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.

Targeting UROD enzyme boosts effects of radiotherapy and chemotherapy in head, neck tumors

Cancer researchers at Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) have discovered that targeting an enzyme called Uroporphyrinogen Decarboxylase (UROD) can sensitize diseased tissue to radiation and chemotherapy, which could mean fewer side effects for individuals with head and neck cancer.

27 Jan 2011

ASTRO reaffirms commitment to quality, issues progress report on patient safety plan

The American Society for Radiation Oncology is continuing its commitment to Target Safely, a six-point patient protection plan developed in January 2010, to improve the safety and quality of radiation therapy treatments and reduce the chances of medical errors.

26 Jan 2011

Radiation Therapy Services to issue $50M of 9-7/8% Senior Subordinated Notes due 2017

Radiation Therapy Services Holdings, Inc.announced today that its wholly owned subsidiary, Radiation Therapy Services, Inc., has agreed to issue an aggregate principal amount of $50 million of 9-7/8% Senior Subordinated Notes due 2017.

24 Jan 2011

FibroGen announces FG-3019 interim results from phase 1/2 trial against pancreatic cancer

FibroGen, today announced interim results of a phase 1/2 trial of FG-3019, a therapeutic antibody against connective tissue growth factor, in combination with gemcitabine and erlotinib in individuals with unresectable pancreatic cancer.

23 Jan 2011

Practical Radiation Oncology first issue published

The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) is pleased to announce it has published its first issue of Practical Radiation Oncology (PRO), a new medical journal whose mission is to improve the quality of radiation oncology practice. Published by leading scientific publisher Elsevier, the issue is both available in print and online at www.practicalradonc.org.

20 Jan 2011

Study: HIV-positive head and neck cancer patients respond well to radiation therapy treatments

HIV-positive head and neck cancer patients respond well to radiation therapy treatments and experience similar toxicity rates as non-HIV-positive patients, despite prior reports to the contrary, according to a study in the January issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology•Biology•Physics, an official journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology.

19 Jan 2011

BSD Medical sells MicroThermX Microwave System to Med-Italia Biomedica

BSD Medical Corporation, a leading provider of medical systems that utilize heat therapy to treat cancer, today announced the sale and shipment of the MicroThermX Microwave System to Med-Italia Biomedica (Med-Italia), one of the largest interventional radiology/oncology distributors in Italy.

18 Jan 2011

CINJ clinical trial explores anti-malaria drug against melanoma

Building upon recent laboratory discoveries on resistance by cancer cells to therapies that attempt to starve cancer, scientists at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) are conducting a clinical trial that further explores how to prevent that action.

14 Jan 2011

Philadelphia CTCA hospital purchases BSD-2000 Hyperthermia System

BSD Medical Corporation announced today that the Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) hospital at Eastern Regional Medical Center, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has purchased a BSD-2000 Hyperthermia System (BSD-2000). CTCA in Philadelphia is a state-of-the-art hospital that provides advanced cancer treatments, world-class technologies, and supportive therapies under one roof.

13 Jan 2011

RaySearch Laboratories forms US subsidiary, RaySearch Americas

RaySearch Laboratories AB has formed a US subsidiary named RaySearch Americas Inc. The new company will be located in New York and will market RaySearch's treatment planning system RayStation in the North American market.

12 Jan 2011

VCU Massey Cancer Center introduces safer, more effective form of radiation therapy

Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center has introduced a safer and more effective form of radiation therapy to treat cancer. The Center now offers volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) delivery using the Philips Pinnacle3 SmartArc software to provide radiation treatment for multiple tumor sites, including prostate, head and neck, brain, breast and lung. VCU Massey is the first cancer center in the Richmond area to offer this cutting-edge radiation technique.

10 Jan 2011

Athersys completes patient enrollment in MultiStem Phase I study for leukemia

Athersys, Inc. today announced that it has completed patient enrollment of the single dose arm of a clinical study involving administration of MultiStem to patients being treated for leukemia or other blood born cancers.

7 Jan 2011

EUSA receives FDA Priority Review status for ERWINAZE BLA

EUSA Pharma, a transatlantic specialty pharmaceutical company focused on oncology, oncology supportive care and critical care, today announced that its Biologics License Application for ERWINAZE(R) has been accepted for filing and awarded Priority Review status by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

5 Jan 2011

BSD in final process of establishing international distribution networks for new microwave ablation product line

Maximizing production capacity, completing placement of systems in multiple hospitals, and witnessing early clinical successes with the MicroThermX Microwave Ablation line of products have paved the way for BSD Medical Corporation to take its sales and distribution strategy to the next level. BSD is in the final process of establishing both domestic and international distribution networks dedicated to selling its exciting new microwave ablation product line.

23 Dec 2010

In State budgets, Medicaid goes under the knife; Costs high for Florida Medicaid's doctor-immunity plan; N.J. practices to launch ACOs

Governors nationwide are taking a scalpel to Medicaid, the jointly run state and federal health-care program for 48 million poor Americans, half of whom are children. The single biggest expense for states, Medicaid consumes about 22 percent of their total $1.6 trillion in expenditures, more than what is allocated to elementary and secondary education, according to a National Governors Association report.

23 Dec 2010

Photon-based radiation therapy may result in better survival rate in patients with spinal-cord tumor

A study comparing the long-term outcomes of patients with spinal-cord tumors following radiation therapy suggests that certain subsets of patients have better long-term survival.

23 Dec 2010

NCI grants U-M Cancer Center $10.7M for study of colorectal and pancreatic cancer

The University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center has received a five-year $10.7 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to study colorectal and pancreatic cancer.

23 Dec 2010

CHMP recommends to grant marketing authorization for Espriet drug against PF to CPF

The Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis announced to more than 128,000 patients news that the first drug for the treatment of the deadly lung disease Pulmonary Fibrosis has passed a major hurdle in the European regulatory process and is likely to be approved in all 27 member countries of the European Union.

22 Dec 2010

People with type 1 diabetes could grow their own insulin-producing cells, say researchers

At the annual meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology last week in Philadelphia, researchers from Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C., announced that it may be possible for people with type 1 diabetes to grow their own insulin-producing cells, a breakthrough that could lead to a cure for the disease.

22 Dec 2010

URI, R.I. Hospital to offer medical physics degree

Students interested in physics and medicine will be able to combine disciplines to become medical physicists and enter an expanding field that offers multiple career opportunities and salaries that start with six figures.

21 Dec 2010

Radiation Therapy News and Research

Further Reading

Targeting UROD enzyme boosts effects of radiotherapy and chemotherapy in head, neck tumors

ASTRO reaffirms commitment to quality, issues progress report on patient safety plan

Radiation Therapy Services to issue $50M of 9-7/8% Senior Subordinated Notes due 2017

FibroGen announces FG-3019 interim results from phase 1/2 trial against pancreatic cancer

Practical Radiation Oncology first issue published

Study: HIV-positive head and neck cancer patients respond well to radiation therapy treatments

BSD Medical sells MicroThermX Microwave System to Med-Italia Biomedica

CINJ clinical trial explores anti-malaria drug against melanoma

Philadelphia CTCA hospital purchases BSD-2000 Hyperthermia System

RaySearch Laboratories forms US subsidiary, RaySearch Americas

VCU Massey Cancer Center introduces safer, more effective form of radiation therapy

Athersys completes patient enrollment in MultiStem Phase I study for leukemia

EUSA receives FDA Priority Review status for ERWINAZE BLA

BSD in final process of establishing international distribution networks for new microwave ablation product line

In State budgets, Medicaid goes under the knife; Costs high for Florida Medicaid's doctor-immunity plan; N.J. practices to launch ACOs

Photon-based radiation therapy may result in better survival rate in patients with spinal-cord tumor

NCI grants U-M Cancer Center $10.7M for study of colorectal and pancreatic cancer

CHMP recommends to grant marketing authorization for Espriet drug against PF to CPF

People with type 1 diabetes could grow their own insulin-producing cells, say researchers

URI, R.I. Hospital to offer medical physics degree

How can microdialysis benefit drug development

Global and Local Efforts to Take Action Against Hepatitis

Addressing Important Cardiac Biology Questions with Shotgun Top-Down Proteomics

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