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.

National initiative helps reduce missed radiation appointments for cancer patients

A national quality improvement program led by the American College of Surgeons (ACS) found that transportation barriers and illness are among the top reasons cancer patients miss critical radiation therapy appointments - and that providing hospitals and patients with structured support can reduce missed appointments by up to 40%.

11 Nov 2025

Nanoparticle vaccine eliminates HPV-induced tumors in animal model

A nanoparticle vaccine designed to fight cancers induced by human papillomavirus (HPV) eradicated tumors in an animal model of late-stage metastatic disease, UT Southwestern Medical Center scientists report in a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

11 Nov 2025

Uppsala researchers develop Trojan horse approach for medulloblastoma treatment

The malignant pediatric brain tumor medulloblastoma is driven by proteins deep within the cancer cells, for which there are often no effective drugs available.

10 Nov 2025

Study finds incarcerated people receive lower quality cancer care

In the United States, the incarcerated population is aging. About 15% of incarcerated adults, or approximately 175,000 people, are now 55 years or older.

5 Nov 2025

New analysis identifies safer treatment paths for children with medulloblastoma

By analyzing data from three clinical trials treating children with the brain tumor medulloblastoma, scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have designed an approach to safely reduce therapy, thereby lowering side effects.

5 Nov 2025

Research identifies biomarkers in blood to fine-tune breast cancer interventions

Doctors may be able to spare patients unnecessarily aggressive breast cancer treatments by collecting and testing cancer cells in patients' blood, research from the University of Michigan and the University of Kansas suggests.

30 Oct 2025

Breakthrough combo therapy lowers death risk in recurrent prostate cancer

Men whose prostate cancer returns after surgery or radiation therapy may now benefit from a new drug combination shown in clinical trials to cut the risk of death by more than 40%.

23 Oct 2025

New approach protects the brain from radiation-induced cognitive decline

While tremendous relief comes from successfully battling cancer, survivors can also experience cognitive impairments caused by the disease and its treatment.

14 Oct 2025

Quitting smoking after cancer diagnosis sharply improves survival, study finds

Postdiagnosis smoking cessation was linked to significantly longer overall survival among cancer patients across all stages, based on real-world electronic health record data. Despite clear survival benefits, only one in five smokers quit within six months of diagnosis, highlighting missed opportunities for intervention.

13 Oct 2025

Proton therapy dose escalation may improve outcomes for glioblastoma patients

Previously, results from the photon cohort of the NRG-BN001, a signal seeking Phase II randomized trial, indicated that photon radiation dose intensification (75 Gy) did not demonstrate improvement in overall survival (OS) for patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma (GBM).

30 Sep 2025

Stereotactic radiotherapy offers long-term survival outcomes comparable to surgery for NSCLC patients

A new clinical trial report finds that stereotactic radiation therapy offers long-term survival outcomes comparable to surgery for patients with small, early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Patients in the study who received radiation also reported fewer side effects after treatment.

30 Sep 2025

Proton therapy offers no significant QOL advantage over photon therapy for breast cancer

The first randomized trial to compare photon- and proton-based radiation therapy for breast cancer finds that patients report equally strong health-related quality of life with either treatment. Patients who received proton therapy were more likely to say they would recommend or choose it again, but overall patient-reported outcomes were similar.

30 Sep 2025

Radiation therapy shows promise as safer alternative for severe heart rhythm disorder

Radiation therapy may offer a comparable and potentially safer alternative to repeat catheter ablation for patients with severe abnormal heart rhythms that can no longer be controlled with medication.

29 Sep 2025

Five-session SBRT reduces side effects in intermediate-risk prostate cancer

For patients with intermediate-risk, localized prostate cancer, radiation therapy delivered in five sessions reduced patient-reported side effects compared to longer courses of radiation, according to results of a large, randomized phase III trial.

29 Sep 2025

Post-operative radiation therapy reduces pelvic relapse in high-risk bladder cancer

Radiation therapy could be an underused tool to reduce pelvic relapse risk for patients with locally advanced, muscle-invasive bladder cancer, according to results of a new phase III randomized trial.

29 Sep 2025

Proton therapy and IMRT show similar outcomes in head and neck cancer trial

A new phase III clinical trial finds that intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and proton beam therapy resulted in similar quality-of-life outcomes and low rates of side effects for people with locally advanced oropharyngeal cancer.

29 Sep 2025

Gene expression test identifies prostate cancer patients who benefit from hormone therapy

A new randomized study finds that a lab test that reads tumor genes can identify which patients with recurrent prostate cancer will benefit from adding hormone therapy to radiation after surgery - the first predictive biomarker in this setting.

29 Sep 2025

Combining radiopharmaceuticals with targeted radiation improves progression-free survival in prostate cancer patients

A new clinical trial finds that people with a limited number of metastases from recurrent prostate cancer lived significantly longer without disease progression when they received a radiopharmaceutical drug before targeted radiation, compared with radiation alone.

29 Sep 2025

Low-dose radiation therapy may be a suitable option for people with painful knee osteoarthritis

A single course of low-dose radiation therapy may provide a safe and effective alternative treatment option for people with painful knee osteoarthritis according to a new randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial.

29 Sep 2025

UCLA presents advances in radiation therapy at ASTRO 2025

Physicians and scientists from the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center will share the latest research and clinical trial results at the 2025 American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Annual Meeting, including studies on targeted radioactive therapy for recurrent prostate cancer, new approaches to stereotactic body radiation for prostate and head and neck cancers, advances in MRI- and 5DCT-guided imaging for more precise treatments, and innovations in patient-focused cancer education.

26 Sep 2025

Radiation Therapy News and Research

Further Reading

National initiative helps reduce missed radiation appointments for cancer patients

Nanoparticle vaccine eliminates HPV-induced tumors in animal model

Uppsala researchers develop Trojan horse approach for medulloblastoma treatment

Study finds incarcerated people receive lower quality cancer care

New analysis identifies safer treatment paths for children with medulloblastoma

Research identifies biomarkers in blood to fine-tune breast cancer interventions

Breakthrough combo therapy lowers death risk in recurrent prostate cancer

New approach protects the brain from radiation-induced cognitive decline

Quitting smoking after cancer diagnosis sharply improves survival, study finds

Proton therapy dose escalation may improve outcomes for glioblastoma patients

Stereotactic radiotherapy offers long-term survival outcomes comparable to surgery for NSCLC patients

Proton therapy offers no significant QOL advantage over photon therapy for breast cancer

Radiation therapy shows promise as safer alternative for severe heart rhythm disorder

Five-session SBRT reduces side effects in intermediate-risk prostate cancer

Post-operative radiation therapy reduces pelvic relapse in high-risk bladder cancer

Proton therapy and IMRT show similar outcomes in head and neck cancer trial

Gene expression test identifies prostate cancer patients who benefit from hormone therapy

Combining radiopharmaceuticals with targeted radiation improves progression-free survival in prostate cancer patients

Low-dose radiation therapy may be a suitable option for people with painful knee osteoarthritis

UCLA presents advances in radiation therapy at ASTRO 2025

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