Radiation: How dangerous is it really?
Radiation can't be seen or felt; it has no smell and our senses can't feel it — still it can cause great harm. Therefore, many fears are associated with radiation.
Radiation therapy
Good prospects for drug/radiation combo
It was a mistery: Why didn't drugs which boost the tumor-killing power of immune cells in lab do well in clincal trials? Now researchers from Rockefeller University describe a way to enhance the ability of these drugs by combining them with radiation therapy.
New proton therapy software tool
Proton therapy is very sophisticated way of destroying tumours. Now the Swedish Medical company RaySearch Laboratories has signed a consulting agreement with Uppsala University Hospital in Sweden to develop a treatment-planning system.
CRC-report shows urgent need for action
Limited public and political awareness of colorectal cancer (CRC), few formal screenings programms, delayed access to treatment - the first cross-country report on the management and funding of colorectal cancer (CRC) reveals an urgent need for action to improve the survival of patients in Europe and Australia.
Tomotherapy system targets cancer more precisely
When tumours are situated in difficult locations, e.g. near the brain, lungs, prostate or abdomen, patients treated with conventional radiation equipment often suffer severe side effects, which include bleeding, chronic infections or organ function limitations.
Image-guided radiation therapy
Artiste is a linear accelerator and CT scanner combined. At the German Cancer Research Centre, a team of scientists led by Professors Wolfgang Schlegel and Uwe Oelfke of the Medical Physics in Radiation Oncology division, contributed substantially to the technical development of the Artiste platform. They report that users will be able to observe and correct the actual position, extension and…
Radiation treatment decisions in patients with prostate cancer and suspected lymph node metastasis based on USPIO-MRI
Prostate cancer is the most frequent cancer in men with about 49,000 newly diagnosed cancers in Germany and 6,000 in the Netherlands, annually.
Interventional radiology
Along with paediatric radiology, interventional radiology will have a high profile at the 89th German Radiology Congress and 5th Joint Congress with the Austrian Radiology Society. During a discussion with Meike Lerner of European Hospital congress president Professor Dierk Vorwerk outlined what's on the agenda for the expected 6,900 visitors.
Obese patients in radiology - XXL challenges
Radiological services and equipment are not yet adapted to obese patients. The accuracy of current MRI, CT and Ultrasound is hindered by subcutaneous and intraabdominal fat. These modalities are crucial in diagnosing pathologies associated with obesity, including heart-related disease. Optimising imaging modalities will be a major challenge for radiology.
Helical tomotherapy
By Rudolf Schwarz and Andreas Krüll, of the Section of Radiation Oncology Department, Ambulanzzentrum GmbH of the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf
PET-CT for radiation therapy planning:
For individualised radiotherapy, high-precision delineation and characterisation of the tumour is critical. If highest radiation doses are delivered in a targeted fashion, the chance of tumour cell kill increases and tumour control probability is enhanced.
XPCi
By Professor Robert D Speller, Head of the Radiation Physics Group, University College London, and Dr Alessandro Olivo, of the Medical Physics & Bioengineering Dept. University College London
Treatment of Bladder Cancer: Radiotherapy versus Surgery
According to a study published by Cancer Research UK scientists the survival rates of bladder cancer patients treated with radiotherapy are the same as those of patients undergoing radical cystectomy. The researchers investigated the medical records of 169 patients with invasive bladder cancer that were treated in Leeds between 1996 and 2000.
Elekta to buy CMS
The Swedish radiotherapy and radiosurgery specialist Elekta is in negotiations to buy CMS, the St Louis, MO-based supplier of radiotherapy treatment-planning (RTP) systems, for $75 million in cash.
The Novalis Tx for stereotactic radiosurgery
Novalis Tx, a system for stereotactic radiosurgery, has resulted from a partnership between the Munich-based medical technology company BrainLAB AG and Varian Medical Systems Inc, two firms that have successfully worked together on radiation therapy products for over a decade. The powerful linear accelerator Trilogy Tx and special technology for beam focusing was contributed by Varian; BrainLAB,…
SPAIN: Reduced radiotherapy procedures
Andalusía - Surgery and chemotherapy have overtaken radiotherapy for cancer treatments.
Radiation Treatment Planning
Radiotherapy treatment planning relies on transversal CT images. They form a basis for treatment planning, dose calculation and increasingly the plan localization for external radiation therapy, called CT simulation. A dedicated CT scanner for radiotherapy plan simulation is one of the most essential pieces of equipment in a modern radiotherapy department. In contrast to external beam…
Innovative Treatment Approaches in Radiotherapy
An interview with Dr. Ulrich Thalacker on the work carried out by Baden-Wuerttemberg's only practice administering radiotherapy, based on computerassisted 3D therapy planning and 'unconventional' use of a CT scanner as a module of the radiation planning system.
A world-class radiotherapy service
An independent report that suggests better ways to use the UK's current radiotherapy resources, as well as predicting the needs of a radiotherapy service in the future, has been released by the National Radiotherapy Advisory Group (NRAG), led by national cancer director Professor Mike Richards, and Dr Michael Williams, vice president of the Royal College of Radiologists.
Endovascular brachytherapy
Endovascular brachytherapy has been successfully modified by scientists at Isotopen Technologie München AG (ITM), solving problems of radiation exposure to Rhenium-188. The researchers are now producing Rhenium-188 with previously unknown high specific activity in a new type of generator, Isotopen Technologie reports.
Proton therapy: under construction
The positive effects of proton rays have been known for years. However, Germany still lacks institutions that utilise those effects.
Microspheres destroy liver tumours
Unlike conventional radiation therapy, selective, internal radiotherapy (SIRT), uses tiny radio-active microspheres to attack malignant liver tumours.
Contrast agents
Generating targeting agents for diagnostics, prognostics and radiotherapy, by designing biochemically specific elements in contrast agents to be the targeting molecules attached to and carrying diagnostic or radiotherapeutic molecules to abnormal cells.
Swedish firm to aid UK's cancer treatment delivery
As part of its national cancer program, the United Kingdom's National Health Service (NHS) is currently investing in increased capacity for radiation treatment of cancer.
