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.

Researchers discover inherited genetic variations associated with treatment-related hearing loss

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators have discovered inherited genetic variations that are associated with rapid hearing loss in young cancer patients treated with the drug cisplatin. The research appears in the current online issue of the scientific journal Nature Genetics.

10 Feb 2015

Only 65% of breast cancer patients who undergo mastectomy receive postmastectomy radiation therapy

Breast cancer patients who undergo a mastectomy should receive subsequent radiation treatment if their cancer has spread to four or more nearby lymph nodes, however, according to a new study, only 65 percent of these women are getting the recommended postmastectomy radiation therapy (PMRT).

10 Feb 2015

Prostate cancer patients with detectable post-operative PSA should receive more aggressive treatment

Prostate cancer patients with detectable prostate specific antigen (PSA) following radical prostatectomy should receive earlier, more aggressive radiation therapy treatment, according to a study published in the February 1, 2015 issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology * Biology * Physics (Red Journal), the official scientific journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology.

6 Feb 2015

ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group opens clinical trial for women with newly diagnosed DCIS

In direct response to recommendations made by a National Institutes of Health scientific consensus panel, the ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group announced today the opening of E4112, a clinical trial for women with newly diagnosed ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) of the breast who, together with their doctors, will use the results of a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exam to determine whether to undergo a lumpectomy or a mastectomy.

6 Feb 2015

Johns Hopkins researchers successfully deliver new nanoparticle gene therapy to treat glioma in rats

Despite improvements in the past few decades with surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy, a predictably curative treatment for glioma does not yet exist. New insights into specific gene mutations that arise in this often deadly form of brain cancer have pointed to the potential of gene therapy, but it's very difficult to effectively deliver toxic or missing genes to cancer cells in the brain.

5 Feb 2015

Research: New molecule safeguards heart from toxic breast cancer drugs, kills cancerous tumour

A new molecule has been found that protects the heart from toxic breast cancer drugs and also kills the cancerous tumour. The research from Italy addresses the burgeoning problem of heart disease in cancer survivors and is announced by the European Society of Cardiology today on World Cancer Day.

4 Feb 2015

New study identifies three genes that enable glioblastoma to recur, progress after radiation therapy

A new study identifies three genes that together enable a lethal form of brain cancer to recur and progress after radiation therapy.

4 Feb 2015

Clusters of gene-blocking microRNAs can limit spread of cancer

Cancers that have spread throughout the body, a process known as metastasis, are difficult, often impossible, to control. They are the leading cause of cancer-related deaths.

4 Feb 2015

NQMBC recognizes Cancer Treatment Centers of America for providing quality breast cancer care

Cancer Treatment Centers of America at Midwestern Regional Medical Center has been recognized by the National Quality Measures for Breast Centers Program as being among the top centers in the country for providing quality breast cancer care.

3 Feb 2015

Mathematical models of cancer behavior offer new insights on tumor growth

Hassan Fathallah-Shaykh, M.D., Ph.D., believes that math can transform medicine, and he has the numbers to prove it.

2 Feb 2015

Jersey Coast Vascular Institute, Meridian Health partner to accept a wide range of insurances

Improving access to care is an important focus at Meridian Health, and a new partnership with Jersey Coast Vascular Institute is making high quality vascular services more readily available for local residents.

2 Feb 2015

CHLA researchers develop new protein-based therapy against drug-resistant leukemia cells

Resistance of leukemia cells to contemporary chemotherapy is one of the most formidable obstacles to treating acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common form of childhood cancer. Now researchers at Children's Hospital Los Angeles have designed and developed a new protein-based therapy they believe will prove highly effective against drug-resistant leukemia cells.

27 Jan 2015

Altered AHNAK gene may open door to improved treatment for keloid scars

Researchers at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit have identified a gene that may offer a better understanding of how keloid scars develop and potentially open the door to improved treatment for the often painful, itchy and tender scars.

23 Jan 2015

Elekta updates latest R&D work with special focus on high field MRI-guided radiation therapy

Elekta updated the market this morning on its latest research and development initiatives, with special focus on Atlantic, the first generation high field MRI-guided radiation therapy system. The company unveiled plans to introduce this game-changing technology in 2017 and deliver the first systems in 2018.

From Elekta 22 Jan 2015

Elekta helps new Australian cancer center make seamless transition to MOSAIQ OIS

As part of consolidating the cancer care of four Western Australian public services into a single, multi-disciplinary facility, the clinics will transition from their existing oncology information systems (OIS) to Elekta's MOSAIQ OIS.

From Elekta 19 Jan 2015

BMG Pharma S.R.L Grants The Exclusive Distribution Rights For Gelx® Oral Gel And Gelx® Spray For The Treatment Of Oral Mucositis In Cancer Patients To FERRER INTERNACIONAL S.A.

BMG Pharma S.r.l. today is pleased to announce that it has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with FERRER INTERNACIONAL S.A., granting them the rights to promote, sell and market its own product GelX for the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Russia and North Africa.

19 Jan 2015

ArborMetrix's RegistryMetrix analytics platform selected for UNC's urology department

ArborMetrix, Inc., a leading provider of cloud-based healthcare analytics solutions, today announced that the Urology Department of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine is using its cloud-based RegistryMetrix analytics platform.

15 Jan 2015

Palmetto GBA issues positive coverage policy for GenomeDx's Decipher prostate cancer test

GenomeDx Biosciences today announced that Palmetto GBA, a national contractor that administers Medicare benefits, has issued a positive coverage policy through the MolDX Program for the company's Decipher prostate cancer classifier.

15 Jan 2015

Two medical organizations recommend use of HPV test for cervical cancer screening

Two leading medical organizations say that using a Human papillomavirus (HPV) test alone for cervical cancer screening is an effective alternative to the current recommendation for screening with either cytology (the Pap test) alone or co-testing with cytology and HPV testing.

12 Jan 2015

Survey shows radiation oncologists desire for more formal guidance to improve peer review process

Peer review is a common practice in medicine to support the complementary, multidisciplinary team approach in healthcare. A 2013 survey of radiation oncologists indicates that they would like more formal recommendations and guidance in order to improve the peer review process, according to a study published in the January-February 2015 issue of Practical Radiation Oncology, the clinical practice journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology.

8 Jan 2015

Radiation Therapy News and Research

Further Reading

Researchers discover inherited genetic variations associated with treatment-related hearing loss

Only 65% of breast cancer patients who undergo mastectomy receive postmastectomy radiation therapy

Prostate cancer patients with detectable post-operative PSA should receive more aggressive treatment

ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group opens clinical trial for women with newly diagnosed DCIS

Johns Hopkins researchers successfully deliver new nanoparticle gene therapy to treat glioma in rats

Research: New molecule safeguards heart from toxic breast cancer drugs, kills cancerous tumour

New study identifies three genes that enable glioblastoma to recur, progress after radiation therapy

Clusters of gene-blocking microRNAs can limit spread of cancer

NQMBC recognizes Cancer Treatment Centers of America for providing quality breast cancer care

Mathematical models of cancer behavior offer new insights on tumor growth

Jersey Coast Vascular Institute, Meridian Health partner to accept a wide range of insurances

CHLA researchers develop new protein-based therapy against drug-resistant leukemia cells

Altered AHNAK gene may open door to improved treatment for keloid scars

Elekta updates latest R&D work with special focus on high field MRI-guided radiation therapy

Elekta helps new Australian cancer center make seamless transition to MOSAIQ OIS

BMG Pharma S.R.L Grants The Exclusive Distribution Rights For Gelx® Oral Gel And Gelx® Spray For The Treatment Of Oral Mucositis In Cancer Patients To FERRER INTERNACIONAL S.A.

ArborMetrix's RegistryMetrix analytics platform selected for UNC's urology department

Palmetto GBA issues positive coverage policy for GenomeDx's Decipher prostate cancer test

Two medical organizations recommend use of HPV test for cervical cancer screening

Survey shows radiation oncologists desire for more formal guidance to improve peer review process

Industry Focus eBook - Cell & Gene Therapy (1st Edition) eBook

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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