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.

CPF and PFF to partner with ATS to fund pulmonary fibrosis research

The Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis, the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation, and the American Thoracic Society-the world's leading professional organization for pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine-today announced that the CPF and the PFF will again partner with the ATS to fund pulmonary fibrosis research.

21 Mar 2013

New research provides better understanding of preserving brain's functions while killing cancer

New research from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center is giving radiation oncologists who treat brain tumors a better understanding of how to preserve the brain's functions while still killing cancer.

21 Mar 2013

Surgery better than radiotherapy for treatment of localised prostate cancer

Surgery offers better survival benefit for men with localised prostate cancer, according to a large observational study, conducted by a group of researchers in Sweden and the Netherlands.

16 Mar 2013

Research roundup: Nurse education and post-surgery mortality; The influence of publicly reported quality-of-care measures

Each week, KHN reporter Alvin Tran compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.

16 Mar 2013

Breast cancer patients treated with low doses of radiation therapy face high risk of heart disease

A new report that breast cancer patients treated with low doses of radiation therapy have a heightened risk of heart disease suggests that physicians need to work with patients before, during, and after treatment to minimize that risk, according to an accompanying editorial in the March 14 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

14 Mar 2013

Study reveals impact of physician financial incentives and highlights importance of patient education

According to a new study by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, prostate cancer patients of urologists who own expensive radiation equipment are more likely to receive radiation treatment in lieu of surgery than patients treated by urologists without an ownership stake in the equipment.

13 Mar 2013

Nearly two-thirds of women with ovarian cancer do not receive guideline-adherent care

Women are 30 percent less likely to die of ovarian cancer if they have guideline-recommended treatment, yet nearly two-thirds of those with the disease do not receive it, often because they are cared for at hospitals that treat a small number of ovarian cancer patients.

12 Mar 2013

Sosei commences SO-1105 Phase III trial in oropharyngeal candidiasis

Sosei Group Corporation, the biopharmaceutical company, today announces that its Japanese subsidiary, Sosei Co., Ltd., has initiated a Phase III trial for SO-1105 for the treatment of oropharyngeal candidiasis.

12 Mar 2013

IP chemotherapy increases survival in patients with advanced ovarian cancer

Patients with advanced ovarian cancer who undergo intensive treatment with chemotherapy that bathes the abdomen are significantly more likely to live longer than those who receive standard intravenous (IV) chemotherapy, according to a study that analyzed long-term follow-up from two landmark Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) trials comprising 876 patients.

11 Mar 2013

SGO's 44th Annual Meeting on Women's Cancer to be held in Los Angeles

Ovarian cancer treatment, health care reform, the impact of obesity on gynecologic health and the delivery of high quality gynecologic cancer care highlight the Society of Gynecologic Oncology's (SGO) 44th Annual Meeting on Women's Cancer March 9-12 in Los Angeles.

6 Mar 2013

IMRIS fourth quarter total revenues increase 37% to $20.1 million

IMRIS Inc. today reported its results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2012. All figures are reported in US dollars.

5 Mar 2013

Children with low-risk retinoblastoma do not need postoperative chemotherapy

New results from a prospective clinical trial conducted in France show that children with low-risk retinoblastoma do not need postoperative (adjuvant) chemotherapy to prevent disease recurrence or metastasis; the results also suggest that certain patients with intermediate-risk disease can receive less aggressive adjuvant treatment, or perhaps forego it altogether. Avoiding chemotherapy spares patients from treatment side effects and long-term health risks, such as cardiovascular disease and development of a second cancer.

5 Mar 2013

Elekta launches Versa HD system to treat cancers

During a live global event, Elekta announced the launch of Versa HD, an advanced linear accelerator system designed to improve patient care and treat a broader spectrum of cancers.

From Elekta 2 Mar 2013

Oraya Therapy safe and effective for patients with wet AMD

Oraya Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that one of the patients who successfully was treated for wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) with Oraya Therapy during the INTREPID clinical trial has released data showing he has experienced significant, sustained vision improvement more than two years after treatment in his right eye, without any subsequent anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) injections or other treatment.

1 Mar 2013

Radiation, surgery offer best survival possibilities for metastatic gastric cancer patients

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center studied patients with metastatic gastric cancer and found that those who have both surgery and radiation have better survival than those who receive one or no form of treatment.

28 Feb 2013

First study ever to analyze 25 years of data after radiation therapy for prostate cancer patients

The March 2013 issue of The Journal of Urology, the official journal of The American Urological Association, includes a study conducted by four physicians from Radiotherapy Clinics of Georgia (RCOG), a Vantage Oncology affiliate.

28 Feb 2013

Abell Foundation to award $50,000 to 3 Johns Hopkins researchers for medical inventions

Johns Hopkins' John Wong, Ph.D., has won a BioMaryland LIFE Award, and Ronald Berger, M.D., Ph.D., and Hien Nguyen, M.D., were awarded funds from the Abell Foundation, the researchers learned last week. Each of the winners will receive $50,000 to help develop their discoveries for clinical use.

27 Feb 2013

Follow up evaluations necessary for 15 years after radiation therapy for prostate cancer patients

27 Feb 2013

Radial forearm free flap shows worth in mandibular reconstruction

The osteocutaneous radial forearm free flap should be used for mandibular reconstruction because of the low rate of long-term donor and recipient site complications, particularly with prophylactic plating of the donor radius, say US scientists.

26 Feb 2013

New UM technology could provide five-minute diagnostic test and vaccine for Staph infections

New technology from the University of Maryland (UM) could potentially provide a five-minute diagnostic test and a vaccine for tough-to-treat Staphylococcus aureus infections, including the antibiotic-resistant MRSA, often called a "super bug," says inventor Mark Shirtliff, PhD, an associate professor at the UM School of Dentistry in Baltimore.