Recipients Of 2008 Awards, Grants Announced By ASTRO

The American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology's Research Evaluation Committee has announced the recipients of several awards and grants that are funded by the Radiation Oncology Institute (formerly the ASTRO Education and Development Fund) and distributed each year as part of the organization's overall effort to prevent, treat and cure malignancies.

The Junior Faculty Career Research Training Award is awarded to stimulate interest in radiation research early in academic career development by giving junior physician faculty the opportunity to focus on research in radiation oncology, biology, physics or outcomes/health services research; it is presented each year to a board-eligible physician or physicist in radiation oncology or a radiobiologist who is within the first three years of his or her junior faculty appointment. This is a two-year award in the amount of $125,000 per year. This year's recipients are Christopher D. Willey, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and Erik P. Sulman, M.D., Ph.D., of M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

source: Medical News Today

Six Weeks of Radiation Therapy May Be Unnecessary for Many Breast Cancer Patients

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Many women with breast cancer may not need six weeks of daily radiation after surgery. This explosive finding was made public at the recent International Society of Intraoperative Radiation Therapy (ISIORT) conference held in Madrid, Spain earlier this month.

A Single Dose of Radiation is Enough

Renowned surgeon Dr. Umberto Veronesi, founder of the European Institute of Oncology, shared for the first time the results of a long-awaited, eight-year randomized trial comparing his breast cancer patients’ response to two types of radiation therapy. The results so far show that women who received breast conserving surgery, followed by a single dose of intraoperative electron-beam radiation therapy (IOERT) at the time of surgery, had an equal chance of survival as women who underwent the surgery, followed by six weeks of post-operative radiation therapy.

source: IntraOp Medical

Salvage Radiotherapy Improves Prostate Cancer-specific Survival

Radiation therapy following a recurrence of prostate cancer may reduce deaths specifically caused by the disease. These results were recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among American men. Often, men treated with initial therapy will experience a biochemical recurrence. This refers to an increase in prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels, which are small proteins shed into the blood by the prostate. Levels of PSA often indicate either the presence or recurrence of prostate cancer; therefore, follow-up after initial therapy includes PSA readings. PSA doubling time refers to the duration of time it takes for PSA levels to double; this measurement is often even more important than the absolute levels of PSA.

source: CancerConsultants

Siemens Next Generation Technology May Bring New Hope to Cancer Patients

CONCORD, Calif., June 17 /PRNewswire/ -- The ARTISTE(TM) Solution from
Siemens Healthcare  has recently gone clinical
in three of the most prominent cancer centers around the world. Dozens of
patients have been treated to date at MAASTRO Clinic in the Netherlands,
German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg, Germany, and Baton
Rouge General's Pennington Cancer Center in Louisiana.

   The ARTISTE Solution is a linear accelerator engineered specifically
for Adaptive Radiation Therapy (ART). Unique in design, ARTISTE is an
integrated imaging and workflow solution that offers a comprehensive
portfolio of image-guided and advanced treatment delivery protocols,
including in-room CT imaging capabilities and a new multileaf collimator,
160 MLC(TM).

source: PR Newswire

Combining Radiation and Surgery Significantly Improves Survival for

Adding radiation therapy to surgery significantly improves overall survival in patients diagnosed with node-positive head and neck cancer when compared to treating with surgery alone, according to a study in the June issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, the official journal of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology.

Radiation therapy is commonly used after surgery to treat some head and neck cancers, but very few studies have been conducted to determine its impact on survival. Researchers at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine departments of Radiation Oncology and Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery in New York sought to determine with this study the impact of radiation and surgery on a head and neck cancer patients' overall survival.

source: ASTRO

Solid Tumor Cells Not Killed by Radiation and Chemotherapy Become Stronger

DURHAM, N.C. – Because of the way solid tumors adapt the body's machinery to bring themselves more oxygen, chemotherapy and radiation may actually make these tumors stronger.

"In a sense, these therapies can make the tumor healthier," said Mark W. Dewhirst, D.V.M., Ph.D., professor of radiation oncology at Duke University Medical Center. "Unless the treatment is very effective in killing many if not most tumor cells, you are shooting yourself in the foot."

Dewhirst and colleagues Yiting Cao, M.D., Ph.D., of Duke Pathology, and Benjamin Moeller, M.D., Ph.D. have introduced this counter-intuitive idea at recent conferences and in a review article featured in the June issue of Nature Reviews Cancer.

Radiation and chemotherapy do kill most solid tumor cells, but in the cells that survive, the therapies drive an increase in a regulatory factor called HIF1 (hypoxia-inducible factor 1), which cells use to get the oxygen they need by increasing blood vessel growth into the tumor. Solid tumors generally have low supplies of oxygen, Dewhirst explained and HIF1 helps them get the oxygen they need.

The review article concludes that blocking (HIF1) would provide a clear mechanism for killing solid-tumor cells, particularly cells that are proving resistant to radiation or chemotherapy treatments.

source: mary Jane Gor, Duke University Medical Center

Pitt Researchers Identify Gene That Influences Damage From Radiation Therapy

Researchers with the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) have identified a gene that may play a role in promoting radiation-induced intestinal damage. The research, published by Cell Press in the June issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell, could lead to new strategies for protecting normal tissues from radiation during cancer treatment.

Although radiation is one of the most effective treatments for cancer, damage to cells lining the gastrointestinal tract is a major limiting factor for patients undergoing pelvic or abdominal radiotherapy. The specific mechanisms that underlie radiation-induced gastrointestinal toxicity, known as gastrointestinal (GI) syndrome, are not well understood. Previous studies have suggested that damage to intestinal stem cells or blood vessel cells, which are called endothelial cells, may be involved in the development of GI syndrome.

source: Medical News Today

Preventing Too Much Radioactive Exposure - Rabbit(R) Helps To Battle Cancer

"We looked at other processors, but having memory and I/O, and a dedicated C compiler with examples made Rabbit the right choice" - Martin Brown, Best Medical Canada

One of the most effective methods to combat cancer and tumors is radiation therapy. Along with the benefits there also exists a significant level of risk, since too much radioactive exposure can cause new formations of cancer or even lead to death. In order to protect from over-exposure, a subspecialty called dosimetry calculates the radiation level of in a mass or tissue. Measurements are made with a device called MOSFET (Metal Oxide Field Effect Transistor) dosimeter. Dosimeters have become widely popular for clinical use, especially with radiotherapy. With the help of the RCM3100 RabbitCore, Best Medical Canada is taking dosimetry to a whole new level.

source: MedicalNewsToday

Follow-Up Radiation For Early Breast Cancer Less Likely To Be Received By Blacks, Hispanics Than Whites

Black and Hispanic women are less likely than white women to receive the radiation therapy routinely prescribed following surgery for early breast cancer, according to a study that Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers will present at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago.

Although the disparity in rates is relatively small, the findings suggest that thousands of black and Hispanic breast cancer patients may be undertreated following a lumpectomy. The data (abstract 535) will be presented during a poster session on Monday, June 2, 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. CT, Lakeside Center Building, 450A.

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