Cancer News Around the Web
July 30, 2019
Brachytherapy: An overview for clinicians
Brachytherapy is a specific form of radiotherapy consisting of the precise placement of radioactive sources directly into or next to the tumor. This technique is indicated for patients affected by various types of cancers...
July 05, 2019
Accelerated partial-breast irradiation with high-dose-rate brachytherapy: Mature results of a Phase II trial
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to report mature clinical and cosmetic results of accelerated partial-breast irradiation with interstitial multicatheter high-dose-rate brachytherapy (HDR-BRT) in patients with early breast cancer...
June 03, 2019
Cosmetic assessment in brachytherapy (interventional radiotherapy) for breast cancer: A multidisciplinary review
Purpose: This review was to focus on breast brachytherapy cosmetic assessment methods state of the art and to define the advantages and disadvantages related to...
April 29, 2019
Second breast-conserving therapy with interstitial brachytherapy (APBI) as a salvage treatment in ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence: a retrospective study of 40 patients
Purpose: Breast-conserving treatment (BCT) have emerged as an alternative to mastectomy in patients with ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence (IBTR). We evaluated survival outcomes and treatment-related toxicity in a series of 40 patients with IBTR, who underwent tumorectomy plus interstitial brachytherapy (APBI) as a salvage treatment...
March 16, 2019
Second breast-conserving surgery and interstitial brachytherapy vs. salvage mastectomy for the treatment of local recurrences: 5-year results
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to report the clinical outcomes of a second breast-conserving therapy (2nd BCT) with perioperative interstitial brachytherapy (iBT) vs. those of salvage mastectomy (sMT) in the treatment of ipsilateral breast tumor recurrences (IBTRs)...
February 28, 2019
Current state of interventional radiotherapy (brachytherapy) education in Italy: results of the INTERACTS survey
Purpose: Rapid evolution and improvement of technology in radiation oncology and the complexity of each area of radiotherapy (RT) practice determined the need for an adequate and flexible practical training system. In the field of interventional radiotherapy (brachytherapy – BT), a decline in BT utilization was detected in the 1990’s, essentially due to technological improvement of external beam RT...
December 13, 2018
Long-term results of multicatheter interstitial high-dose-rate brachytherapy for accelerated partial-breast irradiation
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to report the long-term results of women treated in one center with accelerated partial-breast irradiation (APBI) with interstitial high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy...
October 31, 2018
Interstitial brachytherapy in soft tissue sarcoma: a 5 years institutional experience with Cobalt 60- based high-dose-rate brachytherapy system
Purpose: Soft tissue sarcomas (STS) are comparatively rare heterogeneous group of tumors with different distinct histopathological subtypes. It accounts for 21% of all pediatric non-hematological malignancies, and less than 1% of all adult solid neoplasm [1]. Due to rarity of the incidence and heterogeneous pathological varieties, STS have aggressive biological behavior and high potential for local recurrence after surgery...
August 24, 2018
Multi-institutional evaluation of the reproducibility and the accuracy of the objective breast cosmesis scale
PURPOSE: The aim of the present work is to assess the Objective Breast Cosmesis Scale (OBCS) in a patient cohort that was treated in two hospitals. Their treatment-related cosmetic changes were recorded on nonstandardized photographs...
June 30, 2018
Case report of a dose-volume histogram analysis of rib fracture after accelerated partial breast irradiation: interim analysis of a Japanese prospective multi-institutional feasibility study
We initiated the first multi-institutional prospective study of accelerated partial breast irradiation for early breast cancer in Japan. Our early clinical results showed that the treatment methods were technically reproducible between institutions and showed excellent disease control at a median follow-up of 26 months in our previous report...
April 22, 2018
Quality-of-life results for accelerated partial breast irradiation with interstitial brachytherapy versus whole-breast irradiation in early breast cancer after breast-conserving surgery (GEC-ESTRO): 5-year results of a randomised, phase 3 trial
Background: Previous results from the GEC-ESTRO trial showed that accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) using multicatheter brachytherapy in the treatment of early breast cancer after breast-conserving surgery was non-inferior to whole-breast irradiation in terms of local control and overall survival. Here, we present 5-year results of patient-reported quality of life...
April 21, 2018
ESTRO-ACROP guideline: Interstitial multi-catheter breast brachytherapy as Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation alone or as boost – GEC-ESTRO Breast Cancer Working Group practical recommendations
Purpose: This consensus statement from the Breast Cancer Working Group of Groupe Européen de Curiethérapie of European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (GEC-ESTRO) aims at generating practical guidelines for multi-catheter image-guided brachytherapy in the conservative management of breast cancer patients used for either Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation (APBI) or for a breast boost...
March 30, 2018
Radiation Therapy Research: A Global Analysis 2001-2015
Radiation therapy is a core modality of cancer treatment; however, concerns have been expressed regarding its underutilization and its lack of prioritization as a research domain relative to other cancer treatment modalities, despite its rapid technical evolution...
February 28, 2018
A comparative assessment of inhomogeneity and finite patient dimension effects in 60Co and 192Ir high-dose-rate brachytherapy
Purpose: To perform a comparative study of heterogeneities and finite patient dimension effects in 60Co and 192Ir high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy...
January 18, 2018
Quality of training in radiation oncology in Germany: where do we stand?
Purpose: To evaluate the current situation of young radiation oncologists in Germany with regard to the contents and quality of training and level of knowledge, as well as their working conditions and professional satisfaction...
October 23, 2017
The American Brachytherapy Society consensus statement for accelerated partial-breast irradiation
Purpose: Adjuvant radiation after breast-conserving surgery remains the standard-of-care treatment for patients with ductal carcinoma in situ and early-stage invasive breast cancer. Multiple alternatives to standard whole-breast irradiation exist including accelerated partial-breast irradiation (APBI)...
September 28, 2017
ASTRO: Patient Experience of Radiation Better Than Expected
Most patients with breast cancer treated with radiation therapy report that their experience was less scary than they expected, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology, held from Sept. 24 to 27 in San Diego...
July 28, 2017
Brachytherapy patient safety events in an academic radiation medicine program
Purpose: To describe the incidence and type of brachytherapy patient safety events over 10 years in an academic brachytherapy program...
June 01, 2017
Breast Cancer Disparities at Home and Abroad: A Review of the Challenges and Opportunities for System-Level Change
Sizeable disparities exist in breast cancer outcomes, both between Black and White patients in the United States, and between patients in the United States and other high-income countries compared with low- and middle-income countries (LMIC)...
April 28, 2017
Use of ultrasound in image-guided high-dose-rate brachytherapy: enumerations and arguments
Inherently, brachytherapy is the most conformal radiotherapeutic technique. As an aid to brachytherapy, ultrasonography (USG) serves as a portable, inexpensive, and simple to use method allowing for accurate, reproducible, and adaptive treatments...
April 01, 2017
Adherence to guidelines and breast cancer patients survival: a population-based cohort study analyzed with a causal inference approach
Purpose: There is a lack of real-world studies evaluating the impact on survival of an evidence-based pathway of care in breast cancer. The aim of this work is to investigate the effect of adherence to guidelines on long-term survival for a cohort of Italian breast cancer patients...
January 13, 2017
Late side-effects and cosmetic results of accelerated partial breast irradiation with interstitial brachytherapy versus whole-breast irradiation after breast-conserving surgery for low-risk invasive and in-situ carcinoma of the female breast
Background: We previously confirmed the non-inferiority of accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) with interstitial brachytherapy in terms of local control and overall survival compared with whole-breast irradiation for patients with early-stage breast cancer who underwent breast-conserving surgery in a phase 3 randomised trial...
January 06, 2017
US cancer death rate drops 25% since 1991
The cancer death rate in the United States has dropped 25 per cent from a peak in 1991, mainly due to a steady decline in smoking and advances in early detection and treatment of tumors, new research released Thursday shows...
January 04, 2017
ASTRO Expands Guidelines for Treatment of Breast Cancer with Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation
According to the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) younger patients with early stage breast cancer and individuals with low-risk ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) can appropriately be treated with accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI)...
December 30, 2016
Whole breast irradiation vs. APBI using multicatheter brachytherapy in early breast cancer – simulation of treatment costs based on phase 3 trial data
Purpose: A recent large phase 3 trial demonstrated that the efficacy of accelerated partial-breast irradiation (APBI) in the treatment of early breast cancer is non-inferior to that of whole breast irradiation (WBI) commonly used in this indication...
December 08, 2016
Effect of population breast screening on breast cancer mortality up to 2005 in England and Wales: an individual-level cohort study
Background: Population breast screening has been implemented in the UK for over 25 years, but the size of benefit attributable to such programmes remains controversial. We have conducted the first individual-based cohort evaluation of population breast screening in the UK, to estimate the impact of the NHS breast screening programme (NHSBSP) on breast cancer mortality...
November 25, 2016
ASTRO updates clinical guidance on accelerated radiation therapy for breast cancer
The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has updated to its Evidence-Based Consensus Statement for the use of Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation (APBI) brachytherapy to include younger patients and those with low-risk ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS)...
August 18, 2016
Pattern of Breast Cancer Distribution in Ghana: A Survey to Enhance Early Detection, Diagnosis, and Treatment
Background: Nearly 70% of women diagnosed with breast cancer in Ghana are in advanced stages of the disease due especially to low awareness, resulting in limited treatment success and high death rate. With limited epidemiological studies on breast cancer in Ghana, the aim of this study is to assess and understand the pattern of breast cancer distribution for enhancing early detection and treatment...
June 27, 2016
Commissioning and Quality Control of the New Saginova HDR Treatment System; First Year Experience from the United Kingdom and Germany
Purpose: It is estimated that worldwide, less than one-quarter of centres undertake their own comprehensive local commissioning tests at installation of new HDR Brachytherapy equipment [1]. Commissioning and routine quality control (QC) of HDR brachytherapy treatment equipment is essential to avoid errors and assure quality...
June 15, 2016
The American College of Radiology and the American Brachytherapy Society practice parameter for the performance of low-dose-rate brachytherapy
Abstract: Brachytherapy is the use of radionuclides to treat malignancies or benign conditions by means of a radiation source placed close to or into the tumor or treatment site. This practice parameter refers only to the use of radionuclide brachytherapy. Brachytherapy alone or combined with external beam therapy plays an important role in the management and treatment of patients with cancer...
May 04, 2016
Proposal to improve commissioning of HDR brachytherapy with results from the first 2 SagiNova® units
Purpose: Commissioning of HDR brachytherapy treatment equipment is essential to avoid errors and assure quality. However, it is estimated that worldwide, less than onequarter of centres undertake robust local commissioning tests at installation [1], important checks may be omitted [2], or systematic errors may remain [3]...
May 03, 2016
ESTRO 2016: Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation (APBI) with multicatheter interstitial brachytherapy shows positive cosmesis and favorable late side effects
Clinical equivalence of partial breast irradiation (PBI) and whole breast irradiation (WBI) has been demonstrated in two key phase III randomised trials: the Groupe Européen de Curiethérapie European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (GEC-ESTRO)...
February 24, 2016
Breast cancer 'first response' at 10-year low
The proportion of women in England taking up their initial invitation for breast cancer screening is at its lowest level in a decade, figures show. The Health and Social Care Information Centre data showed the proportion of women aged 50-70 screened fell to 63.3% in 2014-15, from 70.1% in 2004-05. Breast screening coverage - the overall number checked - has also fallen for the fourth year in a row...
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January 12, 2016
US panel finalizes breast cancer screening recommendations
An influential panel of U.S. experts issued final recommendations on Monday reaffirming their controversial position that mammogram screening should start at age 50, but also said some women may benefit from screening starting at age 40...
January 11, 2016
As number of cancer survivors grows, so does rate of second malignancies
There are approximately 14.5 million cancer survivors in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society. That number is expected to climb to nearly 19 million by 2024, the society estimates. Although advances in early detection and treatment have dramatically increased the likelihood that Americans will survive their initial cancer diagnosis...
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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....
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...
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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...
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...
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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)....
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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. ..
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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...
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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...
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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...
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September 26, 2013
EGSnrc Monte Carlo-aided dosimetric studies of the new BEBIG 60Co HDR brachytherapy source
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to obtain the dosimetric parameters of the new BEBIG 60Co brachytherapy source following by TG-43U1 recommendation with appropriate electron cutoff energy (0.521 MeV)...
March 31, 2012
Treatment planning study of the 3D dosimetric differences between Co-60 and Ir-192 sources in high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy for cervix cancer
Purpose: To evaluate whether Co-60 is equivalent to Ir-192 for HDR cervical brachytherapy, through 3D-DVH dose comparisons in standard and optimised plans. Previous studies have only considered 2D dosimetry, point dose comparisons or identical loading. Typical treatment times and economics are considered...
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GEC-ESTRO Handbook of Brachytherapy:
ABS Brachytherapy Guidelines and Consensus Statements:
