Cancer News Around the Web

December 30, 2015

Evaluation of BEBIG HDR ⁶⁰Co system for non-invasive image-guided breast brachytherapy

Purpose: HDR ⁶⁰Co system has recently been developed and utilized for brachytherapy in many countries outside of the U.S. as an alternative to ¹⁹²Ir. In addition, the AccuBoost^® technique has been demonstrated to be a successful non-invasive image-guided breast brachytherapy treatment option. The goal of this project is to evaluate the possibility of utilizing the BEBIG HDR ⁶⁰Co system for AccuBoost treatment....

Read More

December 28, 2015

Erectile function following brachytherapy, external beam radiotherapy, or radical prostatectomy in prostate cancer patients

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: For localized prostate cancer, treatment options include external beam radiotherapy (EBRT), radical prostatectomy (RP), and brachytherapy (BT). Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a common side-effect. Our aim was to evaluate penile erectile function (EF) before and after BT, EBRT, or RP using a validated self-administered quality-of-life survey from a prospective registry...
Read More

December 22, 2015

Low-Dose CT Screening Effective in Detecting Lung Cancer at Early Stage in Longtime Smokers

Can lung cancer in longtime smokers be caught before it’s too late? Yes. “For some patients, the perception is that lung cancer is terminal, but that’s not always the case,”...
Read More

December 17, 2015

ASCO, American Cancer Society issue joint guideline on breast cancer survivorship care

The American Cancer Society and ASCO jointly released a comprehensive guideline on breast cancer survivorship that stresses the importance of regular surveillance, routine laboratory testing and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. The guideline — geared toward primary care providers and other clinicians who treat survivors of breast cancer...
Read More

December 15, 2015

New cancer treatment machine coming to PRMC - WMDT47 News Report

SALISBURY, Md. - Imagine treating cancer with a radiation device smaller than your fingernail all while not damaging your other organs inside your body. It's all possible with a machine called SagiNova. SagiNova is a high dose rate brachytherapy machine that is used to treat different cancers with radiation...

Read More

December 15, 2015

Peninsula Regional Medical Center Installs Nation’s First SagiNova^® High Dose Rate Afterloader System for Improved Cancer Treatment Options

Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury has become the first location in the United States to install Eckert & Ziegler BEBIG, Inc.’s new SagiNova^® High Dose Rate afterloader system...
Read More

December 09, 2015

ESMO–ESGO–ESTRO consensus conference on endometrial cancer: Diagnosis, treatment and follow-up

The first joint European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO), European SocieTy for Radiotherapy & Oncology (ESTRO) and European Society of Gynaecological Oncology (ESGO) consensus conference on endometrial cancer was held on 11–13 December 2014 in Milan, Italy, and comprised a multidisciplinary panel of 40 leading experts in the management of endometrial cancer...
Read More

November 25, 2015

Associations between Medical Conditions and Breast Cancer Risk in Asians: A Nationwide Population-Based Study in Taiwan

Background: The breast cancer incidence in Asia is rising. To explore whether the etiology of breast cancer is different from the known risk factors from studies in Western countries, we conducted a nested case-control study using data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD)....
Read More

November 24, 2015

New ASTRO template helps radiation oncologists guide cancer survivors through ongoing care

A new template published by the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) standardizes and streamlines the creation of patient-focused plans for long-term cancer survivor care following radiation therapy (RT). As the number of cancer patients and survivors in the U. S. continues to grow - the American Cancer Society...
Read More

November 24, 2015

Helping Asia Fight Cancer Through Advanced Brachytherapy

Cervical cancer patients often require a specific, technically challenging treatment that is not always readily available in developing countries. In Asia, which accounts for close to half of the world’s cervical cancer deaths, the IAEA has completed a four-year project to increase survival rates. Over 1000 specialists were trained on 3D image-guided brachytherapy, an advanced form of radiotherapy...
Read More

October 27, 2015

High-grade DCIS detection rates increase in older women

The mammography detection rate of an early-stage but potentially invasive type of breast cancer rises with age, according to a large new study from Germany published online in the journal Radiology. Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), a type of breast cancer confined to the milk ducts, is a common finding on mammography...
Read More

October 23, 2015

UK launches largest trial to assess whether aspirin can fight cancer

The world's largest clinical trial to see whether taking a daily dose of aspirin can stop cancer from recurring has been launched in the UK. The Add-Aspirin phase III trial is funded by Cancer Research UK and the National Institute for Health Research...
Read More

October 20, 2015

New guidelines for breast cancer screening age

In the first major update since 2003, the American Cancer Society (ACS) recommend that women with an average risk of breast cancer undergo regular, annual screening mammography from age 45, but with the option of starting earlier; and women 55 years and older should screen every second year...
Read More

October 19, 2015

Accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) using multicatheter brachytherapy after breast conserving surgery is as effective as whole breast irradiation (WBI) for low-risk patients

For some early stage breast cancer patients, accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) using multicatheter brachytherapy following breast conserving surgery may be an excellent treatment option, as it has now been proven to be as effective as the current standard treatment – whole breast irradiation (WBI) – in local control, disease-free and overall survival rates...
Read More

October 14, 2015

A Japanese prospective multi-institutional feasibility study on accelerated partial breast irradiation using interstitial brachytherapy: clinical results with a median follow-up of 26 months

Background: A Japanese prospective multi-institutional feasibility study on accelerated partial breast irradiation using interstitial brachytherapy was performed. The first clinical results were reported with a median follow-up of 26 months...

Read More

October 12, 2015

Implanted brachytherapy seed movement reflecting transrectal ultrasound probe-induced prostate deformation

Compression of the prostate during transrectal ultrasound-guided permanent prostate brachytherapy is not accounted for during treatment planning. Dosimetry effects are expected to be small but have not been reported. The study aims to characterize the seed movement and prostate deformation due to probe pressure and to estimate the effects on dosimetry...
Read More

October 10, 2015

Late toxicity of brachytherapy after female genital tract tumors treated during childhood: Prospective evaluation with a long-term follow-up

Purpose: To prospectively assess the long-term toxicities of brachytherapy in female survivors with localized genital tract tumors...
Read More

September 22, 2015

Toxicity and quality of life after high-dose-rate brachytherapy as monotherapy for low- and intermediate-risk prostate cancer

Background and purpose: The use of HDR brachytherapy (HDR-BT) as monotherapy for prostate cancer (PC) is increasing worldwide with good tumour control rates and acceptable toxicity. We report our results on toxicity and quality of life (QoL) after HDR-BT monotherapy for PC patients...
Read More  

July 17, 2015

Can we shorten the overall treatment time in postoperative brachytherapy of endometrial carcinoma? Comparison of two brachytherapy schedules

Purpose: To analyze vaginal-cuff relapses (VCR) and toxicity of two brachytherapy (BT) schedules in postoperative endometrial carcinoma and to correlate vaginal toxicity with vaginal-surface-EQD2Gy3 dose (VS-EQD2Gy3)...
Read More

July 15, 2015

Non-ocular primary malignancies in patients with uveal melanoma: the Liverpool experience

Aim: To identify the prevalence of self-reported non-ocular primary malignancies in patients at the time of diagnosis with uveal melanoma (UM) and to describe the cohort’s characteristics...
Read More

July 13, 2015

New Guidelines on Radiation Therapy After Surgery for Endometrial Cancer

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) today issued an endorsement of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) clinical practice guideline on postoperative radiation therapy for women with endometrial (uterine) cancer. The endorsement outlines treatments that ASTRO and ASCO agree should be the standard of care for women with endometrial cancer, based on the best available evidence...
Read More

July 02, 2015

Long-term efficacy and toxicity of low-dose-rate 125I prostate brachytherapy as monotherapy in low-, intermediate-, and high-risk prostate cancer - Abstract

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To report long-term efficacy and toxicity for a single-institution cohort of patients treated with low-dose-rate prostate brachytherapy permanent implant (PI) monotherapy...
Read More

June 23, 2015

PSA bounce after ¹²⁵I-brachytherapy for prostate cancer as a favorable prognosticator

Background: Permanent low-dose-rate brachytherapy (BT) with iodine 125 is an established curative treatment for localized prostate cancer. After treatment, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) kinetics may show a transient rise (PSA bounce). Our aim was to investigate the association of PSA bounce with biochemical control...

Read More

June 16, 2015

Re-distribution of brachytherapy dose using a differential dose prescription adapted to risk of local failure in low-risk prostate cancer patients

Background and purpose: We investigated the application of a differential target- and dose prescription concept for low-dose-rate prostate brachytherapy (LDR-BT), involving a re-distribution of dose according to risk of local failure and treatment-related morbidity...
Read More

June 10, 2015

Clinical presentation and survival of retinoblastoma in Indian children

Objective: To study the clinical presentation and survival among Indian children with retinoblastoma (RB) and to determine factors predictive of poor outcome...
Read More

May 15, 2015

Ruthenium-106 plaque brachytherapy for uveal melanoma Background

To report on local tumour control, eye preservation and visual outcome after ruthenium-106 brachytherapy for uveal melanoma...
Read More

May 11, 2015

Racial and Ethnic Differences in Breast Cancer Survival: Mediating Effect of Tumor Characteristics and Sociodemographic and Treatment Factors

Purpose: To evaluate the relationship between race/ethnicity and breast cancer–specific survival according to subtype and explore mediating factors. ..
Read More

April 20, 2015

US breast cancer cases could rise 50 percent by 2030

(HealthDay)—The number of U.S. women diagnosed with breast cancer could rise by as much as 50 percent within the next 15 years, according to new government predictions. Researchers say there will be an increase in breast tumors that are "ER-positive"—which means they rely on the hormone estrogen to fuel their growth...
Read More

April 09, 2015

5-year results of HDR brachytherapy, plus radiotherapy and ADT for intermediate prostate cancer: a phase II Trial

Purpose/Objective: To assess the 5-year outcomes of patients with intermediate-risk prostate cancer treated with hypofractionated external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) and high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy boost combined with short course androgen deprivation therapy (ADT)...
Read More

March 27, 2015

Breast conservation surgery plus radiotherapy confers better survival outcomes than mastectomy

Women with stage I to stage III breast cancer who underwent breast-conserving surgery plus radiotherapy demonstrated significantly improved all-cause and breast cancer-specific survival compared with those who underwent mastectomy, according to a retrospective analysis of outcomes of patients treated in a public health care setting in Canada...
Read More

March 20, 2015

Clinical outcomes of prospectively treated 140 women with early stage breast cancer using accelerated partial breast irradiation with 3 dimensional computerized tomography based brachytherapy

Purpose: To study the clinical outcomes of women with early breast cancer (EBC) treated with accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) with multicatheter interstitial brachytherapy (MIB) using 3 dimensional computerized tomography (3DCT) based planning...
Read More

March 20, 2015

Brachytherapy: Where Has It Gone?

An article by Kavanagh et al¹ in a recent special issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology highlighted several emerging technologies, translational frontiers, and novel clinical paradigms in radiation oncology. In the excitement generated by the plethora of these powerfully sophisticated tools now available to radiation oncologists, brachytherapy is often mistakenly viewed as an antiquated or even irrelevant modality, despite the central role it continues to play in the management of several cancer types...

Read More

February 28, 2015

High-dose-rate brachytherapy delivered in two fractions as monotherapy for low-risk prostate cancer

Purpose: High-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy has been accepted as an effective and safe method to treat prostate cancer. The aim of this study was to describe acute toxicity following HDR brachytherapy to the prostate, and to examine the association between dosimetric parameters and urinary toxicity in low-risk prostate cancer patients...

Read More

January 09, 2015

A multicentre ‘end to end’ dosimetry audit for cervix HDR brachytherapy Treatment

Purpose: To undertake the first multicentre fully ‘end to end’ dosimetry audit for HDR cervix brachytherapy, comparing planned and delivered dose distributions around clinical treatment applicators, with review of local procedures...
Read More