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.

Gabriel Hortobagyi recognized with AACR-MICR Jane Cooke Wright Lectureship

Gabriel Hortobagyi, M.D., professor in the Department of Breast Medical Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, will receive the Jane Cooke Wright Lectureship from the American Association for Cancer Research and its Minorities in Cancer Research membership group.

12 Apr 2013

CvergenX to develop radiosensitivity test to better radiation therapy decisions for patients with cancer

A molecular signature index technology that can lead to better radiation therapy decisions for patients with cancer is being developed into a reliable radiosensitivity test by CvergenX, Inc., an advanced cancer diagnostics company.

10 Apr 2013

Elekta's Versa HD system accelerates radiation delivery to new levels

Featuring a revolutionary combination of speed and accuracy, Elekta's new Versa HD system will help clinicians at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust (Withington, Manchester) maximize the precision of therapeutic beams on the tumor target, while also accelerating radiation delivery to new levels.

From Elekta 10 Apr 2013

New immunotherapies are seldom developed for childhood cancer

More often than not, cancer immunotherapies that work in adults are used in modified ways in children. Seldom are new therapies developed just for children, primarily because of the small number of pediatric patients relative to the adult cancer patient population.

9 Apr 2013

Patients exposed to chest radiation are more likely to die after heart surgery

Patients who have open heart surgery for heart disease caused by radiation cancer treatment are nearly twice as likely to die in the years following their surgery compared to similar patients who did not undergo radiation treatment, according to new research from Cleveland Clinic published today in the American Heart Association journal Circulation.

9 Apr 2013

New form of radiation cancer therapy with no harmful side-effects

Cancer painfully ends more than 500,000 lives in the United States each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The scientific crusade against cancer recently achieved a victory under the leadership of University of Missouri Curators' Professor M. Frederick Hawthorne.

4 Apr 2013

Doctors give new hope for leukemia patients

Leukemia patients receive a bone marrow transplant, which allows them to build a "new" immune system. However, this immune system not only attacks cancer cells but healthy tissue too.

3 Apr 2013

Neurological researchers study promising new treatment for deadly brain tumors

A promising new treatment for deadly brain tumors taken orally with minimal side effects is being studied by neurological researchers at Rush University Medical Center, Chicago.

28 Mar 2013

FDA clears Soligenix's IND application for SGX942 for treatment of oral mucositis

Soligenix, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, announced today that the Food and Drug Administration has completed its review and cleared the Investigational New Drug application for SGX942 for the treatment of oral mucositis resulting from radiation and/or chemotherapy treatment in head and neck cancer patients.

27 Mar 2013

Cancer patients to get benefit from Elekta's Versa HD system at Hôpital Riviera's radiotherapy clinic

Cancer patients referred to Hôpital Riviera's (Vevey, Switzerland) new radiotherapy clinic will soon benefit from the center's acquisition of Elekta's advanced new linear accelerator, Versa HD.

From Elekta 27 Mar 2013

CPF and PFF to partner with ATS to fund pulmonary fibrosis research

The Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis, the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation, and the American Thoracic Society-the world's leading professional organization for pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine-today announced that the CPF and the PFF will again partner with the ATS to fund pulmonary fibrosis research.

21 Mar 2013

New research provides better understanding of preserving brain's functions while killing cancer

New research from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center is giving radiation oncologists who treat brain tumors a better understanding of how to preserve the brain's functions while still killing cancer.

21 Mar 2013

Surgery better than radiotherapy for treatment of localised prostate cancer

Surgery offers better survival benefit for men with localised prostate cancer, according to a large observational study, conducted by a group of researchers in Sweden and the Netherlands.

16 Mar 2013

Research roundup: Nurse education and post-surgery mortality; The influence of publicly reported quality-of-care measures

Each week, KHN reporter Alvin Tran compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.

16 Mar 2013

Breast cancer patients treated with low doses of radiation therapy face high risk of heart disease

A new report that breast cancer patients treated with low doses of radiation therapy have a heightened risk of heart disease suggests that physicians need to work with patients before, during, and after treatment to minimize that risk, according to an accompanying editorial in the March 14 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

14 Mar 2013

Study reveals impact of physician financial incentives and highlights importance of patient education

According to a new study by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, prostate cancer patients of urologists who own expensive radiation equipment are more likely to receive radiation treatment in lieu of surgery than patients treated by urologists without an ownership stake in the equipment.

13 Mar 2013

Nearly two-thirds of women with ovarian cancer do not receive guideline-adherent care

Women are 30 percent less likely to die of ovarian cancer if they have guideline-recommended treatment, yet nearly two-thirds of those with the disease do not receive it, often because they are cared for at hospitals that treat a small number of ovarian cancer patients.

12 Mar 2013

Sosei commences SO-1105 Phase III trial in oropharyngeal candidiasis

Sosei Group Corporation, the biopharmaceutical company, today announces that its Japanese subsidiary, Sosei Co., Ltd., has initiated a Phase III trial for SO-1105 for the treatment of oropharyngeal candidiasis.

12 Mar 2013

IP chemotherapy increases survival in patients with advanced ovarian cancer

Patients with advanced ovarian cancer who undergo intensive treatment with chemotherapy that bathes the abdomen are significantly more likely to live longer than those who receive standard intravenous (IV) chemotherapy, according to a study that analyzed long-term follow-up from two landmark Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) trials comprising 876 patients.

11 Mar 2013

SGO's 44th Annual Meeting on Women's Cancer to be held in Los Angeles

Ovarian cancer treatment, health care reform, the impact of obesity on gynecologic health and the delivery of high quality gynecologic cancer care highlight the Society of Gynecologic Oncology's (SGO) 44th Annual Meeting on Women's Cancer March 9-12 in Los Angeles.

6 Mar 2013