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.

Peregrine Pharmaceuticals' bavituximab PS-targeting antibody demonstrates potent anti-tumor activity

Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that a newly published study shows that a phosphatidylserine (PS)-targeting antibody similar to the company's lead product candidate bavituximab demonstrated potent anti-tumor activity when combined with radiation in a model of aggressive brain cancer, doubling the survival time of test animals and producing long-term cures.

11 Nov 2009

SAVI reaches a major milestone in breast brachytherapy

This month marks three years since physicians began offering SAVI™ radiation treatment as part of breast conservation therapy for early-stage breast cancer – a major milestone in breast brachytherapy.

10 Nov 2009

St. Jude collaborates with UF Proton Therapy Institute to commence proton therapy clinical study

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the University of Florida Proton Therapy Institute have formed a collaboration to provide proton therapy for St. Jude patients. The announcement follows the approval of the first clinical study to evaluate the use of proton therapy for rare brain cancers in children younger than 3 years old.

10 Nov 2009

Landauer announces GPS acquisition

Landauer, Inc. (NYSE: LDR), a recognized leader in personal and environmental radiation monitoring services, today announced the completion of two acquisitions in accordance with its long-term strategic priorities.

10 Nov 2009

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital patients to receive proton therapy at the UF Proton Therapy Institute

9 Nov 2009

PET scanning emerges as an important tool in the evaluation of lung cancer

A rapid decline in metabolic activity on a PET scan after radiation therapy for non-small cell lung cancer is correlated with good local tumor control, according to a study presented by researchers at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital at the 51st ASTRO Annual Meeting.

7 Nov 2009

American Shared Hospital Services reports financial results for the third quarter of 2009

AMERICAN SHARED HOSPITAL SERVICES, a leading provider of turnkey technology solutions for advanced radiosurgical and radiation therapy services, today announced financial results for the third quarter and first nine months of 2009.

5 Nov 2009

Study suggests three-week course of radiation therapy effective for breast cancer patients

According to a study presented November 4, 2009, at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), a shortened, more intensive course of radiation given to the whole breast, along with an extra dose of radiation given to the surgical bed of the tumor (concomitant boost), has been shown to result in excellent local control at a median follow up of two years after treatment with no significant side effects.

5 Nov 2009

Short, intensive radiation therapy offers similar results as conventional therapy for early stage-breast cancers

5 Nov 2009

Cancer patients want strong relationship with their radiation oncologist

What do patients want from their radiation oncologists? The most significant preference is that more than one-third of female cancer patients (37 percent) prefer to have their hands held by their radiation oncologists during important office visits, compared to 12 percent of men, according to a randomized study presented November 4, 2009, at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

4 Nov 2009

Combination therapy before prostate removal may prevent recurrence of cancer

Researchers in the Oregon Health & Science University Knight Cancer Institute and the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center have found a combination of radiation therapy and chemotherapy given before prostate removal is safe and may have the potential to reduce cancer recurrence and improve patient survival.

4 Nov 2009

Non-small cell lung cancer patients who undergo PCI decrease their risk of developing brain metastases

Patients with non-small cell lung cancer treated with preventative brain radiation (called prophylactic cranial irradiation or PCI), significantly decrease their risk of developing brain metastases (cancer spread in the brain) by more than 50 percent (from 18 percent to 8 percent), compared to those who did not receive the treatment, according to a randomized study presented at the plenary session November 2, 2009, at the 51st Annual Meeting of American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

4 Nov 2009

Patients who have an undetectable level of PSA after therapy have good chance of being cured

Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers report that radiation therapy alone can reduce prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels below detectable amounts in prostate cancer patients. Patients who have an undetectable level of PSA after therapy have less chance of biochemical failure than other patients and a good chance of being cured.

4 Nov 2009

Obese lung cancer patients with diabeties more likely to develop chest wall pain after receiving stereotactic body radiation therapy

Obesity, not the amount of radiation given, is the greatest factor in whether early-stage lung cancer patients develop chest wall pain after receiving stereotactic body radiation therapy to the chest wall, with obese patients being more than twice as likely to develop chronic pain compared to those who have less body weight, according to a first-of-its-kind study presented Tuesday, November 3, 2009, at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

4 Nov 2009

HER2-positive breast cancer patients can be treated with Trastuzumab and adjuvant radiation therapy

Standard adjuvant treatment for HER2-positive breast cancer patients, following primary surgery for their cancer, is Trastuzumab (Herceptin)--typically used in combination with chemotherapy.

4 Nov 2009

Combination of high-dose radiotherapy and chemotherapy shows encouraging results in treating LSCL

Treating limited stage small cell lung cancer(LSCL) with a combination of accelerated high-dose radiotherapy and chemotherapy has shown encouraging results, opening the door to larger scale investigation, according to new research from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

4 Nov 2009

Radiation treatment as effective and as safe in reducing the risk of prostate cancer from returning

A shorter, five-week course of radiation treatment that delivers higher doses of radiation in fewer sessions, known as hypofractionation, appears to be just as effective and as safe in reducing the risk of prostate cancer from returning as standard radiation therapy, yet is delivered in two-and-a-half weeks less time, according to interim results of a randomized study presented November 4, 2009, at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

4 Nov 2009

Advanced equipment targets radiation to specific areas in the brain

Radiation oncologists at Rush University Medical Center are intent on finding ways to avoid damage to the critically important hippocampus and limbic circuit of the brain when cranial radiation is required to treat existing or potential metastatic cancers.

4 Nov 2009

Stereotactic radiosurgery effectively controls pain in patients with cancer

Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), a radiation therapy procedure pioneered at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) that precisely delivers a large dose of radiation to tumors, effectively controls pain in patients with cancer that has spread to the spine, according to researchers from UPCI.

4 Nov 2009

PET imaging is not the basis for increasing dosage level

Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of non-small cell lung cancer prior to receiving radiation therapy should not be the basis for determining areas that may benefit from higher doses of radiation, according to research presented by investigators at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital at the 51st ASTRO Annual Meeting (Abstract #2583/B-186).

4 Nov 2009

Radiation Therapy News and Research

Further Reading

Peregrine Pharmaceuticals' bavituximab PS-targeting antibody demonstrates potent anti-tumor activity

SAVI reaches a major milestone in breast brachytherapy

St. Jude collaborates with UF Proton Therapy Institute to commence proton therapy clinical study

Landauer announces GPS acquisition

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital patients to receive proton therapy at the UF Proton Therapy Institute

PET scanning emerges as an important tool in the evaluation of lung cancer

American Shared Hospital Services reports financial results for the third quarter of 2009

Study suggests three-week course of radiation therapy effective for breast cancer patients

Short, intensive radiation therapy offers similar results as conventional therapy for early stage-breast cancers

Cancer patients want strong relationship with their radiation oncologist

Combination therapy before prostate removal may prevent recurrence of cancer

Non-small cell lung cancer patients who undergo PCI decrease their risk of developing brain metastases

Patients who have an undetectable level of PSA after therapy have good chance of being cured

Obese lung cancer patients with diabeties more likely to develop chest wall pain after receiving stereotactic body radiation therapy

HER2-positive breast cancer patients can be treated with Trastuzumab and adjuvant radiation therapy

Combination of high-dose radiotherapy and chemotherapy shows encouraging results in treating LSCL

Radiation treatment as effective and as safe in reducing the risk of prostate cancer from returning

Advanced equipment targets radiation to specific areas in the brain

Stereotactic radiosurgery effectively controls pain in patients with cancer

PET imaging is not the basis for increasing dosage level

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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