Radiation has been a core part of cancer treatment for generations. But over the last couple of years, there’s been a surge of interest in a new type of treatment. Radiopharmaceuticals can more precisely target cancerous cells by fusing radioactive isotopes with a tool that will guide the compound to cancer cells like a missile,...
Tag: <span>Radiation therapy</span>
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Radiation therapy reprograms heart muscle cells to younger state
WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE New research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests that radiation therapy can reprogram heart muscle cells to what appears to be a younger state, fixing electrical problems that cause a life-threatening arrhythmia without the need for a long-used, invasive procedure. In that invasive procedure — catheter ablation —...
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Researchers have found a way to enhance radiation therapy using novel iodine nanoparticle
KYOTO UNIVERSITY IMAGE: WHEN X-RAYS ARE IRRADIATED ONTO TUMOR TISSUE CONTAINING IODINE-CARRYING NANOPARTICLES, THE IODINE RELEASES ELECTRONS THAT BREAK DNA AND KILL THE CANCER CELLS. CREDIT: MINDY TAKAMIYA/KYOTO UNIVERSITY ICEMS Cancer cell death is triggered within three days when X-rays are shone onto tumor tissue containing iodine-carrying nanoparticles. The iodine releases electrons that break the...
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‘Financial toxicity’ of prostate cancer treatment: Radiation therapy has the greatest impact on patient finances
WOLTERS KLUWER HEALTH November 30, 2020 – For men with early-stage prostate cancer, choices about initial treatment carry varying risks of “financial toxicity,” reports a study in The Journal of Urology®, Official Journal of the American Urological Association (AUA). The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer. The cost of cancer care can be high and the...
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The web of death
New method to fight cancer with molecular fibers MAX PLANCK INSTITUTE FOR POLYMER RESEARCH IMAGE: THE PHYSICAL STRUCTURES OF CANCER CELLS ARE DISRUPTED BY A WEB FORMING INSIDE OF THE CELLS – WHICH ACTIVATES THEIR SELF DESTRUCTION MECHANISM. CREDIT: MPI-P Cancer is a disease in which cells multiply uncontrollably, which could lead to tumor growth....
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Proton therapy lowers risk of side-effects compared to conventional radiation
In largest study of its kind, Penn researchers compare overall adverse events of proton and photon therapies UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA SCHOOL OF MEDICINE PHILADELPHIA – Cancer patients getting proton therapy instead of traditional photon radiation are at a significantly lower risk of experiencing side-effects from their radiation therapy, while cure rates are almost identical between the two groups. Researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University...
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As radiation therapy declined so did second cancers in childhood cancer survivors
Childhood cancer survivors are living longer. Now research shows they are also less likely to develop second cancers while still young. The decline followed a sharp drop in the use of radiation therapy for treatment of childhood cancers. Between the 1970s and the 1990s, the percentage of pediatric cancer patients treated with radiation fell from...
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The Power of Framing Questions
In the early 1980s cognitive psychologist Amos Tversky and his colleagues set out to study if the way a question was framed influenced the way people think. They presented patients, medical students, and doctors with statistics about the effectiveness of surgery versus radiation therapy in treating cancer. The participants were given information about effectiveness and...