Helical tomotherapy
By Rudolf Schwarz and Andreas Krüll, of the Section of Radiation Oncology Department, Ambulanzzentrum GmbH of the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf
Radiation therapy
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.
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.
Bone marrow cells given gene therapy 'shield'
Radiotherapy affects bone marrow cells, lowering production of white blood cells. New research, published in The Journal of Gene Medicine, suggests that pre-treatment with a gene therapy 'shield' could defend healthy bone marrow 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.
Small wireless device to improve cancer treatment
USA - Engineers are developing a tiny wireless device - the size of a rice grain - to be implanted in tumours to indicate the precise radiation dose received and to locate the exact position of tumours during treatment.
Childhood leukaemia
UK - A large number international and renowned experts are set to converge on London's Westminster Hall to examine environmental and other factors affecting the incidence of leukaemia and other childhood cancers, as well as their mechanisms of action and interaction across a range of scientific disciplines.
BREAST THERAPIES
Ballon Brachytherapy and effective drug combination.
3-D simulation
Exomio, a new simulation technique, improves the accuracy of radiation therapy and reduces treatment planning time to a matter of minutes, according to scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research IGD, who developed the system with industrial partners MedCom GmbH and Medintec GmbH. They also report that the product has obtained worldwide clinical approval and that 60…
Precision radio therapy
Professor Wolfgang Schlegel, Head of the Department of Medical Physics at the German Cancer Research Centre, has been awarded the 2003 clinical section of the German Cancer Award, for significantly improving the precision with which radiation beams can be directed at a tumour.
