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.

Radiation therapy to combat early-stage prostate cancer does not affect sexual and urinary function

Men receiving radiation therapy to combat early-stage prostate cancer are still able to achieve an erection and face a low rate of incontinence one year following treatment, according to a new study published in the July 15, 2005 issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology-Biology-Physics, the official journal of ASTRO, the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology.

17 Jul 2005

Asian American and Pacific Island women less likely to receive breast-conserving surgery

Asian American and Pacific Island women, particularly those born abroad, are less likely to receive breast-conserving surgery for early-stage breast cancer than non-Hispanic white women, according to a study published in the online Journal of General Internal Medicine.

17 Jul 2005

Tool to predict potential ovarian failure after radiation

Doctors in the United Kingdom have created a table to predict when a woman who has undergone radiation therapy as a part of cancer treatment regimen in her abdominal or pelvic area may become sterile

6 Jul 2005

Doctors are able to predict sterility in women following radiation treatment for cancer

Doctors in the United Kingdom have created a table to predict when a woman who has undergone radiation therapy as a part of cancer treatment regimen in her abdominal or pelvic area may become sterile, according to a new study.

4 Jul 2005

Pioneering new thyroid treatment

The doctor has developed a revolutionary technique for treating hyperthyroidism, also known as Graves' Disease. And earlier this month, Culham became the first person in North America to undergo the new procedure.

21 Jun 2005

Doctor blames parents for return of sick girl's cancer

Thirteen year old Katie Wernecke is back in hospital after doctors confirmed the girls Hodgkin's disease had returned.

16 Jun 2005

Research urges a new approach to cancer detection

A few years ago, Medhat Osman, M.D., Ph.D., had a patient who was scanned due to a suspicion of lung cancer using positron emission tomography (PET) and computer tomography (CT) technology. The scan came back negative, but the patient then complained of a problem with his leg.

14 Jun 2005

For men diagnosed with prostate cancer, there is no risk of recurrence if external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) is delayed by several months

A study published in the July 15, 2005 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, finds delays of EBRT had no harmful impact on clinical outcome or biochemical marker levels in low-, intermediate- and high-risk patients.

13 Jun 2005

Half of 580 women diagnosed with breast cancer in one study experienced lymphedema

The good news is that there are nearly two million breast cancer survivors in the United States , and survival rates continue to increase for patients with this disease. But the flip side is that survival can present its own set of little-known complications.

12 Jun 2005

Texas girl with Hodgkin's sees return of the disease- treatment to go ahead

12-year old Katie Wernecke, the child at the centre of a nasty court battle between her parents and state officials, has seen a return of the Hodgkin's cancer her parents have tried to resist having treated by radiation therapy.

12 Jun 2005

Exercise helps recovery after chemotherapy for breast cancer

Exercise after chemotherapy for breast cancer boosted the activity of infection-fighting T cells in women who worked out regularly, according to data from a study conducted at Penn State University under the direction of Andrea Mastro, professor of microbiology and cell biology.

10 Jun 2005

12-year-old cancer victim taken into care after parents block treatment on religious grounds

State Child Protective Services in Texas are going to court on June 15 to try to get custody of a 12-year-old girl suffering from advanced Hodgkin's disease.

9 Jun 2005

One-a-day tablet treats common infection

A bioadhesive tablet containing the antifungal drug miconazole is an effective and convenient means of treating oropharyngeal candidiasis, which is the most frequently occurring infection in head and neck cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy, scientists reported at the 2nd ESMO Scientific & Educational Conference (ESEC) in Budapest, Hungary.

6 Jun 2005

Triple approach is promising against cancer cells

A trimodal treatment strategy combining chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and a protein kinase inhibitor is much more effective against cancer cells than any combination of only two treatment methods.

1 Jun 2005

Shorter course of 8 gray radiotherapy effective for palliation of painful bone metastases

A single treatment of 8 gray (Gy--a unit of measure of absorbed radiation dose) of radiation appears to be as effective in palliating painful bone metastases as the current U.S. standard treatment course of 30 Gy delivered in 10 daily treatments, according to a new study in the June 1 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

31 May 2005

A new technique might allow women diagnosed with cancer the opportunity to have children when chemotherapy and radiation treatments rob them of their fertility

Freezing eggs is one thing; thawing them safely so they can lead to pregnancy is the challenge. In the past, efforts to freeze a woman's eggs, or oocytes, have not worked well because the cells are large. When the egg is thawed, ice crystals cause damage that prevents the egg from being fertilized.

29 May 2005

Postmenopausal women who follow a low-fat diet have 24 percent less chance of a recurrence of breast cancer

The study by Rowan T. Chlebowski and colleagues at Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, involved 2,437 women aged 48 to 79 who were diagnosed with early stage breast cancer and were treated at several medical centers. All the women had the standard treatments such as surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy and or tamoxifen therapy.

17 May 2005

Study shows the longest reported survival rate for patients with locally advanced lung cancer

Five-year data from a study evaluating the use of docetaxel (Taxotere) administered after cisplatin/etoposide chemotherapy plus radiation therapy demonstrate the best long-term survival rates reported in patients with locally advanced (Stage IIIB) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

16 May 2005

Tamoxifen study counters hopes that drug might protect the heart

Despite previous studies hinting at tamoxifen's potential benefit for breast cancer survivors' heart health, California researchers have found that the breast cancer drug does not decrease survivors' risk of heart attack.

15 May 2005

Robotic surgery dramatically reduces physical trauma for head & neck cancer patients

For patients with cancer of the mouth and throat, surgery is a frequent course of treatment, often leading to speech and swallowing dysfunction and external scarring.