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.

Proton beam therapy safe for treating childhood brain cancer medulloblastoma

Proton beam therapy--a more precise form of radiotherapy--to treat the childhood brain cancer medulloblastoma appears to be as safe as conventional radiotherapy with similar survival rates, according to new research published in The Lancet Oncology journal today.

1 Feb 2016

Proton radiotherapy as effective as standard photon therapy in treating pediatric brain tumor

The use of proton radiotherapy to treat the most common malignant brain tumor in children is as effective as standard photon (x-ray) radiation therapy while causing fewer long-term side effects such as hearing loss and cognitive disorders, according to a study receiving online publication in Lancet Oncology.

30 Jan 2016

New NCCN Guidelines published for Vulvar Cancer

It is estimated that more than 5,000 cases of Vulvar Cancer were diagnosed in the United States in 2015, and approximately 1,000 women died from the disease[i]. In order to provide comprehensive, up-to-date clinical treatment guidelines for this rare cancer, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an alliance of 26 of the nation's leading cancer centers, has published the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines) for Vulvar Cancer.

27 Jan 2016

Colorectal cancer in younger patients associated with more advanced disease but better survival

Nearly 15 percent of patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer were younger than 50, the age at which screening recommendations begin.

25 Jan 2016

UM SOM selected to work with BARDA to develop radiologic and nuclear countermeasures

University of Maryland School of Medicine Department of Radiation Oncology Chair and Professor William F. Regine, MD, FACR, FACRO, and UM SOM Dean E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, announced today that researchers at the UM SOM have been selected as key contractors by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, for its Radiation Nuclear Animal Model Development program.

18 Jan 2016

Accuray announces closing of $70 million straight debt financing agreement with Cerberus

Accuray Incorporated announced today it has closed a $70 million straight debt financing agreement with Cerberus Business Finance, LLC, an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management, L.P.

12 Jan 2016

ImpediMed introduces L-Dex system for clinical assessment of lymphedema in U.S.

ImpediMed Limited, a global provider of medical technology to measure, monitor and manage fluid status in patients, has announced the U.S. commercial launch of its L-Dex system to aid in the clinical assessment of lymphedema.

7 Jan 2016

New injectable agent can potentially increase surgeon's ability to remove cancerous tumor during surgery

Doctors at the Duke University School of Medicine have tested a new injectable agent that causes cancer cells in a tumor to fluoresce, potentially increasing a surgeon's ability to locate and remove all of a cancerous tumor on the first attempt. The imaging technology was developed through collaboration with scientists at Duke, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Lumicell Inc.

7 Jan 2016

Rutgers offers two-year fellowship program to enhance training of cancer surgeons

Aiming to enhance the training of cancer surgeons, a two-year fellowship program is now being offered by Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. The Fellowship in Complex General Surgical Oncology offers board-eligible surgeons an opportunity to subspecialize in the intricacies of cancer care both in the clinical and research arenas.

7 Jan 2016

FAU study shows benefits of regular mammography among elder women

Breast cancer is the second most common cancer in women after skin cancer and occurred in 230,000 women in the United States in 2015. Breast cancer afflicts 1 in 8 women in their lifetime and 1 in 25 die from this disease.

7 Jan 2016

NIH-funded clinical study examines new method for sparing healthy lung tissue during radiotherapy

A newly NIH funded clinical trial (NCT02528942) by University of Colorado Cancer Center investigators and collaborators at Beaumont Health in Michigan and the University of Texas Medical Branch is evaluating a new method for pinpointing and sparing healthy lung tissue during lung cancer radiotherapy.

7 Jan 2016

Study supports argument that declining PSA screening may lead to avoidable cancer deaths

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation against regular prostate specific antigen (PSA) screening for prostate cancer (PCa) has been in place for two and a half years. Although the number of prostate needle biopsies (PNB) has been reduced, patients who undergo PNB are significantly more likely to be diagnosed with high risk disease, and detection of intermediate risk, potentially curable PCa has likely decreased.

6 Jan 2016

Radiation therapy lowers risk of cancer recurrence in pancreatic cancer surgery patients

Radiation therapy was associated with a lower risk of cancer recurrence in pancreatic cancer surgery patients, making it, like chemotherapy, an important addition to treatment, Mayo Clinic research found.

6 Jan 2016

NCCLC patients with KRAS-related gene mutations may benefit from triple therapy

Although the most common type of lung cancer - non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) - has recently seen major treatment advances in some genetic subtypes, other subtypes continue to evade effective treatment. (New therapies exist for NCCLC patients whose cancers harbor mutations in the ALK or EGFR genes, for example.)

4 Jan 2016

HealthWell Foundation opens new fund to provide financial assistance to Medicare patients suffering from RCC

The HealthWell Foundation, an independent non-profit that provides a financial lifeline for inadequately insured Americans, today announced it has opened a new fund to provide financial assistance to Medicare patients suffering from renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

31 Dec 2015

Personalized respiratory-motion system enables more precise lung cancer imaging

Lung cancer patients know that precise medical imaging can help a surgeon eradicate tumors and preserve healthy tissue.

24 Dec 2015

Study: Low-dose CT screening can reduce lung cancer mortality by 20% in high-risk population

A national study involving 53,000 patients and 11 institutions (including Wake Forest Baptist) compared CT screens with chest X-rays and found that the scanning reduced lung cancer mortality by 20 percent in this high-risk population.

23 Dec 2015

New discovery may soon make prostate cancer cells easier to destroy

A newly discovered connection between two common prostate cancer treatments may soon make prostate cancer cells easier to destroy. Drugs that could capitalize on the discovery are already in the pipeline, and a clinical trial to test whether the finding could improve treatments for prostate cancer patients could be only a few years away.

20 Dec 2015

Multiple small doses of targeted radiation therapy more effective at destroying pituitary gland tumors

A recent patient study at Houston Methodist Hospital proved that multiple small doses of highly focused radiation therapy is safer and more effective than a single larger dose of radiation at destroying pituitary gland tumors.

18 Dec 2015

Soligenix reports positive results from SGX942 Phase 2 trial in patients with head and neck cancer

Soligenix, Inc., a late-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing products to treat rare diseases where there is an unmet medical need, announced today positive results in its Phase 2 clinical trial, in which SGX942, a first-in-class Innate Defense Regulator (IDR), at a dose of 1.5 mg/kg, successfully reduced the median duration of severe oral mucositis by 50% in all patients and by 67% in patients receiving the most aggressive chemoradiation therapy (CRT) for treatment of their head and neck cancer.

16 Dec 2015

Radiation Therapy News and Research

Further Reading

Proton beam therapy safe for treating childhood brain cancer medulloblastoma

Proton radiotherapy as effective as standard photon therapy in treating pediatric brain tumor

New NCCN Guidelines published for Vulvar Cancer

Colorectal cancer in younger patients associated with more advanced disease but better survival

UM SOM selected to work with BARDA to develop radiologic and nuclear countermeasures

Accuray announces closing of $70 million straight debt financing agreement with Cerberus

ImpediMed introduces L-Dex system for clinical assessment of lymphedema in U.S.

New injectable agent can potentially increase surgeon's ability to remove cancerous tumor during surgery

Rutgers offers two-year fellowship program to enhance training of cancer surgeons

FAU study shows benefits of regular mammography among elder women

NIH-funded clinical study examines new method for sparing healthy lung tissue during radiotherapy

Study supports argument that declining PSA screening may lead to avoidable cancer deaths

Radiation therapy lowers risk of cancer recurrence in pancreatic cancer surgery patients

NCCLC patients with KRAS-related gene mutations may benefit from triple therapy

HealthWell Foundation opens new fund to provide financial assistance to Medicare patients suffering from RCC

Personalized respiratory-motion system enables more precise lung cancer imaging

Study: Low-dose CT screening can reduce lung cancer mortality by 20% in high-risk population

New discovery may soon make prostate cancer cells easier to destroy

Multiple small doses of targeted radiation therapy more effective at destroying pituitary gland tumors

Soligenix reports positive results from SGX942 Phase 2 trial in patients with head and neck cancer

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