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.

Sugar offers noninvasive way to precisely image tumors through new imaging technology

A natural form of sugar could offer a new, noninvasive way to precisely image tumors and potentially see whether cancer medication is effective, by means of a new imaging technology developed at UC San Francisco in collaboration with GE Healthcare.

16 Aug 2013

Oraya Therapy Stereotactic Radiotherapy for treatment of wet AMDs now available at Optegra

Oraya Therapeutics, Inc. announced today that the Oraya Therapy Stereotactic Radiotherapy for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is now available at Optegra Manchester Eye Hospital, becoming the second facility in the UK to provide the therapy.

14 Aug 2013

Proton therapy provides organ-sparing treatment option for children with neuroblastoma

Proton therapy, using high-energy subatomic particles, may offer a precise, organ-sparing treatment option for children with high-risk forms of neuroblastoma. For patients in a new study of advanced radiation treatment, proton therapy spared the liver and kidneys from unwanted radiation, while zeroing in on its target.

14 Aug 2013

PSA screening shows low-grade prostate cancers do not progress to higher grade over time

Prostate cancer aggressiveness may be established when the tumor is formed and not alter with time, according to a study published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

14 Aug 2013

RaySearch Laboratories announces first patient treated with RayStation

RaySearch Laboratories AB announces that the first patient in Australasia has been treated with a treatment plan created with RaySearch's treatment planning system RayStation®. The treatment was carried out at Auckland Radiation Oncology in Auckland, New Zealand.

From Elekta 13 Aug 2013

Researchers suggest neural stem cells may regenerate after anti-cancer treatment

Scientists have long believed that healthy brain cells, once damaged by radiation designed to kill brain tumors, cannot regenerate. But new Johns Hopkins research in mice suggests that neural stem cells, the body's source of new brain cells, are resistant to radiation, and can be roused from a hibernation-like state to reproduce and generate new cells able to migrate, replace injured cells and potentially restore lost function.

13 Aug 2013

Researchers explore potential of neural stem cells to repair brain damage

Scientists have long believed that healthy brain cells, once damaged by radiation designed to kill brain tumors, cannot regenerate. But new Johns Hopkins research in mice suggests that neural stem cells, the body’s source of new brain cells, are resistant to radiation, and can be roused from a hibernation-like state to reproduce and generate new cells able to migrate, replace injured cells and potentially restore lost function.

13 Aug 2013

Carbon ion radiotherapy controls cancer growth, prolongs survival in patients with spinal tumors

A new analysis has found that a type of radiation therapy called carbon ion radiotherapy can control cancer growth and prolong survival in patients with spinal tumors. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study indicates that the treatment is a promising alternative for patients whose spinal tumors cannot be surgically removed.

12 Aug 2013

Standardizing care for penile cancer

Penile cancer is rare, with an average of 1,200 new cases per year in the United States, but it can be debilitating and lethal. Without evidenced-based treatment approaches, outcomes have varied widely. Philippe E. Spiess, M.D., an associate member in the Department of Genitourinary Oncology at Moffitt Cancer Center, presented new National Comprehensive Cancer Network Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology to standardize care for penile cancer in an article that appeared in the July issue of the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.

8 Aug 2013

Study finds cancer survivors do not always have best access to primary care

While cancer survivors require follow-up care to prevent a recurrence of their cancer and to watch for after effects of treatment, they also need the same preventive check-ups suggested for all people.

7 Aug 2013

Atossa Genetics: Many American women still not aware of breast cancer risk

Virtually all American women are aware that the pink ribbon is the symbol of breast cancer awareness. Despite this near-universal recognition, it is still a sad fact that plenty of women do not truly appreciate the extent to which they are at risk for breast cancer.

3 Aug 2013

International meeting to focus on carbon ion radiotherapy for cancer patients

Cancer experts from around the world are converging in Denver on Thursday and Friday to analyze the success of cutting-edge radiation therapies, and to determine how one promising treatment option could be delivered for the first time to cancer patients in the United States.

2 Aug 2013

Using the immune system to control cancer: an interview with Dr. Jedd Wolchok, MD, PhD, Ludwig Center at MSKCC

Cancer immunotherapy aims to recruit a patient’s immune system to recognize cancer as foreign and dangerous and to remove it from the body, as it would an infection.

1 Aug 2013

Cedars-Sinai physicist receives William D. Coolidge Award for pioneering work in radiation oncology

Benedick Fraass, PhD, FAAPM, FASTRO, FACR, received the highest honor from the American Association of Physicists in Medicine — the William D. Coolidge Award — for his distinguished career achievements in medical physics, including his pioneering work in radiation oncology.

1 Aug 2013

NeoGenomics launches clinical molecular tests for comprehensive profiling of MDS

NeoGenomics, Inc., a leading provider of cancer-focused genetic testing services, announced today that it has validated and launched a number of clinical molecular tests for the comprehensive profiling of myelodysplastic syndrome.

25 Jul 2013

Study reveals that black women with breast cancer continue to have lower survival rate

In an analysis of 5-year survival rates among black and white women diagnosed with breast cancer between 1991 and 2005, black women continued to have a lower rate of survival, with most of the difference related to factors including poorer health of black patients at diagnosis and more advanced disease, rather than treatment differences, according to a study in the July 24/31 issue of JAMA.

25 Jul 2013

New clinic focuses on men with fast-growing prostate cancer

While every year about 30,000 men die of prostate cancer in the United States, the most common cause of death in men with prostate cancer is heart disease. That's because not all prostate cancers are the same. Some are slow-growing while others are very aggressive.

25 Jul 2013

Medical groups oppose efforts to loosen regs for medical imaging and radiation therapy equipment

The organizations, which have sent letters to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, are concerned that this step would lead to lax standards.

24 Jul 2013

Study: Breathing oxygen during radiation therapy can delay tumor growth

A multidisciplinary team at UT Southwestern Medical Center has found that measuring the oxygenation of tumors can be a valuable tool in guiding radiation therapy, opening the door for personalized therapies that keep tumors in check with oxygen enhancement.

24 Jul 2013

Digital versions of standard molecular biology tool to detect common tumor-associated mutation in CSF

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers and their colleagues have used digital versions of a standard molecular biology tool to detect a common tumor-associated mutation in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with brain tumors. In their report being published in the open-access journal Molecular Therapy - Nucleic Acids, the investigators describe using advanced forms of the gene-amplification technology polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to analyze bits of RNA carried in membrane-covered sacs called extracellular vesicles for the presence of a tumor-associated mutation in a gene called IDH1.

24 Jul 2013

Radiation Therapy News and Research

Further Reading

Sugar offers noninvasive way to precisely image tumors through new imaging technology

Oraya Therapy Stereotactic Radiotherapy for treatment of wet AMDs now available at Optegra

Proton therapy provides organ-sparing treatment option for children with neuroblastoma

PSA screening shows low-grade prostate cancers do not progress to higher grade over time

RaySearch Laboratories announces first patient treated with RayStation

Researchers suggest neural stem cells may regenerate after anti-cancer treatment

Researchers explore potential of neural stem cells to repair brain damage

Carbon ion radiotherapy controls cancer growth, prolongs survival in patients with spinal tumors

Standardizing care for penile cancer

Study finds cancer survivors do not always have best access to primary care

Atossa Genetics: Many American women still not aware of breast cancer risk

International meeting to focus on carbon ion radiotherapy for cancer patients

Using the immune system to control cancer: an interview with Dr. Jedd Wolchok, MD, PhD, Ludwig Center at MSKCC

Cedars-Sinai physicist receives William D. Coolidge Award for pioneering work in radiation oncology

NeoGenomics launches clinical molecular tests for comprehensive profiling of MDS

Study reveals that black women with breast cancer continue to have lower survival rate

New clinic focuses on men with fast-growing prostate cancer

Medical groups oppose efforts to loosen regs for medical imaging and radiation therapy equipment

Study: Breathing oxygen during radiation therapy can delay tumor growth

Digital versions of standard molecular biology tool to detect common tumor-associated mutation in CSF

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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