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).

New treatment strategy for brain cancer

Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center researchers have found that combining ionizing radiation with a secreted protein that selectively inhibits tumor cell growth and survival can target cancer cells and leave healthy cells alone, perhaps presenting a new approach for treating the deadliest type of brain tumor.

9 Aug 2004

Aggressive treatment for nasopharyngeal cancer shown to be more effective

Radiation therapy (RT) has been the most important treatment modality with curative potential in treating patients with cancer of the nasopharynx, the part of the pharynx that lies above the soft palate.

9 Aug 2004

Moderate exercise helps beat fatigue from prostate radiation

Men who get a moderate amount of exercise during radiation for prostate cancer are better able to cope with the fatigue the treatment can cause, researchers from Scotland report in the journal Cancer.

5 Aug 2004

Innovative treatment for cancer patients who have previously undergone chemotherapy, surgery or radiotherapy

At the inauguration of Hadassah's new day care center of the Sidney Weisner Department of Bone Marrow Transplantation and Cancer Immunotherapy today, Prof. Shimon Slavin, head of the department, described an innovative treatment for cancer patients who have previously undergone chemotherapy, surgery and/ or radiotherapy.

26 Jul 2004

New information guide on cervical cancer

Information and support charity CancerBACUP has launched an up-to-date guide to cervical cancer.

22 Jul 2004

Effective treatment for soft tissue sarcoma (rhabdomyosarcoma)

Rhabdomyosarcoma is a highly malignant aggressive form of soft tissue cancer in children, the causes of which are currently unknown. Although the fibrous growths can be found all over the body they commonly develop around the head, neck, bladder and testes in young boys.

15 Jul 2004

Educating patients can help limit side effects of chemotherapy and radiation

A new study finds patients about to undergo chemotherapy or radiation expect a high number of side effects, and that age, gender, educational background, and the type of cancer all influence how many side effects a patient expects.

12 Jul 2004

Chemoradioimmunotherapy for advanced breast cancer

A successful, and novel, technique to kill metastatic breast cancer cells by circumventing their chemo- and radioresistant mechanisms was by presented by Dr John Giannios, Head of Radiotherapeutic Cancer Research at the IASO Hospital

8 Jul 2004

Combining targeted immunotherapy with chemotherapy and radiation therapy to successfully kill metastatic tumour cells

A successful, and novel, technique to kill metastatic breast cancer cells by circumventing their chemo and radioresistant mechanisms was by presented by Dr. John Giannios, Head of Radiotherapeutic Cancer Research at the IASO Hospital

7 Jul 2004

Successes in frozen ovarian tissue technology may offer hope to women being treated for cancer

Doctors in Denmark have succeeded in producing a two-cell embryo after ovarian tissue was removed, frozen, and then thawed and replaced two years later.

29 Jun 2004

Continued commercial development of research into DNA repair

Recent developments have greatly improved the understanding of the mechanisms used by cells to identify and repair breaks in DNA, and the potential for drugs that target DNA repair in the treatment of a range of human diseases including cancer.

28 Jun 2004

New computer cluster will help understanding of how human cells and organs work

A new computer cluster funded by the University of Sheffield and located within the Royal Hallamshire Hospital, will help scientists to improve their understanding of how human cells and organs work.

22 Jun 2004

Targeting a gene that protects cancer cells from the lethal effects of radiotherapy could help improve the impact of treatment

Targeting a gene that protects cancer cells from the lethal effects of radiotherapy could help improve the impact of treatment, a leading Cancer Research UK scientist will tell conference delegates in Glasgow this week.

21 Jun 2004

Computer cluster helps understand how human cells and organs work

This will ultimately lead to more effective ways of treating cardiovascular disease and cancer as well as other diseases. It will also eventually allow doctors to tailor treatment in a way specific to that patient rather than a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach.

17 Jun 2004

New shaped-beam radiation delivery system provides patients with targeted cancer treatment

The Cleveland Clinic has installed the latest in radiation oncology technology, making it possible to treat a wider range of cancer patients with more precisely targeted radiation treatments that largely spare healthy tissues.

10 Jun 2004

New drugs ease treatment of multiple myeloma

Science is increasingly commuting the death sentence that is a diagnosis of multiple myeloma. A cancer of the plasma cells that primarily strikes the elderly, multiple myeloma has been deadly because patients have been unable to withstand the aggressive treatment necessary to combat it.

10 Jun 2004

Drug Tarceva improves survival chance for patients with advanced lung cancer

Roche OSI Pharmaceuticals and Genentech today announced that their investigational drug Tarceva(TM) (erlotinib) achieved a significant 42.5% improvement in median survival compared to placebo in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

5 Jun 2004

Current test for prostate cancer is inadequate

Britain’s top cancer scientists claim that men’s health is at risk because the current test for prostate cancer is inadequate. The warning comes as The Institute of Cancer Research launches the 7th Everyman Male Cancer Awareness Month to alert men to the risk of prostate and testicular cancer.

27 May 2004

Results from a clinical study of CyberKnife ® radiosurgery for locally advanced pancreatic cancer

Accuray Incorporated announced today the publication of the results from a clinical study of CyberKnife ® radiosurgery for locally advanced pancreatic cancer.

25 May 2004

Baby born from 21 year old cryopreserved sperm

"We believe this is the longest period of sperm cryopreservation resulting in a live birth so far reported in the scientific literature," according to one of the authors, Dr Elizabeth Pease, Consultant in Reproductive Medicine at the Department of Reproductive Medicine at St Mary's Hospital, Manchester.