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.

Protecting powerhouse of cells could provide better way to treat acute kidney injury

For the first time, scientists have described the body's natural mechanism for temporarily protecting the powerhouses of kidney cells when injury or disease means they aren't getting enough blood or oxygen.

6 Dec 2018

Study presents new opportunities for targeted, healthy tissue-sparing cancer therapy

Medical physicist Dr. Aswin Hoffmann and his team from the Institute of Radiooncology - OncoRay at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) are the first researchers worldwide to combine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with a proton beam, thus demonstrating that in principle, this commonly used imaging method can indeed work with particle beam cancer treatments.

29 Nov 2018

New accelerator-based technology aims to reduce side effects of cancer radiation therapy

New accelerator-based technology being developed by the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University aims to reduce the side effects of cancer radiation therapy by shrinking its duration from minutes to under a second.

29 Nov 2018

New method could improve outcome of leukemia patients receiving stem-cell transplants

Stem-cell transplantation is an effective form of therapy to fight leukemia. In many cases, however, the transferred immune cells of the donor also attack the recipients' healthy tissue - often with fatal consequences.

28 Nov 2018

Blocking activity of plasma protein can be possible way to protect against radiation-induced injury

It is possible to prevent certain injuries that can occur in radiation therapy against cancer. By blocking the activity of a plasma protein during and immediately after radiation, the patient can be protected against injury. This is shown in a new doctoral thesis at Umeå University, Sweden.

20 Nov 2018

New methods for preserving shoulder function, quality of life in breast cancer patients

After a prophylactic double mastectomy in 2015, Tina Harrison discovered that she did, indeed, have breast cancer--it just hadn't been detected.

19 Nov 2018

NIH awards over $1.8 million to husband-and-wife doctors to test new breast cancer approach

Husband-and-wife doctors at the University of Virginia Cancer Center have been awarded more than $1.8 million from the National Institutes of Health for their effort to improve radiation therapy and breast surgery for patients with early-stage breast cancer.

16 Nov 2018

New edition of Red Journal focuses on roles of imaging in radiation oncology

A new special edition of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology* Biology* Physics focuses on the roles of imaging in radiation oncology. The collection explores topics such as improving accuracy with patient positioning, defining radiation therapy volumes using imaging, imaging of functional biomarkers, the role of imaging in post-treatment care, machine learning and artificial intelligence.

15 Nov 2018

Scientists develop new method to produce irradiated nanomaterials for medical applications

Under the leadership of Petr Cígler from the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry and Martin Hrubý from the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, both of which are part of the Czech Academy of Sciences, a team of researchers has developed a revolutionary method for the easy and inexpensive production of irradiated nanodiamonds and other nanomaterials suitable for use in highly sensitive diagnostics of diseases, including various types of cancer.

12 Nov 2018

Precisely targeted prostate cancer radiotherapy possible with nuclear medicine imaging

Current standard imaging techniques for initial staging of prostate cancer often underestimate the extent of disease beyond the prostate.

9 Nov 2018

Study uses gold nanoparticles to remove prostate cancer cells

A small clinical trial using gold nanoparticles that act as tumor-seeking missiles on a mission to remove prostate cancer has begun at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth). It is the first trial of its kind in the world.

9 Nov 2018

Advances in radiation treatment help prolong, improve lives of people with anal cancer

Two recent studies find advances in radiation therapy are helping to prolong or improve the lives of people with anal cancer, including those whose cancer has advanced to stage IV.

8 Nov 2018

New Penn Medicine Center offers hope in the fight against glioblastoma

Today, Penn Medicine is announcing the newest Translational Center of Excellence in the Abramson Cancer Center, focused on Glioblastoma Multiforme, the most common and lethal form of brain cancer.

30 Oct 2018

Patients receiving individual doses and conventional breast radiation experience similar side effects

In a 10-year study of women who received radiation therapy to treat early-stage breast cancer, those receiving fewer, larger individual doses experienced similarly low rates of late-onset side effects as those undergoing conventional radiation therapy. Findings from the multi-institutional U.K. FAST clinical trial were presented last week at the 60th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology.

30 Oct 2018

Radiation therapy can lower risk of breast cancer recurrence in patients with ‘good risk’ DCIS

A subset of patients with low-risk breast cancer is highly unlikely to see cancer return following breast conservation surgery but can lower that risk even further with radiation therapy, finds a new long-term clinical trial report.

30 Oct 2018

Aggressive local therapy for stage IV lung cancer patients improves progression-free survival

Adding radiation therapy or surgery to systemic therapy for stage IV lung cancer patients whose cancer has spread to a limited number of sites can extend overall survival time significantly, according to new results from a multicenter, randomized, controlled phase II study. The findings were presented last week at the 60th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology

30 Oct 2018

Stroke 'mimics' and 'chameleons' can complicate accurate diagnoses

Stroke specialists often see conditions known as stroke "mimics" and "chameleons" that can complicate accurate diagnoses, Loyola Medicine neurologists report in the November 2018 issue of Neuroimaging Clinics of North America.

26 Oct 2018

MIT researchers devise way to help blood cells regenerate after radiation therapy

Patients with blood cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma are often treated by irradiating their bone marrow to destroy the diseased cells. After the treatment, patients are vulnerable to infection and fatigue until new blood cells grow back.

24 Oct 2018

Hippocampal-avoidance whole-brain radiotherapy better preserves patients' cognitive function

When it comes to radiation therapy to treat brain cancer, hippocampal-avoidance whole-brain radiotherapy in conjunction with the drug memantine better preserved patients' cognitive function and demonstrated similar cancer control outcomes, compared to traditional whole-brain radiotherapy with memantine.

24 Oct 2018

Scientists develop nanodevice to deliver immunotherapy without side effects

Houston Methodist scientists have developed a nanodevice to deliver immunotherapy without side effects to treat triple-negative breast cancer.

24 Oct 2018

Radiation Therapy News and Research

Further Reading

Protecting powerhouse of cells could provide better way to treat acute kidney injury

Study presents new opportunities for targeted, healthy tissue-sparing cancer therapy

New accelerator-based technology aims to reduce side effects of cancer radiation therapy

New method could improve outcome of leukemia patients receiving stem-cell transplants

Blocking activity of plasma protein can be possible way to protect against radiation-induced injury

New methods for preserving shoulder function, quality of life in breast cancer patients

NIH awards over $1.8 million to husband-and-wife doctors to test new breast cancer approach

New edition of Red Journal focuses on roles of imaging in radiation oncology

Scientists develop new method to produce irradiated nanomaterials for medical applications

Precisely targeted prostate cancer radiotherapy possible with nuclear medicine imaging

Study uses gold nanoparticles to remove prostate cancer cells

Advances in radiation treatment help prolong, improve lives of people with anal cancer

New Penn Medicine Center offers hope in the fight against glioblastoma

Patients receiving individual doses and conventional breast radiation experience similar side effects

Radiation therapy can lower risk of breast cancer recurrence in patients with ‘good risk’ DCIS

Aggressive local therapy for stage IV lung cancer patients improves progression-free survival

Stroke 'mimics' and 'chameleons' can complicate accurate diagnoses

MIT researchers devise way to help blood cells regenerate after radiation therapy

Hippocampal-avoidance whole-brain radiotherapy better preserves patients' cognitive function

Scientists develop nanodevice to deliver immunotherapy without side effects

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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