http://www.physorg.com/ en-us Physorg.com internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Prostate cancer patients who have a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) value of less than or equal to 1.5 at two years after external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) are less likely to have a cancer recurrence and cancer-related death, according to a study in the December 1 issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, the official journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). http://www.physorg.com/news178985295.html Medicine & Health Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:20:01 EST news178985295 UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found that a naturally occurring protein -- transforming growth factor beta1 (TGF-ß1) -- which normally suppresses the growth of cancer cells, causes a rebound effect after a prolonged exposure. Cancer cells go into overdrive and become even more aggressive and likely to spread, the researchers report. http://www.physorg.com/news178910190.html Medicine & Health Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:30:01 EST news178910190 Women were less likely than men to receive major funding for scientific research, according to a study from the University of Michigan Health System. The study also found that only a quarter of all researchers, both men and women, who received a major early career award went on to get further federal funding within five years. http://www.physorg.com/news178826673.html Medicine & Health Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:30:01 EST news178826673 A recent study shows that 95 percent of radiation oncologists use advanced imaging techniques such as positron emission tomography (FDG-PET), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and 4-dimensional computed tomography (4DCT) for target delineation (to locate the tumor and other areas at risk for having cancer), according to an article in the December issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology, (JACR). http://www.physorg.com/news178348013.html Medicine & Health Wed, 25 Nov 2009 05:20:04 EST news178348013 Three quarters of cancer patients and survivors treated with chemotherapy suffer insomnia or sleep disorders that often become chronic conditions, hindering patients' ability to fully recover, according to scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center. http://www.physorg.com/news178216873.html Medicine & Health Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:00:02 EST news178216873 Radiation therapy is effective in achieving local control and palliation in patients with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNTs), despite such tumors being commonly considered resistant to radiation therapy, according to a largest of its kind study in the November 15 issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, the official journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). http://www.physorg.com/news177943469.html Medicine & Health Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:10:03 EST news177943469 (PhysOrg.com) -- Human embryonic stem cells could help people with learning and memory deficits after radiation treatment for brain tumors, suggests a new UC Irvine study. http://www.physorg.com/news177681967.html Chemistry Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:40:01 EST news177681967 Researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center found that radiation treatment for women who had a lumpectomy for early-stage breast cancer can be safely reduced to four weeks, instead of the usual six to seven weeks, by delivering a higher daily dose--greatly reducing the length of treatment time. The five-year results of the phase II study will be presented today at the annual meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology. http://www.physorg.com/news176567679.html Medicine & Health Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:10:02 EST news176567679 A patient's socioeconomic status (income, martial status and race) has absolutely no impact on his outcome following curative radiation therapy for the treatment of prostate cancer, according to a new study from Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. http://www.physorg.com/news176567538.html Medicine & Health Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:00:01 EST news176567538 What do patients want from their radiation oncologists? The most significant preference is that more than one-third of female cancer patients (37 percent) prefer to have their hands held by their radiation oncologists during important office visits, compared to 12 percent of men, according to a randomized study presented November 4, 2009, at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). http://www.physorg.com/news176565544.html Medicine & Health Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:10:01 EST news176565544 Standard adjuvant treatment for HER2-positive breast cancer patients, following primary surgery for their cancer, is Trastuzumab (Herceptin)--typically used in combination with chemotherapy. However, a new study by researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center reports that it may be safe to treat these patients with both Trastuzumab and adjuvant radiation therapy. The study will be presented today at the annual meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). http://www.physorg.com/news176467395.html Medicine & Health Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:50:02 EST news176467395 (PHILADELPHIA) Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of non-small cell lung cancer prior to receiving radiation therapy should not be the basis for determining areas that may benefit from higher doses of radiation, according to research presented by investigators at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital at the 51st ASTRO Annual Meeting (Abstract #2583/B-186). http://www.physorg.com/news176467345.html Medicine & Health Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:50:01 EST news176467345 Optic nerve sheath meningiomas are rare tumors that are traditionally treated with surgery, which is typically a blinding procedure. However, researchers from Thomas Jefferson University Hospital have found that a specialized type of radiation therapy offers the same local control, with fewer adverse effects on vision. The investigators presented their data at the 51st ASTRO Annual Meeting (Abstract #2676/B-261). http://www.physorg.com/news176467025.html Medicine & Health Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:10:02 EST news176467025 Radiation dose delivered to the prostate and nearby organs in every brachytherapy procedure should be carefully analyzed using post-implant CT or MRI and uniformly documented in every patient, according to a new guideline co-authored by Yan Yu, Ph.D., director of Medical Physics in the department of Radiation Oncology at Thomas Jefferson University. http://www.physorg.com/news176449414.html Medicine & Health Tue, 03 Nov 2009 06:00:01 EST news176449414 A new study is taking a closer look at the benefits versus risks for lung cancer patients to undergo preventative brain radiation therapy as a means to stop cancer from spreading to the brain. http://www.physorg.com/news176401103.html Medicine & Health Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:20:02 EST news176401103 Obesity, not the amount of radiation given, is the greatest factor in whether early-stage lung cancer patients develop chest wall pain after receiving stereotactic body radiation therapy to the chest wall, with obese patients being more than twice as likely to develop chronic pain compared to those who have less body weight, according to a first-of-its-kind study presented Tuesday, November 3, 2009, at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). http://www.physorg.com/news176396973.html Medicine & Health Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:40:01 EST news176396973 Researchers at Rush University Medical Center and Argonne National Laboratory are collaborating on a study to determine if an imaging technique used by NASA to inspect the space shuttle can be used to predict tissue damage often experienced by breast cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy. The study is examining the utility of three-dimensional thermal tomography in radiation oncology. http://www.physorg.com/news176395084.html Medicine & Health Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:40:02 EST news176395084 Researchers from University Hospitals Case Medical Center report promising results from a cutting-edge research study that treated the aggressive brain tumors glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) using a novel type of imaging called MR spectroscopy coupled with high dose radiation in the form of Gamma Knife radiosurgery. http://www.physorg.com/news176395262.html Medicine & Health Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:00:01 EST news176395262 Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) offers a less invasive way to eliminate tremors caused by Parkinson's disease and essential tremor than deep brain stimulation (DBS) and radiofrequency (RF) treatments, and is as effective, according to a long-term study presented November 2, 2009, at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). http://www.physorg.com/news176391825.html Medicine & Health Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:46:39 EST news176391825 Seven medical imaging groups wrote a joint letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to formally request coverage of two fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) scans for a patient during the initial treatment evaluation. Currently, CMS covers only one FDG-PET study during initial treatment -a limitation that the groups believe is contrary to good clinical practice under certain circumstances. http://www.physorg.com/news175190937.html Medicine & Health Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:09:40 EST news175190937 According to a new study published in the October issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, although breast-conserving surgery (BCS), commonly known as lumpectomy, is increasingly being used to treat older women with nonmetastatic invasive breast cancer, there are still significant socioeconomic and geographic disparities in the use of this type of therapy. For example, women in the Northeast and Pacific West are significantly more likely to receive BCS than those in the South and parts of the Midwest. http://www.physorg.com/news174309458.html Medicine & Health Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:40:01 EST news174309458 Women with breast cancer should be given high doses of vitamin D because a majority of them are likely to have low levels of vitamin D, which could contribute to decreased bone mass and greater risk of fractures, according to scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center. http://www.physorg.com/news174286179.html Medicine & Health Fri, 09 Oct 2009 06:00:01 EST news174286179 When cancer spreads to the bone, radiation treatments can help relieve the pain caused by the tumor. But how best to deliver the radiation may vary widely from one oncologist to the next. http://www.physorg.com/news174220669.html Medicine & Health Thu, 08 Oct 2009 11:38:11 EST news174220669 Patients who experience fatigue during radiotherapy for breast or prostate cancer may be reacting to activation of the proinflammatory cytokine network, a known inflammatory pathway, according to a report in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. http://www.physorg.com/news169820271.html Medicine & Health Tue, 18 Aug 2009 13:30:02 EST news169820271 CyberKnife radiosurgery -- which uses narrow beams of radiation to kill several types of cancer -- is marketed as a less invasive, more convenient way to treat prostate cancer, a pitch that has proved convincing for about 3,000 men over the last six years. http://www.physorg.com/news168877328.html Medicine & Health Fri, 07 Aug 2009 15:40:02 EST news168877328 Survivors of the childhood cancer neuroblastoma are eight times more likely to have chronic health conditions, less likely to be married, and more likely to have lower incomes than their siblings, according to a study published online July 31 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. http://www.physorg.com/news168281693.html Medicine & Health Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:30:02 EST news168281693 Prostate cancer patients who receive brachytherapy and remain free of disease for five years or greater are unlikely to have a recurrence at 10 years, according to a study in the July 1 issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, the official journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). http://www.physorg.com/news165761251.html Medicine & Health Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:48:07 EST news165761251 (PhysOrg.com) -- A study led by specialists at the Brain Tumor Center at the University of Cincinnati (UC) Neuroscience Institute affirms the benefits and safety of aggressive, localized treatment for patients with a single brain metastasis. http://www.physorg.com/news163693515.html Medicine & Health Mon, 08 Jun 2009 15:26:21 EST news163693515 External beam partial breast irradiation (EB-PBI) is the most cost-effective method for treating postmenopausal women with early-stage breast cancer based on utilities, recurrence risks and costs when compared to whole breast radiotherapy (WBRT) and brachytherapy partial breast irradiation (brachy-PBI), according to a study in the June 1 issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, the official journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). http://www.physorg.com/news163161490.html Medicine & Health Tue, 02 Jun 2009 11:38:43 EST news163161490 Tumors need a healthy supply of blood to grow and spread. Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have identified a molecule that regulates blood vessel growth that is often found at less-than-normal levels in human tumors. Blocking the expression of the molecule, called PHD2, allows human cancer cells to grow more quickly when implanted into mice and increases the number of blood vessels feeding the tumor. http://www.physorg.com/news163084699.html Medicine & Health Mon, 01 Jun 2009 14:19:16 EST news163084699