Brachytherapy News and Research

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Brachytherapy is a minimally invasive procedure that involves the use of radioactive seeds the size of rice grains. Brachytherapy, an out-patient procedure, usually takes 45 minutes to an hour to perform. Most patients can return to their normal activities within days. The success rates of prostate brachytherapy have compared favorably with success rates of radical prostatectomy and external beam radiation. In comparison studies, prostate brachytherapy has shown to have a favorable side effect profile when compared with other modalities. Clinical studies have shown that prostate brachytherapy has a cure rate of 94% for appropriately selected patients.

Advanced prostate cancer therapies: an interview with Dr. Nancy Dawson, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center

The prostate gland produces part of the seminal fluid that protects sperm. It is located in front of the rectum and under the bladder, and surrounds the urethra, the tube through which urine flows from the bladder to and out of the penis.

6 Nov 2013

Financial interests ‘driving IMRT uptake for prostate cancer’

A study suggests that the recent rapid uptake of intensity-modulated radiotherapy for prostate cancer in the USA has been driven by urologists with financial conflicts of interest.

5 Nov 2013

Nanomedicine Award winners officially announced at BIO-Europe conference

The winners of the first ever Nanomedicine Award were officially announced during the Nanomedicine Panel at BIO-Europe conference in Vienna, November 4th 2013. The Award review Board agreed to distinguish two projects in two different categories: The winners are Endomagnetics Ltd in the nanodiagnostic category and the I-CARE project from Linköping University in the regenerative medicine category.

4 Nov 2013

Men treated by self-referring urologists more likely to undergo unnecessary IMRT

A comprehensive review of Medicare claims for more than 45,000 patients from 2005 through 2010 found that nearly all of the 146 percent increase in intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) for prostate cancer among urologists with an ownership interest in the treatment was due to self-referral, according to new research, "Urologists' Use of Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy for Prostate Cancer," released today in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) for its October 24, 2013 issue.

25 Oct 2013

Use of IMRT for prostate cancer doubles when self-referral's financial incentives involved

A comprehensive review of Medicare claims for more than 45,000 patients from 2005 through 2010 found that nearly all of the 146 percent increase in intensity-modulated radiation therapy for prostate cancer among urologists with an ownership interest in the treatment was due to self-referral, according to new research, "Urologists' Use of Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy for Prostate Cancer," released today in The New England Journal of Medicine for its October 24, 2013 issue.

25 Oct 2013

HM Hospitales expects to treat first patients with Elekta's Versa HD system in 2015

HM Hospitales, a private hospital group in Spain, anticipates treating its first patients with Elekta's Versa HD™ system in 2015. Versa HD, to be sited in the group's sixth hospital, is an advanced radiation treatment system designed to enhance the management of cancer care and treat a broad spectrum of tumors throughout the body.

From Elekta 24 Oct 2013

Esteya system for high precision skin cancer treatment gets FDA clearance

Esteya, an electronic brachytherapy system, has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, enabling medical centers in the United States to offer their patients with skin cancer a new treatment option.

From Elekta 2 Oct 2013

Cisplatin plus radiotherapy and HDRB proves beneficial in stage IIIB cervical cancer

Adding the chemotherapy drug cisplatin to a treatment plan of radiation therapy (RT) and high-dose-rate brachytherapy (HDRB) for stage IIIB cervical cancer is beneficial, according to research presented today at the American Society for Radiation Oncology's (ASTRO's) 55th Annual Meeting.

24 Sep 2013

Elekta gets CE Mark approval for Clarity 4D Monitoring system

Elekta has received CE marking for its Clarity 4D Monitoring system permitting European clinics to implement this new way of reducing the uncertainty caused by prostate motion during radiation treatment. Physicians will be able to monitor the motion of the prostate with sub millimeter accuracy during the delivery of therapeutic radiation beams.

From Elekta 19 Jul 2013

Men with low-risk prostate cancers can choose watchful waiting for better quality of life, study says

Many men with low-risk, localized prostate cancers can safely choose active surveillance or "watchful waiting" instead of undergoing immediate treatment and have better quality of life while reducing health care costs, according to a study by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Massachusetts General Hospital.

18 Jun 2013

Researchers to receive ASTRO Gold Medal for outstanding contributions to the field of radiation oncology

The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) will award Amato J. Giaccia, PhD, Radhe Mohan, PhD, FASTRO, and Prabhakar Tripuraneni, MD, FASTRO, with the Society's highest honor—the ASTRO Gold Medal. The 2013 awardees will receive the ASTRO Gold Medal during the Awards Ceremony on Tuesday, September 24, at ASTRO's 55th Annual Meeting, September 22-25, 2013, at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.

5 Jun 2013

St James's Institute of Oncology orders two Versa HD systems to improve patient care

St James's Institute of Oncology, a leading radiotherapy center in the UK, recently ordered two Versa HD™ systems, an advanced linear accelerator designed to improve patient care and treat a wide range of tumors throughout the body.

From Elekta 28 May 2013

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre signs research agreement to evaluate MRI-guided radiation therapy

Elekta and Royal Philips Electronics announced today that Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre (Toronto, Canada) will join their growing consortium to validate the clinical potential of MRI-guided radiation therapy.

From Elekta 10 May 2013

NKI-AVL joins research consortium to develop MRI-guided radiation therapy system for cancer care

Elekta and Royal Philips Electronics announced today that The Netherlands Cancer Institute-Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital has signed an agreement to join a research group to advance the development of ground-breaking image-guided treatment technology for cancer care.

From Elekta 23 Apr 2013

Study: Image-guided brachytherapy prevents growth of cervical tumour in over 90% of patients

Two large, landmark radiotherapy studies have shown that it is possible to treat cervical cancer effectively with high doses specifically adapted to each tumour, and with fewer serious side-effects to the surrounding normal organs.

22 Apr 2013

Study shows brachytherapy is underused in the UK

Better outcomes can be achieved for prostate cancer patients using brachytherapy, a highly targeted form of radiotherapy, compared to surgery - this is the finding of a new study conducted by PANAXEA, The University of Twente, Netherlands.

From Elekta 22 Apr 2013

Newly redesigned Flexitron brachytherapy afterloading platform to be introduced at ABS meeting

At the 2013 American Brachytherapy Society meeting April 18-20 in New Orleans, Nucletron, an Elekta company, (booth #300), will introduce its newly redesigned Flexitron remote afterloading platform.

From Elekta 19 Apr 2013

MD Anderson Cancer Center buys two Elekta Versa HD linear accelerators

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (Houston, Texas) has purchased two Elekta Versa HD™ linear accelerators. The radiation therapy system, which recently received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, features the versatility to deliver high-volume conventional techniques, in addition to the most advanced linear-accelerator treatments that require the greatest targeting precision.

From Elekta 18 Apr 2013

FDA clears Elekta's Versa HD radiation therapy system

Elekta recently received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), allowing the company to begin shipping and installation of all components of the Versa HD™ system within the United States. Featuring high precision beam shaping and tumor targeting, and capable of delivering radiation doses three times faster than previous Elekta linear accelerators, Versa HD sets a higher benchmark for cancer treatment.

From Elekta 12 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