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.

Tumor DNA in spinal fluid can help track children with aggressive brain tumors

For many cancers, doctors are increasingly looking to the DNA that solid tumors shed into the blood stream to help with diagnosis and monitoring. But brain cancer has been a different story thanks to the natural blockade created by the blood-brain barrier.

22 Oct 2020

Researchers develop new tools to assess care provided for patients with brain metastasis

Ambitious efforts at UVA Cancer Center to improve care delivered to patients with cancer that has spread to the brain have yielded important insights and tools that can benefit other hospitals, a new publication reports.

7 Oct 2020

New tools to enhance care for brain metastases

5 Oct 2020

Study offers the standard of surgical care for early-stage breast cancer

Among accredited U.S. cancer centers, hospitals serving primarily minority patients are as likely as other hospitals to offer the standard of surgical care for early-stage breast cancer, according to results presented at the virtual American College of Surgeons (ACS) Clinical Congress 2020.

5 Oct 2020

Patients with invasive lobular carcinoma could benefit from additional adjuvant therapy

New results presented at the 12th European Breast Cancer Conference show that a test, which looks at the activity of 70 genes in breast cancer tissue, is possible to use in the clinic to identify patients with invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) that is at high risk of recurring and progressing.

1 Oct 2020

Scientists identify key molecules that mediate radioresistance in aggressive brain cancer

Scientists have identified key molecules that mediate radioresistance in glioblastoma multiforme; these molecules are a potential target for the treatment of this brain cancer.

30 Sep 2020

COVID-19-related interruptions in rehabilitation care causes emotional distress in breast cancer survivors

Beyond the tragic surges in hospitalizations and deaths, the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted healthcare for people with a wide range of medical conditions - including cancer.

29 Sep 2020

New FLASH technique could revolutionize radiation therapy for cancer patients

For the first time, researchers at the Centre for Proton Therapy at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI in Switzerland have tested ultrafast, high-dose irradiation with protons.

28 Sep 2020

Post-operative radiotherapy in NSCLC shows no statistically difference in 3-year disease-free survival

Post-operative radiotherapy (PORT) used in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) following complete resection and after (neo) adjuvant chemotherapy shows no statistically significant difference in 3-year disease-free survival (DFS), according to data presented at ESMO 2020.

21 Sep 2020

High-intensity focused ultrasound technology shows promising outcomes for prostate cancer

High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) - a technology used to treat localized prostate cancer - has shown adequate control of prostate cancer while avoiding major side effects of surgery or radiation therapy, according to a new study in The Journal of Urology®, Official Journal of the American Urological Association (AUA).

9 Sep 2020

New combination therapy helps fight cancer

Radiation causes key changes to immune cells in kidney cancer tumors.T cells in tumors are expanded in blood shortly after radiation, then decrease.

9 Sep 2020

Black pediatric cancer patients less likely to receive proton therapy than white children

A deep concern among pediatric oncologists has been confirmed by the data: Black children enrolled in national clinical trials have been found to be three times less likely to receive proton radiotherapy than their white counterparts.

27 Aug 2020

Premenopausal women previously treated with radiation have worse breast cancer-specific survival

Among premenopausal women with breast cancer, those who were previously treated with radiation for a primary childhood, adolescent, or young adult cancer had worse breast cancer-specific survival.

26 Aug 2020

Researchers discover new genes that influence cancer treatment success

One of the great mysteries of cancer research is why certain patients respond better to radiation therapy than others. Researchers at the University of Bern have now discovered which genes play an important role in this. This results in new findings for cancer treatment.

25 Aug 2020

New cancer vaccine is predicted to be more effective in human trials

Jefferson researchers developing a cancer vaccine to prevent recurrences of gastric, pancreatic, esophageal and colon cancers have added a component that would make the vaccine more effective.

24 Aug 2020

Robotic surgery for oropharyngeal cancer associated with improved health outcomes

Robotic surgery for patients with early stage, oropharyngeal squamous cell cancer is associated with improved health outcomes, including better long-term survival, according to a Cedars-Sinai study published Thursday in JAMA Oncology.

20 Aug 2020

FDA provides update on adverse events associated with breast implants

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is providing an update on adverse events reported to the Agency related to breast implants, including breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL), and systemic signs and symptoms referred to by patients as breast implant illness (BII), which some patients report after receiving breast implants.