Oncology News and Research

RSS

Oncology, meaning bulk, mass, or tumor, and the suffix ''-logy'', meaning "study of") is a branch of medicine that deals with tumors (cancer). A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''.

Positioning pelvic cancer patients on stomachs for radiation yields better results

Oregon Health & Science University Cancer Institute researchers have found that positioning pelvic cancer patients on their stomachs rather than their backs is a better method for delivering radiation therapy.

28 Oct 2007

PET scans track small tumors after stereotactic body radiotherapy

Readily available CT screening for lung cancer is increasing the discovery of small, primary lung cancers.

28 Oct 2007

Patient navigators help minority, low-income cancer patients get life-saving treatments

Volunteers who guide low-income and minority cancer patients through cancer treatment, called lay patient navigators (LPN), help them to overcome major obstacles that prevent them from receiving quality care and achieving better outcomes, according to a study presented October 28, 2007, at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology's 49th Annual Meeting in Los Angeles.

28 Oct 2007

Surgery, radiation gives early survival advantage in bile duct cancer

Oregon Health & Science University researchers are reporting the discovery of an early survival advantage when a combination of surgery and radiation therapy is used for patients with a rare but deadly bile duct cancer.

28 Oct 2007

Advancement in radiation oncology treatment called IMRT improves care, avoids healthy tissue

New advancements in a radiation oncology treatment called IMRT (intensity modulated radiation therapy) are proving far superior to standard radiation procedures used today in safeguarding the healthy tissues surrounding cancerous tumors, and thus improving patient care.

28 Oct 2007

Intravenous gene therapy protects normal tissue of mice during whole-body radiation

Gene therapy administered intravenously could be an effective agent to protect vital organs and tissues from the effects of ionizing radiation in the event of large-scale exposure from a radiological or nuclear bomb, according to an animal study presented today by University of Pittsburgh researchers at the 49th annual meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) in Los Angeles.

28 Oct 2007

Integrated approach to IMRT provides quality care for head and neck cancer patients

Results from a University of Pittsburgh study demonstrate that intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) for head and neck cancer can be uniformly delivered in a large health care system of academic and community cancer centers through a centralized planning and treatment process.

28 Oct 2007

Education program leads to lasting improvement of cancer knowledge in African Americans

Disparities in access to health care and education hinder minorities and socioeconomically disadvantaged populations from receiving needed cancer services and often lead to delayed cancer diagnoses.

28 Oct 2007

Cancer patients not getting live-saving flu and pneumonia shots

Although flu and pneumonia can be lethal for cancer patients, more than one quarter of patients undergoing radiation therapy are not complying with national guidelines to be vaccinated against these potentially life-threatening yet preventable illnesses, according to a study presented October 28, 2007, at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology's 49th Annual Meeting in Los Angeles.

28 Oct 2007

Potential early warning system for lung cancer identified

The British Midlands Development Corporation announced that new research from The University of Nottingham has pinpointed a potential early warning system for lung cancer.

25 Oct 2007

Medical College of Wisconsin receives grant to study infantile hemangiomas

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has awarded the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee a three-year, $1 million Orphan Products Development grant to study infantile hemangiomas – a vascular tumor of the skin or internal organs.

25 Oct 2007

Combination targets offer new hope in fight against cancer

While some targeted therapies - drugs developed to attack specific molecules in the critical chemical pathways occurring within cancer cells - work well by themselves, increasingly researchers are finding that they work better when teamed with other targeted and conventional therapies.

24 Oct 2007

Child health psychologists need to promote adult disease prevention

Many of the lifestyle habits that children and adolescents develop -- eating a diet high in fat and low in fruits and vegetables, being physically inactive or sedentary, and experimenting with tobacco and alcohol use -- can have a major impact on their health later in life.

24 Oct 2007

75% of hospital patients suffer from malnutrition regardless of their pathology

A study of 817 patients conducted in the Department of Nutrition and Bromatology at the University of Granada (UGR), in collaboration with the Unit of Nutrition and Dietetics at the hospital Virgen de las Nieves (Granada, Spain) of 817 patients, showed that 75% of hospitalised patients suffer from malnutrition regardless of their pathology.

24 Oct 2007