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.

Breast Cancer Symposium highlights risk and use of radiotherapy, MRI in DCIS patients

New studies exploring breast cancer risk perceptions and use of radiotherapy and MRI for women with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS, a preinvasive form of breast cancer) were highlighted today in a virtual presscast in advance of the 2013 Breast Cancer Symposium.

7 Sep 2013

ARRO recognizes 56 educators with 2013 ARRO Educator of the Year Award

The Association for Residents in Radiation Oncology (ARRO) has recognized 56 educators with the 2013 ARRO Educator of the Year Award.

7 Sep 2013

Use of MRI before or after surgery in women with breast cancer has no benefits

A Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center study shows that the use of MRI before or immediately after surgery in women with DCIS was not associated with reduced local recurrence or contralateral breast cancer rates. The findings are being presented on Saturday, September 7, 2013, at the 2013 Breast Cancer Symposium.

5 Sep 2013

Microencapsulated brain cancer drug may simplify treatment and provide tightly controlled therapy

Consistently uniform, easily manufactured microcapsules containing a brain cancer drug may simplify treatment and provide more tightly controlled therapy, according to Penn State researchers.

4 Sep 2013

Protein activated by inflammation converts glioblastoma multiforme cells to most aggressive form

A prominent protein activated by inflammation is the key instigator that converts glioblastoma multiforme cells to their most aggressive, untreatable form and promotes resistance to radiation therapy, an international team lead by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reported online today in the journal Cancer Cell.

30 Aug 2013

Scanning technique reveals how brain tumor responds to drug administered

A new scanning technique developed by Danish and US researchers reveals how susceptible patients with aggressive brain cancer are to the drugs they receive. The research behind the ground-breaking technique has just been published in Nature Medicine.

26 Aug 2013

Stem cell therapy improves radiation-induced cognitive impairment

Patients receiving cranial irradiation treatment for brain cancer may find the treatment life-saving, but often suffer progressive and debilitating cognitive detriments, including spatial learning and memory deficits. The cognitive deficits are a contributing factor to the often significant adverse impacts on the surviving patients' quality of life after radiation therapy. In an effort to improve post-irradiation cognitive impairment, scientists at the University of California, Irvine, and colleagues at Neuralstem, Inc. (Rockville, MD), have transplanted fetal stem cells into laboratory animals with radiation-induced cognitive impairments and found that this led to a number of cognitive improvements.

23 Aug 2013

Seven researchers to receive grants from ASTRO to advance radiation oncology research

The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has selected seven (7) leading researchers who will receive a total of $675,000 in awards and grants to advance radiation oncology research.

23 Aug 2013

Studies reveal potential of HB-EGF in protecting intestines from diverse types of injury

It's not often that one treatment offers therapeutic potential for multiple conditions. However, after more than two decades of research, Gail Besner, MD, principal investigator for the Center for Perinatal Research and pediatric surgeon for the Department of Pediatric Surgery at Nationwide Children's Hospital, and her team have found that this may just be the case with HB-EGF, or heparin-binding EGF-like growth factor.

21 Aug 2013

GHI research aims to target breast cancer stem-like cells using immunotherapy

New hope is on its way for the fight against breast cancer as Griffith Health Institute research aims to target the disease with immune-based therapies.

16 Aug 2013

Sugar offers noninvasive way to precisely image tumors through new imaging technology

A natural form of sugar could offer a new, noninvasive way to precisely image tumors and potentially see whether cancer medication is effective, by means of a new imaging technology developed at UC San Francisco in collaboration with GE Healthcare.

16 Aug 2013

Oraya Therapy Stereotactic Radiotherapy for treatment of wet AMDs now available at Optegra

Oraya Therapeutics, Inc. announced today that the Oraya Therapy Stereotactic Radiotherapy for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is now available at Optegra Manchester Eye Hospital, becoming the second facility in the UK to provide the therapy.

14 Aug 2013

Proton therapy provides organ-sparing treatment option for children with neuroblastoma

Proton therapy, using high-energy subatomic particles, may offer a precise, organ-sparing treatment option for children with high-risk forms of neuroblastoma. For patients in a new study of advanced radiation treatment, proton therapy spared the liver and kidneys from unwanted radiation, while zeroing in on its target.

14 Aug 2013

PSA screening shows low-grade prostate cancers do not progress to higher grade over time

Prostate cancer aggressiveness may be established when the tumor is formed and not alter with time, according to a study published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

14 Aug 2013

RaySearch Laboratories announces first patient treated with RayStation

RaySearch Laboratories AB announces that the first patient in Australasia has been treated with a treatment plan created with RaySearch's treatment planning system RayStation®. The treatment was carried out at Auckland Radiation Oncology in Auckland, New Zealand.

From Elekta 13 Aug 2013

Researchers suggest neural stem cells may regenerate after anti-cancer treatment

Scientists have long believed that healthy brain cells, once damaged by radiation designed to kill brain tumors, cannot regenerate. But new Johns Hopkins research in mice suggests that neural stem cells, the body's source of new brain cells, are resistant to radiation, and can be roused from a hibernation-like state to reproduce and generate new cells able to migrate, replace injured cells and potentially restore lost function.

13 Aug 2013

Researchers explore potential of neural stem cells to repair brain damage

Scientists have long believed that healthy brain cells, once damaged by radiation designed to kill brain tumors, cannot regenerate. But new Johns Hopkins research in mice suggests that neural stem cells, the body’s source of new brain cells, are resistant to radiation, and can be roused from a hibernation-like state to reproduce and generate new cells able to migrate, replace injured cells and potentially restore lost function.

13 Aug 2013

Carbon ion radiotherapy controls cancer growth, prolongs survival in patients with spinal tumors

A new analysis has found that a type of radiation therapy called carbon ion radiotherapy can control cancer growth and prolong survival in patients with spinal tumors. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study indicates that the treatment is a promising alternative for patients whose spinal tumors cannot be surgically removed.

12 Aug 2013

Standardizing care for penile cancer

Penile cancer is rare, with an average of 1,200 new cases per year in the United States, but it can be debilitating and lethal. Without evidenced-based treatment approaches, outcomes have varied widely. Philippe E. Spiess, M.D., an associate member in the Department of Genitourinary Oncology at Moffitt Cancer Center, presented new National Comprehensive Cancer Network Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology to standardize care for penile cancer in an article that appeared in the July issue of the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.

8 Aug 2013

Study finds cancer survivors do not always have best access to primary care

While cancer survivors require follow-up care to prevent a recurrence of their cancer and to watch for after effects of treatment, they also need the same preventive check-ups suggested for all people.

7 Aug 2013

Radiation Therapy News and Research

Further Reading

Breast Cancer Symposium highlights risk and use of radiotherapy, MRI in DCIS patients

ARRO recognizes 56 educators with 2013 ARRO Educator of the Year Award

Use of MRI before or after surgery in women with breast cancer has no benefits

Microencapsulated brain cancer drug may simplify treatment and provide tightly controlled therapy

Protein activated by inflammation converts glioblastoma multiforme cells to most aggressive form

Scanning technique reveals how brain tumor responds to drug administered

Stem cell therapy improves radiation-induced cognitive impairment

Seven researchers to receive grants from ASTRO to advance radiation oncology research

Studies reveal potential of HB-EGF in protecting intestines from diverse types of injury

GHI research aims to target breast cancer stem-like cells using immunotherapy

Sugar offers noninvasive way to precisely image tumors through new imaging technology

Oraya Therapy Stereotactic Radiotherapy for treatment of wet AMDs now available at Optegra

Proton therapy provides organ-sparing treatment option for children with neuroblastoma

PSA screening shows low-grade prostate cancers do not progress to higher grade over time

RaySearch Laboratories announces first patient treated with RayStation

Researchers suggest neural stem cells may regenerate after anti-cancer treatment

Researchers explore potential of neural stem cells to repair brain damage

Carbon ion radiotherapy controls cancer growth, prolongs survival in patients with spinal tumors

Standardizing care for penile cancer

Study finds cancer survivors do not always have best access to primary care

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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