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.

KCC's geriatric oncology symposium to take place on March 9

Approaches to treating elderly cancer patients are evolving as more of the population ages and the need for specialized care becomes more evident. To address these issues and others, national thought leaders in geriatric oncology will gather at a unique symposium at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson (KCC) in Philadelphia on Friday, March 9, 2012, where they will present an overview of the latest advances in the understanding and treatment of cancer in older adults in an effort to impact patient care.

29 Feb 2012

Collaborative study of physical activity patterns, eating habits in colorectal cancer patients

The five hospitals of Meridian Health, a System Partner of The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ), have joined forces with CINJ in offering a clinical research study that examines physical activity patterns and eating habits in colorectal cancer patients who have recently finished treatment.

27 Feb 2012

Elekta to highlight Clarity with Autoscan at Radiosurgery Society meeting

Clarity soft tissue visualization system now provides an Autoscan option for automated ultrasound scanning from outside of the treatment room, employing a motorized probe positioned at the patient's perineum.

From Elekta 20 Feb 2012

James E. Cary Cancer Center to implement RayStation treatment planning system

RaySearch Laboratories AB has received an order for its RayStation treatment planning system from the James E. Cary Cancer Center located in Hannibal, Missouri.

20 Feb 2012

Elekta's Fraxion integrates all proven cranial immobilization options in a single solution

The Fraxion head frame helps ensure accuracy and precision in stereotactic radiation therapy (SRT) of cancer targets in the brain and cranium. Elekta's Fraxion is the first to introduce an innovative system that integrates all proven cranial immobilization options in a single solution.

From Elekta 18 Feb 2012

Lung cancer patients with severe COPD can benefit from SBRT

Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) provides better overall survival rates than surgery for lung cancer patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a disease commonly associated with lung cancer, according to a study in the upcoming March issue of the International Journal of Radiation, Oncology, Biology, Physics, the official scientific journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology.

17 Feb 2012

Researchers test nanoscale carbon clusters for cancer chemotherapy

A mixture of current drugs and carbon nanoparticles shows potential to enhance treatment for head-and-neck cancers, especially when combined with radiation therapy, according to new research by Rice University and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

16 Feb 2012

MV-GFP extends survival of animals with medulloblastoma

A strain of measles virus engineered to kill cancer cells prolongs survival in a model of medulloblastoma that is disseminated in the fluid around the brain, according to a new study by researchers at Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute and the Mayo Clinic.

16 Feb 2012

Combination of therapeutic cancer vaccines and chemotherapy shows promise

Therapeutic cancer vaccines, which stimulate the body's immune system to target and destroy cancer cells, are being used in combination with conventional chemotherapy with growing success, as described in several illuminating articles in Cancer Biotherapy and Radiopharmaceuticals, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

16 Feb 2012

Postoperative radiotherapy does not really help elderly lung cancer patients

A controversial radiation treatment for patients who've had lung cancer surgery may not help elderly people live longer, U.S. researchers have found. Postoperative radiotherapy, or PORT, is thought to cut the chances that a tumor will return. But it can damage the heart and lungs, which might cancel out any potential benefits -- particularly in the elderly.

14 Feb 2012

Radiation treatment transforms breast cancer stem cells into new iBCSCs

Breast cancer stem cells are thought to be the sole source of tumor recurrence and are known to be resistant to radiation therapy and don't respond well to chemotherapy.

14 Feb 2012

UT Southwestern installs new system to deliver precise radiation therapy

UT Southwestern Medical Center has installed a new system to deliver extremely precise and individualized radiation treatment, assuring that cancer patients in the region have access to the latest advances in radiation oncology.

14 Feb 2012

Radiation therapy may not benefit many older lung cancer patients

A new study has found that many older lung cancer patients get treatments that may not help them live longer. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the findings suggest that physicians should not routinely use radiation after surgery to treat lung cancer that is advanced but has not widely spread, at least in older patients.

13 Feb 2012

PORT may not prolong life in older people with NSCLC

Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found that post-operative radiation therapy (PORT), a controversial yet frequently administered treatment for lung cancer, may not prolong life in older people with locally advanced disease.

13 Feb 2012

Preliminary results from Soligenix SGX201 Phase 1/2 trial on acute radiation enteritis

Soligenix, Inc., a development stage biopharmaceutical company, announced preliminary results today from a Phase 1/2 clinical trial evaluating SGX201, a time-release formulation of oral beclomethasone 17,21-dipropionate (oral BDP), for the prevention of acute radiation enteritis.

10 Feb 2012

ASTRO creates guideline on radiotherapeutic, surgical management for brain metastases

The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has developed a guideline on the radiotherapeutic and surgical management for newly diagnosed brain metastases. It has been published in Practical Radiation Oncology (PRO), ASTRO's official clinical practice journal.

9 Feb 2012

Russian neurosurgical institute acquires Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion system

Russia's first Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion system has found a home at the renowned N.N. Burdenko Neurosurgical Institute, just a five-minute car ride from Moscow's Red Square.

From Elekta 6 Feb 2012

UCSD Moores Cancer Center offers NovoTTF procedure for patients with GBM

Jim Black is fighting the meanest, most aggressive, most common kind of brain tumor in the United States: recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). In the United States, each year, approximately 10,000 patients are affected by GBM. Now, a novel investigational device - available only at clinical trial sites - is offering new hope to these patients.

4 Feb 2012

Enrollment opens in sorafenib vs. radioembolization in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma trial

'SARAH' - a French national collaborative randomized controlled trial of radioembolization with yttrium-90 resin microspheres versus sorafenib in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma is now open for recruitment

3 Feb 2012

EUSA Pharma acquires ASPAREC development and commercialization rights

EUSA Pharma, a transatlantic specialty pharmaceutical company focused on oncology, oncology supportive care and critical care, today announced that it has acquired the exclusive worldwide development and commercialization rights to ASPAREC for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) from Alizé Pharma.

3 Feb 2012