Identification Of Highly Radiosensitive Patients May Lead To Side Effect-free Radiotherapy

An international group of scientists has taken the first step on the road to targeting radiotherapy dosage to individual patients by means of their genetic characteristics, a radiation oncologist told Europe's largest cancer congress, ECCO 15 - ESMO 34 [1], in Berlin. Professor Dirk de Ruysscher, from Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, The Netherlands, said that his team's work might provide the basis for personalised radiotherapy in which, with a simple blood test, doctors may be able to select the optimal radiation dose for a particular patient.

The team of scientists from The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and Canada studied a group of patients with hypersensitivity to radiation therapy, drawn from the largest world-wide database available - the European Union-funded Genetic pathways for the prediction of the effect of irradiation (GENEPI) study, which integrates biological material with patient data and treatment specifications. The database included information from more than 8000 European patients.

“Part of this project is the establishment of a sub-database in which very rare patient characteristics are brought together with the hypothesis that their genetic traits will enable the characterisation of molecular pathways related to radio-sensitivity,” explained Professor de Ruysscher. “A major problem for radiation oncologists at present is that we are bound by the need to avoid damage to normal tissues. This means that the dose of radiation generally used is governed by the response of the most radiosensitive patients, and this may lead to many patients receiving lower than optimal doses, hence affecting the ability to deliver a higher dose that may result in better local tumour control.”

source: European CanCer Organization

For Brain Metastases, Whole-Brain Radiotherapy After Surgery Or Radiosurgery Not Recommended

Whole-brain radiotherapy should not be given routinely to all patients whose cancer has spread to the brain, say researchers who found that using it after surgery or radiosurgery in patients with a limited number of brain metastases and stable cancer in the rest of the body did not extend lives or help patients remain functionally independent for longer.

In the largest study to date on the issue, scientists reported at Europe's largest cancer congress, ECCO 15 - ESMO 34 [1], in Berlin (Tuesday 22 September) that while the technique did extend the length of time before the cancer got worse and reduced the risk of brain-related deaths, it failed to prolong overall survival or the length of time that patients were able to remain independent in critical functions such as walking, thinking and eating.

source: Medical News Today

Brachytherapy, External Beam Radiation Therapy, and Androgen Suppression Improve Survival of Men with High-risk Prostate Cancer

Researchers from the Dana Farber Cancer Center have reported that men with high-risk prostate cancer receiving brachytherapy have improved survival with added external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) and androgen suppression therapy (AST). The details of this study appeared in the August 20, 2009 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.[1]

Patients with locally advanced high-risk prostate cancer are often treated with hormone therapy alone or with radiation plus hormonal therapy. Most recent studies have shown that patients with locally advanced prostate cancer have better outcomes when receiving combination therapy. Researchers from Sweden have recently reported that combined EBRT and hormonal therapy reduces deaths by 50% compared with hormonal therapy alone for treatment of locally advanced or high-risk prostate cancer. Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute have reported that the addition of six months of AST to EBRT improves the outcomes of men with localized prostate cancer with unfavorable features who had no or minimal comorbidity.

An alternative approach is to administer brachytherapy and EBRT. Researchers from the Seattle Prostate Cancer Institute have reported that the combination of brachytherapy plus EBRT provides low rates of cancer recurrences at 15 years following treatment for early (T1-3) prostate cancer.

source: Cancer Consultants

DOR BioPharma Announces NIH Grant Award to Support Phase 1/2 Clinical Trial of DOR201 in Radiation Enteritis

PRINCETON, N.J., Sept. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- DOR BioPharma, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: DORB) (DOR or the Company), a late-stage biotechnology company, announced today that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded DOR a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant to support the conduct of a Phase 1/2 clinical trial evaluating DOR201, a time-release formulation of oral beclomethasone dipropionate (oral BDP), for the prevention of acute radiation enteritis. The award will provide DOR with approximately $500,000 over a two-year period.

The grant application included the Phase 1/2 protocol BDP-ENT-01, which is designed as a multicenter, open-label, sequential, dose-escalation study in approximately 36 patients. Patients with rectal cancer who are scheduled to undergo concurrent radiation and chemotherapy prior to surgery will be enrolled in four dose groups. The objectives of the study are to evaluate the safety and maximal tolerated dose of escalating doses of DOR201, as well as the preliminary efficacy of DOR201 for prevention of signs and symptoms of acute radiation enteritis. The study is expected to be initiated in 2009.

Acute radiation enteritis is caused by radiation-induced death of cells in the lining of the bowel. As bowel cells die and are not replaced, gastrointestinal toxicity develops over the next few days and weeks due to an inflammatory response to dead cells and bacteria, with chronic diarrhea, vomiting and pain being the major symptoms. The addition of chemotherapy often exacerbates the onset, severity and debilitation related to intestinal symptoms. Radiation enteritis often results in delay or interruption of the cancer treatment.

source: PR Newswire

FDA Clears Hologic's MammoSite® ML Radiation Therapy System For The Treatment Of Early-Stage Breast Cancer

Hologic, Inc. (Hologic or the Company) (Nasdaq: HOLX), a leading developer, manufacturer and supplier of premium diagnostics, medical imaging systems and surgical products dedicated to serving the healthcare needs of women, today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared the Company's 510K application for the MammoSite((R)) ML radiation therapy system. With its multi-lumen design, this new device gives radiation oncologists the ability to shape the radiation dose for typical cases and treat patients who are otherwise not appropriate candidates for traditional brachytherapy.

Hologic's MammoSite therapy system, first cleared by the FDA in 2002 as a single-lumen device, is the most widely used form of accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) in the United States. It has been used to treat more than 50,000 breast cancer patients in the U.S.

By employing the MammoSite system, the physician can deliver targeted radiation therapy directly to the area where cancer is most likely to recur,(i) allowing a full course of radiation to be delivered in just five days. Additionally, targeted therapy of the breast limits radiation exposure to normal, healthy tissue. This targeting helps minimize side effects such as skin discoloration and scarring, burning, fatigue, and damage to surrounding organs.

source: Hologic

Varian Medical Systems Adds RapidArc® and Image Guidance to New Low Energy Treatment Platform for Radiation Therapy in International Cancer Clinics

MAASTRICHT, The Netherlands, Aug. 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR) is introducing the world's first low-energy radiotherapy system with image-guidance and RapidArc treatment capabilities for international cancer clinics. Varian's UNIQUE™ radiotherapy system is expected to make advanced care more affordable and more widely available to cancer patients around the world.

"This package is truly a unique offering for international markets," says Dow Wilson, president of Varian's Oncology Systems business. "We have added high-tech image-guidance and arc therapy tools to a low energy platform together with our treatment planning and information management software so that technology for fast, state-of-the-art cancer treatments can be made available to treatment centers at a cost under $2 million. It's in keeping with our mission to save more lives by making proven advanced radiotherapy technology available to people who currently do not have access to it."

The UNIQUE Performance Edition incorporates all the tools needed to easily establish or enhance a clinically effective radiotherapy treatment operation. The UNIQUE* platform's low energy medical linear accelerator incorporates Varian's proven technologies for reliable and consistent dose control, delivery, and beam shaping, into an elegant machine with patient friendly design that is small enough to fit into almost all existing treatment bunkers.

source: Varian Medical Systems