Radiotherapy may be able to do far more than simply destroy tumor cells. A review explores how combining radiotherapy with immunotherapy could improve outcomes for patients with pancreatic cancer.
Exposure of the thymus to radiation during lung cancer treatment is linked to an increased risk of the cancer spreading to other parts of the body and overall worse outcomes, a new study finds.
Surgical treatment of rectal cancer often means complete removal of the rectum. Now, new trial results suggest a different approach that lets patients keep their rectum – along with significant quality-of-life benefits.
Low brain metabolism as measured from 18F-FDG PET/CT is associated with higher mortality in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to new research.
Ultra-fast delivery, fewer side-effects: Results from the FAST-02 trial show that proton Flash therapy can be safely delivered to cancer patients with metastases in proximity to vital organs.
A second prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) PET scan changed treatment plans for nearly half of prostate cancer patients whose first scan was negative, according to new research.
Radiopharmaceutical therapy has already transformed care for neuroendocrine tumors and prostate cancer, but other tumor types still lack targeted treatment options. A new approach could change this.
Many people with breast cancer can avoid chemotherapy with a gene test, potentially sparing them side effects without increasing the risk of the cancer returning, a clinical trial has found.
Due to advances in radiation therapy, some breast cancer patients may be able to omit surgery following ablative radiation, according to new results of a Phase 2 trial.
Once breast cancer begins to metastasise, it generally becomes harder to treat and survival rates are lower. Now, researchers present a new, targeted treatment approach using SBRT radiotherapy.
United Imaging debuts its CE-marked uRT-linac 506c at ESTRO 2026 – a CT-linac system with native AI architecture for adaptive radiotherapy workflows.
The chances of breast cancer recurring remain very low when patients are treated with radiotherapy that is tailored to their individual risk following chemotherapy and surgery, new study results find.
Glioblastoma is notorious for late diagnosis, rapid progression, resistance to treatment and its biological complexity. A new experimental method could help detect this deadly type of brain cancer.
Prostate cancer screening compares favourably to screening for breast cancer in identifying significant cancers, reducing mortality and avoiding unnecessary harms, says new research.
The concept of using radiotherapy for osteoarthritis may seem counterintuitive for many clinicians. Yet a well-designed randomised controlled trial presented at the 2025 ASTRO Annual Meeting in San Francisco suggests that low-dose radiotherapy deserves a closer look. The findings add robust evidence to a therapeutic approach that has long been underutilised outside of German-speaking countries.
Radiation oncology is a field in remarkable transformation: a deepening global shortage of trained practitioners, persistent inequities in access to treatment – and, on the other side of the ledger, a new generation of technologies, from AI-driven adaptive planning to photon-counting CT, that are expanding what the field can do in ways previously unimaginable. At this year’s World Health Expo…
Functional brain radiosurgery is an application of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), representing its newest clinical field. It is a precise, non-invasive medical technique using focused ionising radiation to precisely target specific brain structures to modulate brain function for neurological disorders, psychiatric conditions, or intractable pain. The technology offers “precision without…
RadCentre is a comprehensive process and data management solution for radiology, nuclear medicine and radiotherapy. Based on latest technologies it offers high usability with an innovative user interface (Cockpit) and most efficient reporting with integrated speech recognition.Integration of received reports (specification depends on cooperating system) Fast and efficient creation of reports…
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Radiotherapy is more effective when administered at the right time of day, according to new research. This discovery opens the door to cancer “chronotherapy”, the researchers hope.
Beyond "one-size-fits-all": A new strategy that combines two types of PET scans can guide personalized radiotherapy for head and neck cancers, according to new research.
Integrating the patient’s voice: A new study shows access to patient-reported outcome (PRO) data improves the consistency of the evaluation of treatment-related side effects in patients with cancer.
Researchers have discovered that low physical activity is associated with a higher risk of lymphedema. They have also noted that a lymph scanner objectively measures changes in the condition.
Radiotherapy is effective against prostate cancer but can cause side effects. Using AI, scientists found that images originally taken to help position patients could also predict rectal bleeding.
Artificial intelligence is reshaping how clinicians identify women at higher risk of breast cancer – and may soon guide decisions on supplemental screening and treatment. At the European Society of Breast Imaging (EUSOBI) annual scientific meeting in Aberdeen, Scotland, two experts presented their latest findings on AI-driven risk stratification and response prediction.
A novel AI-based method can distinguish between progressive brain tumours and radiotherapy-induced necrosis on advanced MRI. This could help clinicians more accurately identify and treat the issues.
IDH mutated gliomas are slow-growing brain tumors with a relatively good prognosis. A new study shows that many patients reveal measurable cognitive impairment in the first year after treatment.
While saving lives remains the primary goal, a new study explores how radiation therapy also helps breast cancer survivors return to work. Policymakers should factor this in, the researchers argue.
A new type of SPECT imaging provides strong prognostic information to guide prostate cancer treatments according to tumor evolution, significantly impacting patients' overall survival.
In metastatic EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), targeting residual disease through surgery can extend the benefits of EGFR TKI therapy beyond standard monotherapy, a new study finds.
Researchers have developed a machine learning algorithm that uses cardiac MRI images to help identify breast cancer patients who may be at risk of cardiotoxicity during cancer treatment. The research, led by cardiologist Dr Paaladinesh Thavendiranathan, was presented at the European Society of Cardiology's Cardio-Oncology Conference in Florence in June.
A newly developed method to accurately quantify how much radiation is absorbed by the blood during cancer treatment could lead to more personalised, preventive, and safer radiotherapy.
Molecular profiling of over 1,000 nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) tumours reveals distinct differences in tumour microenvironment of locoregionally advanced NPC, supporting personalised treatment.
What if every radiographer could help combat climate change while performing their daily work? Following the congress theme of ECR 2025, experts revealed how small changes – from education initiatives to simple workflow adjustments – can collectively transform the environmental impact of radiology.
United Imaging, a global leader in cutting-edge diagnostic imaging and radiotherapy solutions, proudly unveils two groundbreaking additions to its portfolio — the uMI Panvivo and the uMR Ultra — both newly CE-marked and set to redefine the standards of precision and performance in medical imaging.
COCIR, the European Trade Association representing the medical imaging, radiotherapy, health ICT and electromedical industries, is announcing a leadership change as Secretary-General Annabel Seebohm will be leaving the association at the end of May.
Nuclear medicine specialist Daniela Oprea-Lager has been appointed Professor of Theranostics at Radboudumc / Radboud University. Her research focuses on the combination of diagnostics and treatment using radioactive substances, with particular interest for urological tumors, especially prostate cancer.
With the introduction of boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT), Helsinki University Hospital offers a new radiation therapy method that can destroy cancer cells while sparing the surrounding tissue.
From organ-preserving treatments to chemo-immunotherapy combinations: five studies presented at ESTRO 2025 showcase how radiotherapy is reshaping the treatment landscape for anal and rectal cancer.
Bringing diagnostics and therapy closer together - that is the basic concept behind theranostics. Through further development of its PET/MR scanners, Siemens Healthineers aims to advance this approach. Andreas Schneck, Head of the MRI Division at Siemens Healthineers, talks about the new system, which was also presented at the European Congress of Radiology (ECR) in Vienna, and its advantages in…
Radiation therapy is an effective component of many cancer treatments, but some patients experience severe side effects. A new study shows that hyperbaric oxygen therapy can provide long-term relief.
Surgery may not be the best next course of treatment for patients with early-stage breast cancer who had a complete response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy and standard radiotherapy, new research finds.
United Imaging, a global leader in manufacturing advanced medical imaging and radiotherapy equipment, showcases a range of cutting-edge technologies aligned with sustainable values. Notably, the company achieves an A rating in the MSCI ESG ratings, highlighting its unwavering commitment to transforming medical diagnostics and patient care worldwide through a holistic, sustainable approach.
To improve breathing monitoring during radiotherapy, researchers have developed a millimeter-wave sensor capable of non-invasively visualizing respiratory movement during X-ray and CT examinations.
Senescent cells, which may appear after chemotherapy or radiotherapy, can jeopardize patients' recovery. A study describes a new mechanism to eliminate these cells in cancer patients.
Why does radiation therapy kill cancer cells from the same tumour in different ways? This has long remained poorly understood. Now, new findings open up opportunities to improve treatment.
A premiere that brings hope for fertility restoration to men who underwent chemotherapy during childhood: Researchers reintroduced cryopreserved immature testicular tissue taken 16 years prior.
A new radiotracer – an injected compound used in PET scans – could help inform doctors that a patients aggressive cancer will not respond to chemotherapy before treatment is given.
A research team has found wearable organic x-ray sensors could be the answer towards safer radiotherapy protocols for cancer patients, reducing the debilitating side-effects of the treatment.
Royal Philips announced a major advance in radiation oncology with 510(k) clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its new detector-based spectral CT radiotherapy solution.
Molecular pathology should become centralised in fewer labs to improve efficiencies and affordability, according to leading European experts.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) treatments could offer relief to breast cancer patients who experience late toxicities following radiotherapy treatment. To date, the handful of completed clinical trials only produced inconclusive or contradictory results. Therefore, results from the latest trial, named HONEY (Effect of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy on Breast Cancer Patients with Late Radiation…
United Imaging launches the uMI Panvivo, the uMI Panorama GS and Nuclear Medicine AI Solution at EANM, and announces strategic partnerships, reinforcing its commitment to advancing molecular imaging in Europe and beyond.
Immunotherapy has become the most promising strategy for treating several cancers, but its effectiveness is still very uneven. Three researchers explain how research is being done to change this.
Researchers have identified fibrotic scarring as a key source of resurgence of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). The new insights could lead to better prevention of this type of brain cancer.
Radiotherapy for breast cancer is always associated with the risk of damage to organs or surrounding tissue. A new positioning system, which has now been patented by the Hamm-Lippstadt University of Applied Sciences (HSHL), positions the breast far away from the upper body and thus increases the distance to the organs at risk. The medical device called "X-Akt Mamma RTX" is now set to be…
Radiologists and gynaecologists entered a veritable bout during the Oxford debate at the 43rd annual congress of the German Senologic Society in Dresden. Controversy was sparked by the question of whether all patients with a ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) should undergo radiotherapy.
United Imaging, a company specializing in advanced imaging solutions, is proud to announce the first installment of their cutting-edge technology in France. The increasing number of healthcare facilities deciding to leverage the company's diagnostic solutions stands as a testament to their effort toward engineering imaging solutions that hold the potential to transform patients’ lives worldwide.
When a person is diagnosed with rectal cancer, part of the bowel is often removed, often resulting in the need for a stoma or problems with bowel control. A new therapy could help avoid this surgery.
After breast cancer surgery, radiotherapy helps prevent the cancer from returning. However, this protection does not last forever. A long-term study shows the duration of the treatment's benefits.
Radiotherapy of prostate cancer often comes with side effects, causing some patients to discontinue treatment. New research shows the benefits of at lowering the dose over subsequent treatment cycles.
A surgical technique called total mesometrial resection (TMMR) is associated with better outcomes than current treatments. A new study shows a significantly lower risk of disease recurrence and death.
Ductal Carcinoma in Situ (DCIS) often develop into more invasive forms of breast cancer. To predict which DCIS patients are likely to be affected, researchers have developed an analytic AI-based tool.
A new study shows that extracellular vesicles shed by prostate cancer cells contain tumor-derived material that can be used as biomarkers of therapy response and resistance in metastatic disease.
The new Nuclear Medicine Department of the San Pietro Fatebenefratelli Hospital was inaugurated in Rome. The Department was inaugurated with the online intervention of Health Minister Orazio Schillaci and in the presence of Maria Tripodi (Undersecretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation), Antonello Aurigemma (President of Lazio Regional Council).
Smaller kills faster – this is what was previously thought about gold nanoparticles used to fight cancer cells. However, new research reveals a more complex picture of these interactions.
The concept of delivering radiation therapy to cancer patients seated in an upright position is undergoing a major resurgence. Evidence is already highlighting that patients feel more comfortable seated upright and enjoy better communication with radiotherapists during their care. In addition, there are indications of less internal organ movement, enabling more accurate treatment delivery.…
Pancreatic cancer stem cells exploit an antibacterial protein to evade the immune system. Removing this protein could pave the way to more effective immunotherapy, new research suggests.
In more than one in six patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, the tumour is initially diagnosed at a non-metastatic primarily unresectable, locally advanced stage (LAPC). For these patients, a new internal radiation procedure, OncoSil™ brachytherapy, may become a treatment option – in Germany, around 858 patients could benefit from this innovation annually.
Medical imaging and radiotherapy equipment company United Imaging are delighted to extend a warm welcome to Cobellis Clinic, the latest treatment centre to join their global family of clients. With an unwavering commitment to providing the highest level of healthcare services, the clinic has made a strategic decision to rely on the manufacturer's state-of-the-art imaging technology.
Prostate radiotherapy techniques have been transformed over the past two decades. One promisting technique in this context is magnetic resonance-guided radiotherapy. The latest clinical results show a dramatic reduction in side effects, improving patient outcomes and quality of life.
United Imaging showcased its full portfolio of AI-empowered products at the ECR 2024 in Vienna. The company highlighted its significant EU growth since establishing its regional HQ in 2019.
A new radiotherapy technique, which delivers high doses of radiation in a matter of seconds, spares the surrounding tissue and, according to initial data, has fewer side effects.
Cancer patients receiving radiotherapy run the risk of injuring their lungs. This can lead to conditions like pneumonitis and fibrosis. A new cell-by-cell model can help make treatments safer.
United Imaging Healthcare Europe, a leading company in advanced medical imaging and radiotherapy equipment, proudly announces the introduction of its first Mobile Digital PET/CT solution in Italy, now fully operational in the Piacenza province under the auspices of the Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale Piacenza (AUSLP) hospital.
Chemotherapy against cancer can lead to the generation of senescent tumour cells, which can help the tumour survive. A new immunotherapy approach to eliminate these cells shows promise in animal models.
A simple blood test could help diagnose patients with glioblastoma, the deadliest form of brain cancer, sparing them from undergoing invasive and highly-risky surgery, report UK researchers.
New research suggests a new approach to precision radiotherapy can reduce the risk of swallowing problems for patients, without impacting the success of treatment.
New tissue-equivalent materials developed at the University of Surrey could pave the way for a new generation of flexible X-ray detectors, with potential applications in cancer treatment.
A paper published in Trends in Cancer explains the advantages of RENACER, the world’s first repository of brain metastases live samples, created by researchers at CNIO.
Chemotherapy, radiotherapy or surgery – these are the three common forms of cancer therapy. Now, lymphoma specialists in Essen are investigating the possibility of a different approach.
Advances in positron computed tomography (PET) could lead to a more refined approach to the precise removal of brain tumors is on the horizon, experts from Poland point out.
New trial results suggest that a short course of induction chemotherapy prior to chemoradiation could reduce the rate of relapse and death among patients with locally advanced cervical cancer.
After pelvic radiotherapy, patients may live with low-grade chronic inflammation of the lower intestine 20 years after the treatment, a new study shows.
Experts presented state-of-the-art and emerging techniques to treat chest tumours and discussed common issues in the management of pneumothorax at RSNA 2022. Current ablation methods in the thorax include radiofrequency ablation (RFA), microwave ablation (MWA), cryoablation (CRYO), irreversible electroporation (IRE) and pulsed electric field.
In a new editorial paper, researchers from the Army Hospital Hamburg discuss treatment strategies for common, but highly malignant types of head and neck tumors.
Treatment times for radiotherapy could be reduced for some early breast cancer patients, according to a trial led by University of Cambridge and The Institute of Cancer Research, London.
For proton radiation therapy against cancer, there is yet no direct method for mapping the beam range during dose delivery. A new method devised by Dresden scientists could help.
Researchers from the Organoid group (Hubrecht Institute) and UMC Utrecht have developed a biobank with organoids derived from patients with head and neck cancer (HNC).
Patients with early-stage breast cancer who have an elevated risk of having tumour recurrence now have the option to take a course of radiotherapy following breast conservation surgery that is only three weeks long, half the time of conventional radiotherapy treatment.
Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) is increasingly used in early-stage lung cancer. However, experts caution that ditching surgical options in favour of "SBRT-only" has serious drawbacks.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) could identify patients at increased risk of side effects from radiation treatment for breast cancer, according to researchers at the University of Leicester.
Should patients over the age of 70 with head and neck cancer receive aggressive combined radiotherapy and chemotherapy? This is a controversial issue among patients, their families and health professionals.
Dunlee unveiled its new oncology bundles onsite at ECR. The bundles combine components that have been tested and verified to work together so clinicians can offer state-of-the-art onboard Cone Beam CT (CBCT) in facilities.
A new clinical trial has shown that men diagnosed with prostate cancer can benefit from ‘radical radiotherapy’ that delivers treatment in five hospital visits instead of the typical 20.
Imaging researchers have taken a major step towards their ultimate goal of identifying cancers that are starved of oxygen so that altered treatment can be used to target them more effectively.
Radiology practitioners have highlighted the benefits of cone beam CT in delivering high resolution at a low dose. Delegates at ECR 2023 in Vienna heard how cone beam CT (CBCT) could replace multidetector CT (MDCT) in some areas and is already showing cost-effectiveness benefits.
Interactive mobile apps have become ubiquitous in daily life. The Covid-19 pandemic has escalated the use of disease-specific monitoring apps. Mobile apps enabling cancer patients to self-manage their physical condition and symptoms can help them to evaluate toxic side effects of their treatments, offer artificial intelligence (AI)-generated recommendations to minimize them, and alert them to…
ECR 2023 returns to its traditional date in March, but delegates can expect novelties with sessions touching not just cutting-edge science, but also archaeology and palaeontology, and putting trainees in the spotlight, Congress President Professor Adrian Brady told Healthcare in Europe in an exclusive interview.
Radiotherapy does not improve survival rates in older patients with early breast cancer, new research suggests.
New research will bring together scientists from across the globe to accelerate fluorescence-guided surgery for bone cancer patients. The upcoming trial is focused on the dye indocyanine green (ICG).
Philips is an active participant in the new European Federation for Cancer Images consortium (EUCAIM) – a project launched in the run-up to World Cancer Day 2023.
Focused ultrasound (FUS) ablation is an emerging treatment for breast tumours. Its use was highlighted in an October webinar focused on emerging immunotherapy research and breast cancer.
Glioblastomas march to the beat of a different drum: researchers discovered a type of cells that act as pacemakers, driving the growth of the brain tumour and increasing its resistance.
Treating pancreatic cancer patients with chemotherapy before surgery significantly improved 1-year survival rates compared to immediate surgery, a randomised clinical trial has found.
Using fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) imaging may give insights into possible dose reductions in ongoing radiation therapy of head and neck cancer. A promising study to explore this option was presented at the 2022 ASTRO/ASCO Multidisciplinary Head and Cancer Symposium held in Phoenix, Arizona.
An advanced radiotherapy technique can be used to safely treat prostate cancer patients in as little as one to two weeks, compared with the current standard, which takes one to two months.
Bowel cancer patients could in future benefit from a new 3D bioprinting technology which would use their own cells to replicate the complex cellular environment of solid tumours in 3D models.
Focal treatment of prostate cancer involves treating only the tumor and not the entire gland, sparing surrounding tissue and nerves. The method is being evaluated in a research study.
Many women diagnosed with breast cancer can be cured with surgery, radiotherapy and medical treatment. Swedish researchers explore whether physical exercise can support the anti-tumour effects.
The hearts of men and women are different – while this insight has been established for quite some time now, it might even surprise cardiologists just how deep these differences really run. In her presentation at this year’s ESC, Diana Bonderman, MD, gave a comprehensive roundup on sex differences in risk factors and subtypes of heart failure.
UK researchers developed and validated a deep learning algorithm that can identify and outline a non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tumor on a CT scan within seconds.
A Europe-wide project aims to improve medical radiation protection for patients and staff by better understanding and evaluating the health effects of exposure to low-dose ionising radiation resulting from diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.
Medical imaging and radiotherapy treatment devices are essential lifesaving technologies. In an era when hospital information systems are increasingly being attacked by cybercriminals, just how protected and safe is this equipment?
A new way of differentiating healthy from diseased cells could pave the way for more personalised treatment for patients diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), a common and aggressive type of brain tumour.
In an online event to mark International Women’s Day, five women at various stages of their careers in cancer care discussed the hurdles they had to overcome – often because of their gender – and their determination to succeed.
Involving cancer patients more closely in the treatment pathway can modify care and deliver better outcomes. Carefully designed questionnaires and treatment response monitoring are helping clinicians take therapies to a new level.
A different way of treating people with prostate cancer will be investigated by researchers at the University of Leeds in a new clinical trial funded by Yorkshire Cancer Research.
A team of researchers from Singapore has developed a novel magnetic therapy that serves as an effective companion therapy to chemotherapy to enhance treatment outcome for breast cancer.
Artificial intelligence (AI) could help guide the post-treatment surveillance of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients and improve outcomes as a result, according to a new study.
During a webinar, health experts and clinicians highlighted the need for urgent changes to lung cancer services across Europe to create a more cohesive and equal approach to care.
A new research venture pairs cutting-edge particle accelerator science and radiation therapy.
Researchers have succeeded in using metal oxide nanoparticles as "radiosensitizers" – and in producing them on an industrial scale.
Molecular radiotherapy shows great potential in becoming a more mainstream treatment for cancer, but the field is being hampered by a limited radionuclide supply.
Scientists at University College London have developed a novel cancer therapy that uses an MRI scanner to guide a magnetic seed through the brain to heat and destroy tumours.
Pancreatic cancer is a disease of the elderly: the average age of patients is 72. In Austria, about 1,600 people are diagnosed each year. Since pancreatic cancer has no specific symptoms, it is not usually diagnosed until the tumor is locally advanced or has already metastasized. Once the tumor has metastasized, it is usually no longer treatable by surgery or radiotherapy. In addition, the drug…
A new technology that can study which therapies will work on patients with solid cancerous tumours has been developed by scientists at University College London (UCL). Researchers say the tool, which can rapidly test tumorous tissue against different treatments, such as chemotherapy, immunotherapy or radiotherapy, could be used by clinicians to pinpoint the best therapy for a particular patient.
Prostate cancer specialists from the Radiotherapy Department at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals Foundation Trust have become the first in the world to use an innovative technique to help patients receiving treatment for prostate cancer. Some patients receiving radiotherapy for prostate cancer will have their treatment split into two portions. The first stage of killing the cancerous…
A solid diagnosis has always been the first step on any patient’s journey to health. However, diagnostic categories are necessarily oversimplifications. In the last decades, medical professionals and scientists have begun to uncover the true variability in patients’ physiological and biochemical make-up that is the principal cause for individual variations in the way diseases present…
The Netherlands Cancer Institute, University of Amsterdam (UvA), and Elekta will collaborate on the development of new AI strategies for the further improvement of precision radiotherapy. This concerns the personalization of treatment by improving the quality of imaging used during treatment, predicting and accounting for changes in the patient’s anatomy over time, and automatically adapting…
Cancer care and the treatment clinicians can offer patients is being increasingly enhanced by Artificial Intelligence (AI). The technology has a role in diagnosis, with algorithms trained to design and deliver patient care, can match patients to clinical trials they may benefit from, and even help predict outcomes and those at greatest risk.
Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest cancers in the world, and one of the most difficult to treat. In 2020, an estimated 495,000 individuals worldwide were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and an estimated 466,000 died, according to statistics from the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer. Most patients with advanced disease die within a year of…
Over recent years interventional oncology (IO), as a subspecialty of interventional radiology, has become a standard component of many cancer therapies. The broad range of minimally invasive methods – and their results – are often comparable to those of traditional approaches, such as surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy, e.g. with regard to hepatocellular cancer (HCC), oligometastatic…
A breast cancer therapy that requires just one shot of radiotherapy is as effective as traditional radiotherapy, and avoids potential damage to nearby organs, according to a paper by UCL experts.
An innovative hydrogel – called a double network (DN) gel – can rapidly reprogram differentiated cancer cells into cancer stem cells, researchers at Hokkaido University and the National Cancer Center Research Institute have reported in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering. The hydrogel can be used to help develop new cancer therapies and personalized medicines targeting cancer stem cells.
Tumor vaccines can help the body fight cancer. Mutations in the tumor genome often lead to protein changes that are typical of cancer. A vaccine can alert the patients' immune system to these mutated proteins. For the first time, physicians and cancer researchers from Heidelberg and Mannheim have now carried out a clinical trial to test a mutation-specific vaccine against malignant brain tumors.…
Lung tumors are home to immune cells that affect their growth and resistance to treatment. Looking at neutrophils, scientists led by EPFL have discovered that the key might lie in the cells’ ability to metabolize glucose, opening an entirely new target for improving radiotherapy.
Brainlab, a digital medical technology company, announced today the acquisition of Mint Medical GmbH, a Heidelberg-based company that develops image reading and reporting software for clinical routine and research. The acquisition underscores the Brainlab commitment to digital health and aims to improve the structured diagnosis, analysis and treatment of cancer and other diseases to address the…
Clinical audit within radiology departments can help promote high quality medical care and improve patient experience, as well as provide educational and teaching opportunities. Aiming to see consistent delivery across Europe, clinical audit is currently under the initiative ‘Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Radiotherapy, and Nuclear medicine including Therapies’. The latest project…
A radiotherapy technique which ‘paints’ tumours by targeting them precisely, and avoiding healthy tissue, has been devised in research led by the University of Strathclyde. Researchers used a magnetic lens to focus a Very High Electron Energy (VHEE) beam to a zone of a few millimetres. Concentrating the radiation into a small volume of high dose will enable it to be rapidly scanned across a…
Hybrid PET/CT imaging can fully play to its strengths and steer treatment towards more effective procedures for diagnosing prostate cancer. The examination of the specific antigen PSMA with hybrid PET imaging enables treatment monitoring with significantly higher diagnostic accuracy than conventional imaging and therefore, Professor Clemens Cyran believes, will soon become the standard diagnostic…
Doctors at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge aim to drastically cut cancer waiting times by using artificial intelligence (AI) to automate lengthy radiotherapy preparations. The AI technology, known as InnerEye, is the result of an eight-year collaboration between researchers at Cambridge-based Microsoft Research, Addenbrooke’s Hospital and the University of Cambridge.
Royal Philips and InSightec, a global healthcare company focused on the therapeutic power of acoustic energy, announced a collaboration to expand access to MR-guided focused ultrasound for incisionless neurosurgery. By developing compatibility between Philips’ advanced MR systems and the Exablate Neuro platform from InSightec, the two companies will support expanded access to MR-guided focused…
Imagers need special scenarios, skills and tools to examine larger patients, who present more challenges when it comes to radiological procedures. New ultrasound devices could help reduce dose exposure in these patients, who are more likely to undergo x-ray based examinations and receive a higher dose during those, experts explained in a dedicated session during ECR 2020.
To target ionised radiation as precisely as possible, imaging a tumour is vital in radiotherapy planning. ‘Today, imaging is used increasingly during the therapy itself,’ explained Professor Mark Ladd during the 51st annual meeting of the German Society for Medical Physics (DGMP).
Prostate cancer radiotherapy treatments guided by MRI are increasingly being explored to help improve patient outcomes and reduce toxicities after treatment. However, this development is being held back as the MRI approach is labour intensive and requires daily adaptive treatment planning, placing significant additional demands on clinician time and oncology services. To address this, a team of…
About 2,200 satellites are currently orbiting the Earth and soon space stations may be equipped with the latest medical imaging technology, including interventional radiology devices. In France, radiologists and astronauts are putting their heads together to make this vision materialise in a unique partnership between the French Society of Radiology (SFR) and the French Space Agency (CNES).
The evolving area of immunotherapies in lung cancer and the role of iRecist treatment assessment protocols were investigated during a virtual session organised by the British Institute of Radiology (BIR). Consultant radiologist Dr Charlie Sayer, specialist in lung cancer imaging at the Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals Trust, South of England, focused on immunotherapies, the limitations of…
In the first study of its kind in cancer, researchers have applied artificial intelligence to measure the amount of muscle in patients with brain tumours to help improve prognosis and treatment.
Dosimetry specialist PTW Freiburg GmbH signed a collaboration agreement with The Netherlands Cancer Institute – Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital (NKI-AVL, Amsterdam) to jointly develop an advanced EPID-based dosimetry solution for automated patient-specific quality assurance in radiotherapy. The new software module RT EPID, which will become part of PTW’s patient QA platform Veriqa, builds on…
Breast cancers that are detected in the interval between national screening programme mammograms have a worse prognosis than those detected at the time of a screening, even if they have the same biology, according to research presented at the 12th European Breast Cancer Conference. Analysis of results from over eight years’ follow-up of the international MINDACT randomised phase III clinical…
The dosimetry specialist PTW Freiburg GmbH has entered into a collaboration with the US-based bioinformatics company Radialogica LLC to integrate their advanced SciMoCa Monte Carlo dose calculation algorithm into PTW’s patient QA platform Veriqa. The new Veriqa module RT MonteCarlo 3D, which uses the SciMoCa dose engine for calculation-based radiotherapy plan verification, has received CE mark…
Due to compromised immune systems cancer patients are at higher risk of contracting infections. How does cancer impact on patients who also contract Covid-19? To collect this data, four cancer registries, one in the EU, one in the UK, two in the USA, have been established. The first large, multi-institution study of the impact of Covid-19 was conducted in Wuhan, China, and presented at the…
For most women with early breast cancer, a single dose of targeted radiotherapy during surgery is just as effective as conventional radiotherapy, which requires several visits to hospital after surgery. This combination of targeted radiotherapy (restricted to the area around the tumour) given immediately after surgery is called targeted intraoperative radiotherapy. Conventional radiotherapy…
Neuroradiologist Dr Sofie Van Cauter described the challenges to brain tumour image segmentation during the European Society of Medical Imaging Informatics (EuSoMII) annual meeting in Valencia. She also outlined how, when clinically validated, AI could help tackle such problems. The WHO classification of brain tumours has come a long way since first introduced in 1979. The 2016 classification was…
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected virtually every aspect of healthcare provision - cancer care is no exception. In fact, during the pandemic, patients with cancer represent a high-risk group. Recent studies estimate that delays in cancer diagnosis and treatment will increase the indirect death toll of COVID-19 by several thousands in the coming years.
Death rates from prostate cancer are predicted to fall in 2020 in the EU, largely due to better diagnosis and treatment, according to new research published in the leading cancer journal Annals of Oncology. In the latest predictions for cancer deaths in the EU for 2020, researchers led by Carlo La Vecchia (MD), Professor at the School of Medicine, University of Milan (Italy), show that since 2015…
The causes of 40 percent of all cases of certain medulloblastoma – dangerous brain tumors affecting children – are hereditary. A genetic defect that occurs in 15 percent of these children plays a key role by destabilizing the production and breakdown of proteins. The researchers suspect that protein metabolism defects could be a previously underestimated cause of other types of cancer.
Novel advanced imaging biomarkers are being developed in a series of studies at several UK centres that may lead to the earlier assessment of treatment response to glioblastoma (GBM) and a better survival rate.
Examining the safety of AI integration into clinical workflow during at the British Institute of Radiology (BIR) annual congress in London, this November, Professor Nicola Strickland focused on issues of data quantity and quality, regulation, validation and testing of algorithms. She also urged radiologists and computer scientists to work more closely together to develop safe, effective and…
Scientists have created one of the most detailed maps of breast cancer ever achieved, revealing how genetic changes shape the physical tumour landscape. An international team of scientists, brought together by a £20 million Grand Challenge award from Cancer Research UK, has developed intricate maps of breast tumour samples, with a resolution smaller than a single cell. These maps show how the…
More than half of all cancer patients undergo radiation therapy and the dose is critical. Too much and the surrounding tissue gets damaged, too little and the cancer cells survive. Subhadeep Dutta and Karthik Pushpavanam, graduate students working in the lab of Kaushal Rege, Professor at Arizona State University in Tempe, and collaborators at Banner-M.D. Anderson in Gilbert, Arizona, developed a…
A technique that enables patients suffering from heart conditions to hold their breath safely for over 5 minutes could have potential as part of a new treatment for cardiac arrhythmias, say researchers at the University of Birmingham. In a new study, published in Frontiers in Physiology, researchers initially proposed the technique as a new means for earlier diagnosis of ischaemic heart disease.…
Whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (WB-MRI) is championed as offering significant benefits, such as improving disease evaluation for prostate cancer patients. During an intense session in genito-urinary cancer at ECR 2019, three key speakers focused on the advantages over conventional imaging modalities as well as discussing new PET (Positron Emission Tomography) tracers.
An enthralling insight into the care that could be offered to cancer patients of the future was presented by cancer imaging expert Professor Regina Beets-Tan during her a keynote presentation at the recent British Institute of Radiology congress. In the session ‘Oncologic imaging: Future perspectives’, the professor outlined what a Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) of the future – a team in…
Breast cancer screening is a well-designed and scientifically proven, evidence-based procedure, but has pitfalls such as under-detection and over-diagnosis. Surgery or radiotherapy may have serious consequences on health and must therefore be administered in carefully selected patients.
Digital medical technology company Brainlab announced the launch of Mixed Reality Viewer, which brings spatial computing into daily clinical practice for surgical plan review, medical student training and patient consultation. Brainlab Mixed Reality (MR) Viewer uses the head-mounted display Magic Leap One from Brainlab strategic development partner Magic Leap to add a new dimension to patient…
Interventional radiotherapy for tibial arteries has increased in recent years. Why? People are getting older and better techniques and materials now permit treatment even of very thin vessels. Professor Dierk Vorwerk, Director of the Institute for Radiology at Ingolstadt Hospital, where almost a third of all interventions in his department are performed on the lower leg, described the most…
Pancreatic cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer‑related deaths worldwide. Patients with pancreatic cancer often receive chemotherapy or radiation therapy, which are not always effective and can have toxic side effects. In a collaborative research between Osaka University and the University of Heidelberg, researchers are exploring a new method of treatment that brings powerful yet…
Researchers identified how to kill therapy-resistant cells in hypoxic tumors and in cells arising in the von Hippel-Lindau hereditary cancer. In a recent publication in PNAS, the research group identified how to kill therapy-resistant cells in hypoxic tumors and in cells arising in the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) hereditary cancer.
A new way of concentrating radiotherapy dose in tumours, while minimising damage to healthy cells, has been proposed in research led by scientists at the University of Strathclyde. The study proposes that focusing high-energy particle beams on a small spot deep inside the body could potentially enable clinicians to target cancerous tumours precisely, while reducing the dose to surrounding tissue.…
Earlier this July, 75 Medical Physics Experts gathered in Prague to attend the EFOMP and COCIR Summer School “State of the art & new trends of angiographic equipment: Image quality, Patient and Staff dosimetry”, endorsed by the European Society of Radiology (ESR). The Summer School was organised in collaboration with the Czech Association of Medical Physicists and the Department of…
Image analysis of prostate cancer is a challenging area for clinicians. The disease shows a low mutation burden compared to melanoma and stomach cancer, for example, making morpho-molecular correlation more difficult, and there is often very low inflammation. With the role of tumour infiltrating lymphocytes in prostate cancer currently unclear – and with the advent of new approaches to prostate…
Pathologists, radiologists, urologists and radiotherapy specialists sit at the core of the treatment pathway for the patient, working together as a cohesive unit. In an innovative 2019 ECR session in Vienna, the prostate unit from Ghent University Hospital in Belgium outlined how the team works to deliver the best clinical outcome for patients.
A single high dose of radiation that can be delivered directly to the tumour within a few minutes is a safe and effective technique for treating men with low risk prostate cancer, according to a study presented at the ESTRO 38 conference. Radiotherapy traditionally involves a series of lower dose treatments that take place over several days or week. The new treatment is called high dose-rate…
Women with early, low risk, hormone-driven breast cancer are less likely to have a recurrence of their disease if they have radiotherapy after surgery, as well as anti-hormone treatment, according to results from a trial that has followed 869 women for ten years. New findings from the 8 A trial of the Austrian Breast and Colorectal Cancer Study Group (ABCSG), presented at the ESTRO 38 conference,…
Cognitive impairment associated with cancer, also known as “chemobrain”, has gained recognition as a complication of the disease and its treatment, as it can negatively affect the daily lives of cancer patients and survivors. Chemobrain can be subtle yet persistent, with some cancer patients reporting difficulties related to memory and attention even months after completing their treatment.…
Medical physicists at the University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Dresden (Germany) announce the beginning of a new era in treatment planning: In a worldwide first, a new approach increases the accuracy, safety and probably also the tolerability of proton therapy.
Chordomas are rare bone tumors for which only few options of treatment exist. Scientists and doctors from the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT), the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), and Heidelberg University Hospital (UKHD) have discovered a particular genetic trait of chordomas in advanced stages after conducting gene analysis. Their findings, published in the journal Nature…
Despite COCIR raising the alarm as early as 2014, the age of the installed base of medical imaging equipment in Europe continues to increase. To draw attention to this worrying trend, COCIR is presenting new data on the current situation in four modalities of medical imaging, graphically demonstrating the extent of the issue. These were launched tday at the European Congress of Radiology 2019 in…
In breast cancer, one of the most common cancers in women, tumors contain a small amount of so-called cancer stem-like cells (CSCs). Being able to eliminate breast-cancer stem-like cells in a targeted way is essential for developing successful therapies — conventional treatments, such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy followed by drug intake, do not target CSCs. A better understanding of the…
A clinical-scientific team specializing in head-and-neck cancer has identified a way to manipulate metabolism to potentially curb skin fibrosis – a common side effect of radiotherapy affecting quality of life of cancer survivors. The study findings from the laboratory of principal investigator Dr. Fei-Fei Liu, Chief, Radiation Oncology, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health…
MRI offers unequalled sensitivity and specificity in breast cancer detection. Yet, it is poorly accepted preoperatively. Recently, eminent radiologist Francesco Sardanelli, professor for radiology at Milan University and Chief of Radiology at the IRCCS Policlinico San Donato in Italy, unveiled preliminary results that could further MRI acceptance among multidisciplinary teams.
Nearly two-thirds of all cancer patients in the United States will undergo radiation therapy as part of their treatment, and as many as 90 percent of those patients will experience radiation dermatitis – a rash or burn on the skin. Topical treatments commonly such as silver sulfadiazine cream contain heavy metals. Therefore, patients have historically been advised to avoid using these…
A new method predicts the course of HPV-negative head and neck cancer after radiation chemotherapy. According to a recent article in the journal ‘Clinical Cancer Research’, five microRNAs (miRNAs) can provide the decisive data.
Using a new approach called 'reinforced learning', researchers have taught an artificial intelligence (AI) to responsibly choose the right amount of chemo- and radiotherapy for glioblastoma patients. The technique, which is insprired by behavioural psychology, has given the AI the ability to master the tightrope walk between effective tumor shrinkage and the medications' severe side effects.
Using high energy ultrasound beams to destroy prostate cancer tumours may be as effective as surgery or radiotherapy, but with fewer side effects. A new study, carried out at six hospitals across the UK, tracked 625 men with prostate cancer who received a type of treatment called high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU).
Hitachi’s Fusion imaging combining MRI and Real-time Virtual Sonography (RVS) showing a cervix lesion with color Doppler Fusion imaging techniques are being trialled to help advance the diagnosis of cervical cancer and endometrial cancer.
The overall UK radiology equipment market spend for the six months to the end of March 2018 is down by around 30% compared to the same period in the previous year. This is according to latest figures from AXREM (the Association of Healthcare Technology Providers for Imaging, Radiotherapy and Care), which represents all the major medical imaging manufacturers active in the UK. Commenting on the…
Blood is the juice of life, as while circulating through the body it delivers vital substances such as oxygen and nutrients to cells and tissues. Chemotherapy, radiotherapy and blood loss in general impoverish the system. A special kind of cells in the bone marrow, called hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) is able to replenish the impoverished system by giving rise not only to red blood cells, but…
The radiographer in Switzerland faces many issues, from having the right education to positioning themselves both professionally and legally in the healthcare continuum. Before a large audience at ECR 2018, Yves Jaermann, head of the radiographers service Riviera-Chablais Hospital in Vaud Valay, reviewed the situation in his country. The profession of radiographer was born in 1896, when the first…
Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers diagnosed nationally among men. The National Cancer Institute estimates 161,000 were diagnosed in 2017. While there are many treatment options for men with prostate cancer, a recent national study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association compared the effectiveness of treatments for high-risk prostate cancer. Said Daniel Krauss,…
As early detection and treatment of breast cancer improves, more and more women are surviving the disease. However, they still face challenges, which include determining the moment when it might be reasonable to state they are “cured” of the disease, and obtaining life insurance. “In the Netherlands, most applications for life insurance are accepted, but not for cancer survivors. A lot of…
The development of new procedures to monitor cancer treatments is gathering momentum. One such innovation is liquid biopsy. This new lab technique allows non-invasive identification, characterisation and monitoring of circulating tumour DNA. Thus, liquid biopsy can potentially revolutionise oncological diagnostics – and put a spoke in the wheel of radiology. High time to act, says Professor Dr…
Some time in the distant future artificial intelligence (AI) systems may displace radiologists and many other medical specialists. However, in a far more realistic future AI tools will assist radiologists by performing very complex functions with medical imaging data that are impossible or unfeasible today, according to a presentation at the RSNA/AAPM Symposium during the Radiological Society of…
Radiation therapy is a popular and effective treatment for many men with prostate cancer, and now a temporary gel offers greater protection for organs at risk during treatments. “Treating prostate cancer with radiation therapy can cause unintended injury to adjacent, healthy tissue, which can lead to bowel and urinary problems, as well as erectile dysfunction,” said Daniel Krauss, M.D., a…
Although targeted therapies have produced dramatic advances in our ability to control some types of advanced lung cancer, growth of the disease in the brain remains a major problem. Radiation is often used to treat deposits in the brain, but the best technique to deliver radiation can be controversial. Whole-brain radiation therapy, as its name suggest, treats the entire brain but can be…
Hitachi, Ltd. announced that it has entered into an agreement to provide Clinica Universidad de Navarra (CUN) with its proton beam therapy (PBT) system. The agreement includes PBT system maintenance following completion of the systems' installation. The PBT System will be installed at CUN's facility in Madrid, Spain and is equipped with state of the art technology including spot scanning…
In Rennes, France, more than 850 patients have already been treated with a top accelerator equipped with a multileaf collimator, the first of its kind in the country. Brittany’s capital Rennes is leading stereotactic radiotherapy practice as Eugène Marquis Cancer Centre gears up to welcome worldwide technicians to train on the latest CyberKnife system, Accuray’s powerful robotic radiosurgery…
Selective internal radiotherapy (SIRT) is often only looked at from a palliative perspective. However, the procedure is now also increasingly moving into the curative field, as Prof. Dr. Jens Ricke, Chair of Radiology at the Ludwig-Maximilian University Munich and Director of the Clinic and Polyclinic for Radiology at the University Hospital of the LMU reports. “As a locoregionally used…
Breast diagnostics are undergoing considerable change, with new technology facilitating alternative procedures. Genetics and nuclear medicine also enhance diagnostic possibilities. During our EH interview, Professor Rüdiger Schulz-Wendtland described current changes in breast diagnostics. ‘To date, complementary breast diagnostics has comprised clinical, sonographic and mammographic…
A new EC-funded project will bring together medical and radiation scientists, physicists and clinicians to enhance the radiation protection of patients and medical professionals. The four-year MEDIRAD project, which kicked off in June 2017, is led by the European Institute for Biomedical Imaging Research – EIBIR (AT) and comprises a consortium of 33 partners from 14 European countries.
Agfa HealthCare and the Fédération des Hôpitaux Luxembourgeois (FHL) have revealed an ambitious cooperation: A national-level Enterprise Imaging platform will enable the cross-departmental sharing of medical images across all specialties.
Patients with unresectable, or inoperable, lung cancer are often given a dismal prognosis, with low rates of survival beyond a few years. Researchers exploring combination therapies have recently discovered improved survival rates by up to one year when patients treated with a newly formulated chemotherapy regimen are also given radiation therapy.
“When you’re told you have cancer, it’s not a light thing.” And when that diagnosis comes, patients and medical staff alike want to be able to focus on one thing: care that leads to the best outcome.
A recent Medical Imaging Equipment Age Profile report from AXREM provides worrying reading. The report highlights the continuing increase in the age of the installed base of medical imaging equipment across the United Kingdom.
Breast cancer patients who have radiotherapy targeted at the original tumour site experience fewer side effects five years after treatment than those who have whole breast radiotherapy, and their cancer is just as unlikely to return.
Unlike the USA, Italy, Germany or the Netherlands, Spain does not include hyperthermia in its national health catalogue. Worse, many non-medical centres are increasingly offering hyperthermia as an alternative treatment, a situation that infuriates Spanish oncologic radiotherapists.
The global WannaCry ransomware cyberattack had a particularly acute impact on health services across the UK. Mark Nicholls looks at how the NHS was left vulnerable to the WannaCry cyberattack. While affecting computers across the world – from Russia to the US – NHS hospitals were forced to cancel routine surgery and GP appointments as systems were affected by the cyberattack or were…
Spanish researchers are challenging the validity of many past and ongoing clinical trials and stress the importance of working with raw or preprocessed data in genetic information study.
Children with cancer could be spared dozens of doses of general anaesthesia by projecting a video directly on to the inside of a radiotherapy machine during treatment, according to research presented at the ESTRO 36 conference.
Patients with early stage pancreatic cancer could be given longer to live if they receive radiotherapy at a high enough dose, according to research presented at the ESTRO 36 conference.
Doctors have found that treating prostate cancer with a single, high dose of radiation delivered precisely to the site of the tumour results in good quality of life and fewer trips to the hospital, with adverse side effects that are no worse than if the radiation treatment had been given in several lower doses.
Although radiation therapy is an essential part of modern cancer treatment, and is indicated for about half of all new cancer patients, facilities for its provision are sadly lacking in many countries worldwide. Indeed, 29 out of 52 African nations have no radiotherapy facilities whatsoever. At the ESTRO 36 conference leaders of the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO) will…
The increased demand for imaging studies and workforce shortages have put strain on radiology services while technological advances enabled other medical disciplines to perform their own imaging examinations.
‘Breathe in. Hold your breath. Then we press the button’ – the times when this brief summation could be made about a radiographer work are long gone. As an imaging support worker, the radiology assistant helps radiologists with procedures such as biopsies, and also performs clerical tasks, such as handling appointments.
Patients with locally advanced rectal cancer have been treated with intra-operative radiotherapy (IORT) for over twenty years. Partly due to this type of radiation, survival rates in a group of patients considered to have inoperable cancer changed dramatically from five to 70 percent.
Radiologists and radiographers all over the world will once again celebrate the International Day of Radiology (IDoR) on November 8, which this year takes breast imaging as its main theme. The IDoR is an initiative of the European Society of Radiology (ESR), the American College of Radiology (ACR) and the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
To treat or not to treat? That is the question researchers at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) hope to answer with a new advance that could help doctors and their cancer patients decide if a particular therapy would be worth pursuing.
Dr Angel Gayete Cara took over the reins of the Spanish Society of Radiology (SERAM) in May, immediately after the society’s meeting in Bilbao. In an exclusive interview with European Hospital he revealed his vision for the next two years and how he means to help radiologists in their increasingly clinical role.
Men with very high-risk prostate cancer, who are treated at hospitals with a high proportion of administered radical local treatment (radiotherapy or prostatectomy), only have half of the mortality risk of men who are treated at hospitals with the lowest proportion. This is according to a new study conducted by researchers at Umeå University in Sweden.
Rectal cancer surgery - using a Da Vinci robot and conducted by Tas Qureshi, Consultant Surgeon and robotic lead at Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust - was beamed live from his operating theatre by satellite to an international conference of specialist doctors, student doctors and to a worldwide audience via multimedia platforms with live audio and twitter feedback.
Neusoft Medical Systems, a limited company, is the leading supplier of medical imaging equipment in China, a country with more than 46,000 hospitals. The firm also provides equipment to hospitals in 109 other countries, amounting to 9,000 customers. Now Neusoft reports preparations to tap into European market.
‘The combination of nuclear medicine and modern imaging procedures such as CT and MRI is becoming increasingly important in the diagnosis, treatment planning and aftercare of cancerous diseases,’ explains Professor Katrine Åhlström Riklund, who presides over the newly established European Society for Hybrid Medical Imaging, ESHI.
The group of Russian and French researchers, with the participation of scientists from the Lomonosov Moscow State University, has succeeded to synthesize nanoparticles of ultrapure silicon, which exhibited the property of efficient photoluminescence, i.e., secondary light emission after photoexcitation. These particles were able to easily penetrate into cancer cells and it allowed to use them as…
A team from the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) in Trieste has obtained very promising results by applying gene therapy to glioblastoma. Tests in vitro and in vivo on mice provided very clear-cut results, and modelling demonstrates that the treatment targets at least six different points of tumour metabolism. Gene therapy, a technique that selectively attacks a tumour, might…
Colon cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer in Germany. Prof. Dr. med. Sebastian Zeißig, group leader at the DFG Research Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden (CRTD) - Cluster of Excellence at the TU Dresden and physician at the Department of Medicine I, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden, has now shown a decisive role of gut bacteria in the regulation of intestinal…
Small cell lung cancer is not usually detected until it is at an advanced stage, when metastases have already formed. Chemotherapy is very effective initially but, within a year, cancer recurs and this time does not respond to a course of chemotherapy. The research group headed by Gerhard Hamilton, University Department of Surgery at MedUni Vienna, has now managed to identify the reason for this…
Researchers have found that a combination of chemotherapy and modern radiotherapy can benefit patients with advanced nasopharyngeal cancer – a cancer that starts at the back of the nose. These cancers are very rare in the UK and so modern treatments had not been previously studied in patients with advanced disease.
On March 3, Radiotherapy Group clinicians at Ziekenhuis Gelderse Vallei (Ede, the Netherlands) used their Esteya electronic brachytherapy system for the first time to treat a 73-year-old male patient with a nodular basal cell carcinoma on his nose. Esteya is a form of high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy that applies high-precision radiotherapy directly to the cancer site, minimizing radiation to…
Accuray Incorporated announced today that the first centers in Qatar, Latvia, and Bulgaria are now equipped with its radiation therapy technology, demonstrating continued momentum in adoption of its devices in Europe, India, the Middle East and Africa (EIMEA). The CyberKnife® and TomoTherapy® Systems are now used in more than 40 countries to treat patients across the full spectrum of radiation…
Breast cancer screening has helped to detect cancer in its early stages, but it is unclear how important this contribution is to mortality reduction because treatment has greatly improved. Overdiagnosis and overtreatment remain associated risks that need to be fully assessed for screening to be of real benefit. Leading experts in this field passionately discussed these controversies in a…
Results from a long-term clinical trial conducted by cancer researchers at Houston Methodist Hospital show that combining radiation treatment with "suicide gene therapy," a technique in which prostate cancer cells are genetically modified so they signal a patient's immune system to attack them, provides a safe and effective one-two punch against the disease.
Led by Professor Teoh Swee Hin, scientists from Nanyang Technological University (NTU Singapore) have successfully used dead bacteria to kill colorectal cancer cells. Harvesting the Clostridium sporogenes bacteria found commonly in soil, the NTU team was able to harness the bacteria in its dead form, and its secretions, to destroy colon tumours cells effectively.
It is estimated that half of all cancer patients suffer from a muscle wasting syndrome called cachexia. Cancer cachexia impairs quality of life and response to therapy, which increases morbidity and mortality of cancer patients. Currently, there is no approved treatment for muscle wasting but a new study from the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) and University…
An in-depth review of randomised trials on screening for breast, colorectal, cervical, prostate and lung cancers, published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, shows that the benefits of mammographic screening are likely to have been overestimated.
Pathology is the gold standard of prostate diagnostics. Whilst the radiologist makes interpretations based on shadows and grey scale values visible on an image, the pathologist has the ‘fait accompli’ under the microscope. Professor Glen Kristiansen, Director at the Institute for Pathology at the University Hospital Bonn, explains why image-guided biopsies also make sense from the…
DITTA, the Global Diagnostic Imaging, Healthcare IT and Radiation Therapy Trade Association is, for the first time, attending the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Sixty‐Eighth World Health Assembly (WHA) from 18-26 May 2015 since DITTA granted the status of NGO in official relationship with WHO.
A global collaboration to expand access to advanced particle therapy worldwide was agreed this April between Belgian firm IBA (Ion Beam Applications S.A.) and the Toshiba Corporation.
Results from a randomised controlled trial to compare the use of permanent radioactive implants (brachytherapy) with dose-escalated external beam radiotherapy in patients with prostate cancer show that the men who received brachytherapy were twice as likely to be cancer-free five years later. These results presented Professor James Morris, from the Department of Radiation Oncology, Vancouver…
Researchers at University Medical Center (UMC) Utrecht are developing an innovative cancer treatment with the help of a grant from Alpe d’HuZes/Dutch Cancer Society (KWF) of nearly 300,000 euros. The treatment involves the injection of radioactive beads into tumors, thereby enabling a very precise localized radiotherapy.
The term ‘cancer’ describes more than 200 different diseases and every single one needs to be clearly understood and requires, ideally, individual treatment. To do this we need to deepen our understanding the cancer genome. Report: Anja Behringer
Radiotherapy always encounters particular challenges when a tumour is ‘mobile’. This is when radiotherapy must be carried out over several weeks. Within that period the tumour position, shape and expansion typically will keep changing. Thus radiotherapy needs continuous adaptation to maintain continuously precise radiation. Report: Chrissanthi Nikolakudi
Visiorad is an association of radiology, radiotherapy and nuclear medicine practices which serve the northwestern part of Hamburg and the adjacent suburban areas. Dr Timo Gomille, partner of Visiorad, and his team focus on breast diagnostics. A mainstay of their daily work is the RS80A – the Samsung ultrasound system which impresses with superior image quality and an innovative operating concept
Radiology will be in the spotlight on November 8, as radiologists celebrate the International Day of Radiology (IDoR) through a series of events and information campaigns to help the public better understand the role of medical imaging in healthcare.
Radiotherapy is being proposed to treat heart diseases, specifically for hypertension and atrial fibrillation (AF).
Two things that radiologists resist – structured reporting and (computer-assisted) quantification – are the very things that Gabriel Krestin believes are essential to advance diagnosis in the brave new world of omic-medicine that is emerging.
In 2007, Sara Doll (Institute for Anatomy and Cell Biology, Heidelberg University) and Dr Frederik Giesel (Managing Senior Physician, Radiology Clinic, Department of Nuclear Medicine at Heidelberg University Hospital) initiated the development of virtual anatomy for a seminar aimed at students in the pre-clinical phase of their medical degree course.
An innovative technology is enabling radiologists to provide more accurate diagnoses.
In the country’s first scientific study to correlate the demographic changes and frequency of tumorous diseases, demographic changes have led scientists to forecast a significant increase in the number of cancerous diseases in coming years.
