radiation therapy
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Higher doses of radiation combined with chemotherapy improve survival in patients with stage III lung cancer, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.
In female cancer patients of reproductive age, radiation treatment directly to the ovaries should be avoided because there is a direct relationship between certain types of radiation therapy and fertility problems, according to a review in the April 1 issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, the official journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncol
A multi-center study of prostate cancer patients appearing in today's Journal of Urology recommends that for some men diagnosed with low-risk prostate cancer, opting not to initially receive treatment can be safe if they are closely monitored.
Preliminary results show that a shortened course of radiation therapy for prostate cancer called stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) provides good PSA response for early-stage prostate cancer and has the same side effects as other treatments, according to a March 15 study in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, the official journal of the American Socie
Scientists have piggybacked antibodies onto radioactive payloads to deliver doses of radiation that selectively target and destroy microbial and HIV-infected cells
Prostate cancer patients with high risk cancers who are treated with both internal and external radiation and hormone treatment have a better chance of beating the disease than patients treated with radiation alone, according to a new study published in the January 1, 2005, issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, the official journal of ASTRO, the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology.
Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma is a very rare but aggressive form of the disease, afflicting less than 5 percent of those diagnosed with thyroid cancer. In the past, most thyroid tumors could not be removed surgically and radiation and chemotherapy failed to improve survival, with most patients living less than six months after diagnosis. However, a new study suggests that an aggressive strategy combining surgery, chemotherapy and accelerated radiation therapy can improve survival for patients with this type of cancer.
Brachytherapy, the administration of radiation therapy locally through radioactive seeds, holds promise as part of a limb-sparing treatment program for patients with soft-tissue sarcomas, according to researchers. Sarcomas are cancers that grow in the connective tissues of the body, commonly within muscle and bone. Surgery and radiation have been an important part of successful treatment for these sarcomas.
Five years after surgery for prostate cancer, African-American men reported better sexual and urinary function than non-Latino white men-yet they were also more dissatisfied with problems related to their sexual function, according to researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California and colleagues. Investigators report the latest results from the expansive Prostate Cancer Outcomes Study (PCOS), a National Cancer Institute-supported study encompassing nearly 3,500 prostate cancer patients, in the Oct. 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The study is one of the nation's largest and most representative on quality of life after prostate cancer.
Patients who undergo radiation for treatment of brain tumors may survive their cancer only to have lasting memory and learning deficiencies, the impact of which can be particularly devastating for children. Now, researchers have discovered that lithium, a drug commonly used to treat bipolar disorder and other mental illnesses, can protect the brain cells involved in learning and memory from radiation damage. While the work has been conducted in cell culture and animal studies thus far, clinical trials are expected to be conducted soon to test whether the drug can protect humans from cognitive deficits as a result of cranial radiation therapy.
Women who are obese when they are diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer are at a greater risk of dying of their disease than women of normal weight. A new study compared the outcome data of obese, overweight and normal-weight women with early-stage breast cancer treated with conservation surgery (lumpectomy) and radiation therapy. The influence of obesity on breast cancer outcome has been uncertain, especially in early-stage breast cancer patients. Previous studies show that obesity is a risk factor for the development of breast cancer, but these prior studies have reported contradictory results regarding the influence of obesity on outcome in breast cancer patients.
Results from a study evaluating intensity modulated radiation therapy for breast cancer indicate that IMRT results in a lower dose of radiation to healthy breast tissue when compared to standard radiation. ''More than 70 percent of breast cancer patients receive ionizing radiation therapy to treat their disease... While these high-energy beams are targeted to the tumor site as precisely as possible, they often inadvertently injure healthy breast tissue that surrounds the tumor site, limiting the doses of radiation that can be used to effectively destroy cancer cells. With this study, we sought to discover whether tightly focused radiation beams, such as those provided by IMRT, would make a difference in the amount of radiation received by the side of the breast opposite from the tumor site.''
Researchers have found that adding only six months of hormone therapy to external beam radiation therapy for localized prostate cancer increased patients' likelihood of surviving to five years by 10 percent. These findings challenge the current treatment gold standard -- two months of radiation followed by three years of hormone therapy -- a regimen associated with negative side effects significantly impacting quality of life.
A radiation therapy technique that kills brain tumors in children while sparing normal tissue allows young patients to enjoy normal development of memory, reasoning, problem-solving and other cognitive functions, according to investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The results of a Phase II clinical trial of this technique, called conformal radiation therapy (CRT), hold promise for sparing cognitive development even in children younger than three years.
For patients with invasive bladder cancer, treatment has typically meant an operation to remove the bladder and nearby organs. This requires up to a week in the hospital and leaves patients with a reconstructed bladder or urostomy bag. Minimally invasive surgery combined with chemotherapy and radiation therapy has potential in some patients to cure the cancer but preserve the bladder.
