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.

New class of cancer-driver gene may serve as unique therapeutic targets, biomarkers in TNBC

The discovery of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) has dramatically changed the understanding of the biology of diseases such as cancer. The human genome contains about 20,000 protein-coding genes - less than 2 percent of the total - but 70 percent of the genome is made into non-gene-encoding RNA.

29 Apr 2016

New form of SBRT to deliver radiation to specific area of prostate cancer

University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center physicians have started the world's first clinical trial using a new form of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) to deliver radiation to a specific area of the prostate invaded with cancer - instead of the entire gland. The study aims to determine if treating a targeted cancer region within the prostate in early stage prostate cancer can increase treatment options and reduce the side effects of radiation.

28 Apr 2016

Drugs that block NOTCH signaling in many cancers could be effective against ACC

Using a novel cell culture approach, Yale Cancer Center researchers have discovered critical vulnerabilities in adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC), a rare and lethal glandular cancer with a high recurrence rate and few treatment options.

21 Apr 2016

Immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab shrinks tumors in patients with Merkel cell carcinoma

In a clinical trial of the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab, half of 25 patients with a rare type of virus-linked skin cancer called Merkel cell carcinoma experienced substantial tumor shrinkage lasting nearly three times as long, on average, than with conventional chemotherapy.

20 Apr 2016

SBRT for prostate cancer treatment offers higher cure rate than many traditional approaches

A five-year study shows that Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) to treat prostate cancer offers a higher cure rate than more traditional approaches, according to researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center.

19 Apr 2016

Delay in radiation therapy increases chances of DCIS recurrence in women

Delaying radiation therapy too long after surgery significantly increases the risk of recurrent tumors in women treated for very early, or what is referred to as "stage 0," breast cancer, according to new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

19 Apr 2016

Radiation plus chemotherapy improves survival of low-grade brain cancer patients

New clinical-trial findings show that patients with a low-grade form of brain cancer who are treated with radiation plus a combination of chemotherapy drugs have better survival than patients treated with radiation alone.

16 Apr 2016

High levels of COMP protein may lead to worse breast cancer prognosis

Research from Lund University in Sweden shows that the protein COMP, which mainly exists in cartilage, can also be found in breast cancer tumours in patients with a poor prognosis. Studies on mice also showed that COMP contributed to the development and metastasis of the breast cancer.

13 Apr 2016

Moffitt study reports that liver metastases have different sensitivities to radiation therapy

Radiation is a commonly used therapeutic option to treat liver metastases, with the majority of tumors maintained under control after one year. However, some patients do not respond as well to radiation treatment, and the factors that predict patient outcomes are unclear. Moffitt Cancer Center researchers report that liver metastases have different sensitivities to radiation therapy based on the location of the primary tumor.

13 Apr 2016

Shortened RT schedule has similar efficacy as conventional RT schedule in low-risk prostate cancer patients

Of the more than 220,000 patients newly diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2015, the vast majority will have had early-stage disease at low risk for recurrence.

7 Apr 2016

Radiation therapy plus PCV chemotherapy improves survival of low-grade glioma patients

Patients with a low-grade type of brain tumor called glioma who received radiation therapy plus a chemotherapy regimen, including procarbazine, lomustine and vincristine (PCV), experienced a longer progression-free survival and overall survival than patients who received radiation therapy alone, according to the results of the clinical trial, Radiation Therapy Oncology Group 9802 published in the April 7 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

7 Apr 2016

Altered metabolism of two essential amino acids helps drive development of glioblastoma

The altered metabolism of two essential amino acids helps drive the development of the most common and lethal form of brain cancer, according to a new study led by researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute.

2 Apr 2016

Experimental urine test identifies 92% of men with elevated PSA levels

An experimental urine test that detects genetic changes associated with prostate cancer identified 92 percent of men with elevated PSA (prostate-specific antigen) levels who had high-grade cancers, according to a study published today in JAMA Oncology online.

1 Apr 2016

Study reveals adaptive IGRT for bladder preservation has good oncological outcomes

A prospective study examining a trimodality treatment approach in localized bladder cancer cases using adaptive image-guided, intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IG-IMRT) found that the bladder preservation rate at three years was 83 percent.

30 Mar 2016

High levels of radiation dosage may not improve survival of prostate cancer patients

New technology has enabled doctors to administer higher doses of radiation to prostate cancer patients with fewer side effects. However, a new study shows that escalating the dose may not actually help a patient in the long term, at least not patients with localized prostate cancer. The results were published online last week in the American Journal of Clinical Oncology.

29 Mar 2016

Microneedle-embedded patch delivers cancer immunotherapy directly to melanoma

Biomedical engineering researchers at North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have developed a technique that uses a patch embedded with microneedles to deliver cancer immunotherapy treatment directly to the site of melanoma skin cancer. In animal studies, the technique more effectively targeted melanoma than other immunotherapy treatments.

25 Mar 2016

Novel mechanism can suppress blood vessel leakage, reduce tumour spread in mice

Cancer therapy is often hampered by the accumulation of fluids in and around the tumour, which is caused by leakage from the blood vessels in the tumour. Researchers at Uppsala University now show how leakage from blood vessels is regulated.

24 Mar 2016

Female childhood cancer survivors have a good chance of conceiving

A new study examines fertility issues in male and female childhood cancer survivors who had received chemotherapy. The study found that while most female survivors still have a good chance of conceiving, male survivors are significantly less likely to father children.

23 Mar 2016

Increased travel distance to cancer treatment facility affects receipt of RT

Increased travel distance to a cancer treatment facility negatively impacts the likelihood that patients with stage II/III rectal cancer will receive radiation therapy (RT) to treat their disease, according to a study analyzing 26,845 patient records from the National Cancer Data Base that was published in the March 2016 issue of International Journal of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics, the official scientific journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology .

22 Mar 2016

Salvage radical prostatectomy can improve outcomes in prostate cancer patients

Approximately 14 percent of men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point in their lifetimes, according to the National Institutes of Health. Radiation therapy traditionally has been a primary treatment for the cancer, but one-fourth of men have a recurrence of prostate cancer within five years after the therapy.

11 Mar 2016