivotal trial treats first patient using focused ultrasound

The first patient in a multicenter pivotal trial using focused ultrasound to address the major motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease has been treated at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York.

27 Apr 2018

Zika virus can be used for treating aggressive human central nervous system tumors, shows study

A Brazilian study published April 26 in the journal Cancer Research shows for the first time in vivo that Zika virus can be used as a tool to treat aggressive human central nervous system (CNS) tumors.

27 Apr 2018

Study shows new approach to improve survival rates for patients with stage IV Wilms tumors

A new study showing significantly improved survival rates for patients with stage IV Wilms tumors with lung metastases was recently published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

26 Apr 2018

Philips showcases dedicated radiation oncology solutions at ESTRO 2018

Royal Philips, a global leader in health technology, is showcasing its integrated radiation oncology solutions in the exhibition at the European Society for Radiation Oncology’s 37th Annual Meeting in Barcelona, Spain.

23 Apr 2018

RaySearch, Heidelberg University Hospital to pioneer RayCare oncology information system

Heidelberg University Hospital in Germany has entered into a partnership with RaySearch Laboratories AB to pioneer the RayCare™ oncology information system. The research partnership, which focuses on supporting comprehensive cancer care, will involve the hospital and the affiliated sites Heidelberg Ion Beam Therapy Center and Marburg Ion Beam Therapy Center (MIT).

From RaySearch Laboratories AB 23 Apr 2018

Study challenges use of whole-brain radiation for small-cell lung cancer patients with brain metastases

Lung cancer often metastasizes to the brain. Historically, brain metastases have been treated with whole-brain radiation therapy.

17 Apr 2018

Study confirms no survival benefit of adding SIRT to standard treatment for liver cancer

The final results of the palliative cohort of the SORAMIC study in patients with unresectable, locally advanced primary liver cancer have confirmed no clinical advantage to adding selective internal radiation therapy to standard sorafenib treatment compared with using sorafenib alone.

13 Apr 2018

Biomarker panel can guide future therapeutic decisions for glioma patients

In an article published April 10th in the journal Cell Reports, researchers at the University of São Paulo describe a biomarker panel that could tell physicians which patients diagnosed with glioma, a type of brain cancer, will tend to progress to a more aggressive form of the disease in the event of relapse.

10 Apr 2018

Heart disease risk in breast cancer patients after treatment not higher than average population

Many breast cancer therapies cause damage to the heart. However, in the largest study of its kind so far, scientists from the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg have now shown that the risk of death from heart disease in breast cancer patients following radiotherapy or chemotherapy is no higher than it is among the average population.

9 Apr 2018

Ionizing radiation can reduce stiffness of tumor cell microenvironment

Nearly half of all cancer patients receive radiation therapy to curb the growth of malignant cells. But little is known about how ionizing radiation affects the extracellular matrix (ECM), a patchwork of proteins and other biomolecules that surrounds cells and plays a vital role in their shape, movement and signaling functions.

3 Apr 2018

FDA-approved drug for chemical abortion shows promise for treatment of vestibular schwannoma

Massachusetts Eye and Ear researchers have shown that mifepristone, a drug currently FDA-approved for chemical abortion, prevents the growth of vestibular schwannoma cells. This sometimes-lethal intracranial tumor typically causes hearing loss and tinnitus

3 Apr 2018

Adjuvant therapy may not improve survival for rare cancers

A recent study found that adjuvant therapy following surgical removal of a rare form of gastrointestinal tumor has no effect on survival rates for patients.

26 Mar 2018

Adjuvant therapy after surgical removal of rare tumors may not provide survival benefit

Results of an analysis from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine show that additional therapy, or adjuvant therapy, delivered after surgical removal of a rare type of gastrointestinal tumor does not increase survival rates for patients.

26 Mar 2018

Medical students get less formal education in radiation oncology, study finds

Medical school students receive little formal instruction in radiation oncology, a Loyola study has found.

22 Mar 2018

Research provides better understanding of how cancerous cells behave in low oxygen

An international team of researchers found how cancer cells respond to DNA damage signaling when in low oxygen, or hypoxia.

21 Mar 2018

UIH and RaySearch enter into new partnership

Shanghai United Imaging Healthcare Co. Ltd. and RaySearch Laboratories AB have entered into a collaboration within which RaySearch’s treatment planning system RayStation and radiation oncology system RayCare will be adapted to support the UIH linear accelerators.

From RaySearch Laboratories AB 16 Mar 2018

Higher doses of radiation do not translate into longer survival for prostate cancer patients

A new study shows that higher doses of radiation do not improve survival for many patients with prostate cancer, compared with the standard radiation treatment.

15 Mar 2018

Improved methods for capture of circulating tumor cells could help in disease tracking

Tumor cells circulating throughout the body in blood vessels have long been feared as harbingers of metastasizing cancer - even though most free-floating cancer cells will not go on to establish a new tumor.