Radiotherapy News and Research

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Radiation therapy (in North America), or radiotherapy (in the UK and Australia) also called radiation oncology, and sometimes abbreviated to XRT, is the medical use of ionizing radiation as part of cancer treatment to control malignant cells (not to be confused with radiology, the use of radiation in medical imaging and diagnosis).

Patients with early stage MPM may be eligible for aggressive multi-modality therapy

Patients with early stage malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), a cancer that develops in the lining of the lungs, may be eligible for aggressive multi-modality therapy involving surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

16 Mar 2012

Cancer rates to fall among men but slightly rise among women by 2020: Report

The report says that due to the growing and ageing population the actual number of new cases will rise by almost 40 per cent on 2007 levels. But when that's converted to the number of cases per 100,000 people the results are surprising. Cancer rates in men will fall from 595 to 568 cases per 100,000 by 2020. That equates to about 85,000 cases. When it comes to women the rate is projected to rise from 394 to 408 cases per 100,000. That's equivalent to 65,000 new cases in 2020.

11 Mar 2012

Elekta Clarity 3D system transforms prostate radiotherapy at UHG

Soft tissue imaging with 3D ultrasound both at therapy simulation and just before treatment has transformed prostate radiotherapy at University Hospital Galway.

From Elekta 9 Mar 2012

Sosei initiates SO-1105 Phase I trial in oropharyngeal candidiasis

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

8 Mar 2012

Women with breast cancer can benefit from web-based programme

Every day 18 Swedish women are diagnosed with breast cancer. Although there is a real need for support and information, many women struggle and get lost in the deluge of information. In a study of 227 women, researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have developed a web-based programme to guide patients all the way from diagnosis to rehabilitation.

6 Mar 2012

Varian to acquire InfiMed

Varian Medical Systems, Inc., today announced it has reached an agreement to acquire InfiMed, Inc., a privately-owned, leading supplier of workstations including hardware and software for processing diagnostic X-ray images. The acquisition, which is expected to close in early April subject to the satisfaction of certain closing conditions, will operate within Varian's X-Ray Products segment.

5 Mar 2012

Combination of implanted DCs and EBRT effective in creating sarcoma tumor immune response

A team of 18 researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., have found that treating high-risk, soft tissue sarcoma patients with a combination of implanted dendritic cells (immune system cells) and fractionated external beam radiation (EBRT) provided more than 50 percent of their trial patients with tumor-specific immune responses lasting from 11 to 42 weeks.

2 Mar 2012

Cancer cons preying on hope, SBS Dateline

Mexico’s border with America is clustered with clinics providing unusual treatments for cancer - alternatives to conventional medicine that claim to offer a complete cure, even for the terminally ill, in return for tens of thousands of dollars.

1 Mar 2012

New, less toxic radiotherapy technique specifically targets cancerous tissue

Researchers at the University of Granada and the university hospital Virgen de las Nieves in Granada have developed a new radiotherapy technique that is much less toxic than that traditionally used and only targets cancerous tissue.

24 Feb 2012

Accelitech embarks on a proton cancer therapy project

Accelitech LLC, the leader in the development and full-cycle management of technology-driven cancer treatment programs, is pleased to announce its inaugural proton therapy project. The treatment center project, now under development, is the latest in Accelitech's ongoing effort to bring leading treatment technologies to more patients through joint-venture partnerships with physicians and hospitals.

23 Feb 2012

New analysis highlights ongoing scale of tobacco problem among children

Every year around 157,000 children aged 11-15 start smoking - that's enough to fill 5,200 classrooms or make up nearly 14,000 junior football teams. These shocking figures, revealed in a new analysis by Cancer Research UK, highlight the ongoing scale of the tobacco problem, and underline the importance of sustained action to discourage young people from starting to smoke, including by introducing plain packaging for all tobacco products as soon as possible.

22 Feb 2012

Elekta's Fraxion integrates all proven cranial immobilization options in a single solution

The Fraxion head frame helps ensure accuracy and precision in stereotactic radiation therapy (SRT) of cancer targets in the brain and cranium. Elekta's Fraxion is the first to introduce an innovative system that integrates all proven cranial immobilization options in a single solution.

From Elekta 18 Feb 2012

Lung cancer patients with severe COPD can benefit from SBRT

Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) provides better overall survival rates than surgery for lung cancer patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a disease commonly associated with lung cancer, according to a study in the upcoming March issue of the International Journal of Radiation, Oncology, Biology, Physics, the official scientific journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology.

17 Feb 2012

Four new drugs can extend survival and prognosis of prostate cancer

After a decade and a half of near stagnation, four new drugs could help make advanced prostate cancer a chronic illness instead of a terminal disease, a leading Colorado prostate cancer expert says.

17 Feb 2012

Study finds BRCA1 mutations in nearly one in five TN breast cancer patients

Leading breast cancer experts are calling for women under 50 who are diagnosed with triple-negative (TN) breast cancer to be offered testing for faults in the BRCA1 gene, according to a report published in the British Journal of Cancer.

15 Feb 2012

Postoperative radiotherapy does not really help elderly lung cancer patients

A controversial radiation treatment for patients who've had lung cancer surgery may not help elderly people live longer, U.S. researchers have found. Postoperative radiotherapy, or PORT, is thought to cut the chances that a tumor will return. But it can damage the heart and lungs, which might cancel out any potential benefits -- particularly in the elderly.

14 Feb 2012

UT Southwestern installs new system to deliver precise radiation therapy

UT Southwestern Medical Center has installed a new system to deliver extremely precise and individualized radiation treatment, assuring that cancer patients in the region have access to the latest advances in radiation oncology.

14 Feb 2012

Radiation therapy may not benefit many older lung cancer patients

A new study has found that many older lung cancer patients get treatments that may not help them live longer. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the findings suggest that physicians should not routinely use radiation after surgery to treat lung cancer that is advanced but has not widely spread, at least in older patients.

13 Feb 2012

Injecting MWCNTs can kill tumor initiating breast cancer stem cells

Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center researchers have again proven that injecting multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) into tumors and heating them with a quick, 30-second laser treatment can kill them.

10 Feb 2012

IKBKE protein plays two roles in tobacco-related NSCLC

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., have discovered that the immune response regulator IKBKE (serine/threonine kinase) plays two roles in tobacco-related non-small cell lung cancers. Tobacco carcinogens induce IKBKE and, in turn, IKBKE induces chemotherapy resistance.

10 Feb 2012