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.

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

Survival of early stage lung cancer patients improves with advancement in surgery, radiation

With the advancement of surgical and radiation therapy strategies for stage 1 non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), more patients are being treated, resulting in higher survival rates, according to a study published online today in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery.

26 Oct 2017

What men need to know: Prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in men. Next to skin cancers, prostate cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in American men.

25 Oct 2017

Proton beam therapy can help improve outcomes in elderly patients with esophageal cancer

A study led by Mayo Clinic researchers has found that proton beam therapy, in combination with chemotherapy, prior to surgery, may be a better option than a combination using traditional radiation therapy techniques with chemotherapy when treating elderly patients with esophageal cancer.

25 Oct 2017

Yoga can be beneficial to people with lung cancer and their caregivers

In a feasibility trial of people with advanced lung cancer receiving radiation therapy, and their caregivers, yoga was beneficial to both parties. These findings will be presented at the upcoming 2017 Palliative and Supportive Care in Oncology Symposium in San Diego, California.

24 Oct 2017

Proton beam therapy has lower rates of toxicity in pediatric patients with head and neck cancer

Pediatric patients with head and neck cancer can be treated with proton beam therapy (PBT) instead of traditional photon radiation, and it will result in similar outcomes with less impact on quality of life.

23 Oct 2017

So much care it hurts: Unneeded scans, therapy, surgery only add to patients’ ills

When Annie Dennison was diagnosed with breast cancer last year, she readily followed advice from her medical team, agreeing to harsh treatments in the hope of curing her disease.

23 Oct 2017

Factors associated with disparities in breast cancer survival studied

According to a latest study, several factors are responsible for the differences in the survival statistics of the non-elderly women with breast cancer. For example in 2012, the health reports had revealed that black women have a 43% higher risk of death when affected with breast cancer compared to their white counterparts.

16 Oct 2017

New U-M study examines why overtreatment in older breast cancer patients persists

Recent clinical trials have shown that 90 percent of early stage breast cancer patients over age 70 do not benefit from radiation after breast-conserving surgery. And yet, use of radiation in this context has dropped only minimally.

9 Oct 2017

Gene targets for triple negative breast cancers resistant to chemotherapy found

Researchers have finally found the genetic targets that could be used for treatment and development of new drugs in patients who are resistant to chemotherapy. These patients who are resistant to chemotherapy are most likely to have triple negative breast cancer which is the most aggressive form of breast cancer. The study appeared in the latest issue of the journal Cell Metabolism.

4 Oct 2017

New radiotherapy technology reduces treatment times with improved accuracy

Patients at UC San Diego Health in need of radiation therapy now have access to the next generation of radiation treatment technology. The new radiotherapy system significantly reduces treatment times with improved accuracy.

3 Oct 2017

Research findings can lead to new treatment for patients with fatal glandular cancer

A new combination of existing drugs has been shown to block the cancer gene behind a fatal form of glandular cancer, adenoid cystic carcinoma. The findings from the Sahlgrenska Academy can lead to new treatment for patients with this disease relatively soon.

28 Sep 2017

Blood test may predict treatment outcomes for patients with localized NSCLC

A new study demonstrates that a blood test to detect cancer may predict treatment outcomes for patients with localized non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and afford physicians additional lead time to personalize treatment for recurrent disease.

28 Sep 2017

$Hypofractionated breast radiation therapy safe and effective in women under 50, study finds$

Hypofractionated breast radiation therapy safe and effective in women under 50, study finds

A higher-dose, shorter form of radiation is safe, effective, and no more damaging to the breast tissue or skin of breast cancer patients under age 50 than it is in older patients.

25 Sep 2017

Study links distress to missed appointments and hospital admission during cancer therapy

Psychological distress has long been associated with negative health outcomes for cancer patients, though specific reasons remain unclear.

25 Sep 2017

Researchers explore new combination approach to treat high-risk soft-tissue sarcomas

University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers are investigating a new approach to treat high-risk soft-tissue sarcomas by combining two immunotherapy drugs with radiation therapy to stimulate the immune system to destroy the main tumor as well as leftover microscopic cancer cells that may seed other tumors.

20 Sep 2017

BWH researchers identify new rare genetic cause of peritoneal mesothelioma

Mesothelioma is a rare and aggressive tumor that, in many cases, results from exposure to asbestos. But over the last several decades, other causes of the disease have emerged, including treatment with high-intensity therapeutic radiation and, more recently, an inherited genetic mutation.

14 Sep 2017

Arkansas professor makes strides toward developing enhanced cancer treatment

A University of Arkansas at Little Rock professor is making strides toward developing an effective cancer treatment without the severe side effects of traditional therapies.

13 Sep 2017

Genome sequence cannot predict radiation resistance, say researchers

For the last two decades, researchers worldwide have been using whole genome sequencing to understand what makes cells radiation-resistant, hoping to solve an old biological mystery: why is it that one of the most radiation-resistant organisms, Deinococcus radiodurans, aka "Conan the bacterium," can survive hundreds of times more DNA damage caused by gamma rays than most other organisms? According to a study published recently in Standards of Genomic Sciences by researchers at the Uniformed Services University (USU), the amount of radiation a Deinococcus cell can survive in fact has little to do with the number and types of its DNA repair proteins.

11 Sep 2017

Study identifies late effects that may interfere with work status of young adult cancer survivors

Factors that limit the work ability of young adult cancer survivors are reported today at the ESMO 2017 Congress in Madrid.