To meet the growing demands for cancer treatment in Tarrant County and surrounding areas, UT Southwestern Medical Center is expanding its cancer services in the Fort Worth Medical District with construction of a new two-story Radiation Oncology campus that will house the city’s first MRI-guided precision radiation treatment.
Tag: Radiation Oncology
ASTRO issues update to clinical guideline on radiation therapy for rectal cancer
The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) issued today an updated clinical guideline for physicians who use radiation therapy to treat patients with locally advanced rectal cancer. This update incorporates new data on patient selection and best practices from several practice-changing clinical trials published since the prior guideline was issued in 2020.
ASTRO awards early career radiation oncology scientists with research grants and fellowships
The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) today announced the recipients of its 2024 research grants and fellowships, including awards co-sponsored by the American Cancer Society (ACS), the LUNGevity Foundation, the Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA), the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), the RTOG Foundation/NRG Oncology and AstraZeneca.
UTSW’s Simmons Cancer Center awarded more than $11.5 million in CPRIT funding
Eight scientists and physicians in the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center at UT Southwestern have been awarded more than $11.5 million in grants from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) to support the state’s fight against cancer.
Widespread disparities exist in treating advanced cancers
A study led by researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center reveals significant disparities across the country in the use of immunotherapy for patients with advanced kidney and bladder cancers.
ASTRO 2024 Tip Sheet From Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center
Research findings from Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami will be presented at ASTRO 2024 – the American Society for Radiation Oncology’s annual meeting Sept. 29 – Oct. 2 in Washington D.C. Below are titles for oral presentations, posters and special sessions in which our researchers will be involved.
The Society of Huntsman Translational Scholars Welcomes Two More Members
Heloisa Soares, MD, PhD, and Skyler Johnson, MD, were selected as members of The Society of Huntsman Translational Scholars for their contributions to advancing cancer research and patient care.
Jatinder Palta Appointed Director of First-of-its-Kind Medical Physics Institute
Jatinder Palta, PhD, FAAPM, FASTRO, FACR, has been appointed as the first director to lead the Medical Physics Institute within the American Association of Physicists in Medicine. MPI was approved by the AAPM Board of Directors in 2023 to improve the quality and safety of patient care in radiology and radiation oncology.
FAU Researcher Receives Grant to Personalize Radiation Therapy for Cancer
While chemotherapy has advanced in personalization, personalized radiation therapy for cancer remains underdeveloped. A new project will use AI, in particular, deep reinforcement learning, to analyze multimodal data, and enhance cancer characterization and treatment to ultimately improve patient outcomes. Using personal health data, genetic information about the tumor, and patient treatment and follow-up data, digital twins will simulate diagnoses and treatment options to help physicians choose the most effective treatments and monitor responses over time.
Excellence in Radiation Oncology
The University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Cancer Center achieves accreditation for radiation oncology services from the American Society for Radiation Oncology APEx – Accreditation Program for Excellence
Study supports precision radiation therapy in lung cancer
Results from a new study led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center support standard use of the more precise intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) over the alternative 3D-conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT) for patients with unresectable, locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Radiation oncology research and clinical trial results to be featured at ASTRO’s Annual Meeting in San Diego
The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) announced today the 10 studies to be highlighted in the 2023 ASTRO Annual Meeting press program. Researchers will discuss their findings in news briefings held October 2 and 3 at the San Diego Convention Center and via live webcast.
Radiation therapy clinical trial at UCLA Health is right approach for Oakland business owner
In June 2021, Bob McCarrick and his wife Stacey headed out to Los Angeles to enroll in the MIRAGE trial and start radiation therapy.
American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) to host Annual Meeting in San Diego, October 1-4
Registration opens today for the American Society for Radiation Oncology’s (ASTRO) 65th Annual Meeting, which will be held at the San Diego Convention Center, October 1-4, 2023. Media registration is available at www.astro.org/astro2023press, and general registration is available at www.astro.org/annualmeeting.
Clinical trial improves neurocognitive outcomes for childhood craniopharyngioma
Investigators from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital found that proton therapy had efficacy similar to conventional photon therapy with fewer negative neurocognitive outcomes. The clinical trial may set the new “gold standard” for pediatric craniopharyngioma treatment.
Cedars-Sinai Cancer Experts To Present Clinical Findings at AACR Conference
Cedars-Sinai Cancer oncologists and researchers are available to comment on late-breaking topics and research throughout the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2023, happening April 14-19 in Orlando.
Response to hormone therapy predicts radiation resistance in ER+ breast cancer
How estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer responds to hormone therapy may hold keys to understanding how it will respond to radiation therapy, and an experimental drug that increases the effectiveness of hormone therapy also overcomes radiation resistance in breast cancer, a study by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers shows.
Advancing Care and Innovation for Pediatric Brain Tumors
The Brain Tumor Center at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles takes a team approach—and offers one of the largest clinical trial programs of its kind. The Brain Tumor Center at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is one of the largest and most comprehensive pediatric brain tumor programs in the country, integrating experts from multiple specialty areas into a coordinated treatment team.
Study Shows Promising Safety, Patient Outcomes Data for MRI-Guided Adaptive Radiation Therapy to Treat Pancreatic Cancer
Findings from a recent prospective study show promising safety and patient outcomes data for locally advanced and borderline resectable pancreatic cancer treatment using ablative Stereotactic MRI-Guided On-table Adaptive Radiation Therapy, also known as SMART.
AI and Cancer: Study Highlights Automated System to Calculate Metabolic Tumor Volume
AI-based approach could make it easier to incorporate metabolic tumor volume into clinical trials and possibly patient care
Response-adapted ultra-low dose radiation achieves complete response in 90% of patients with orbital indolent B-cell lymphomas
Using a novel response-adapted ultra-low dose radiation therapy strategy, MD Anderson researchers observed a 90% complete response rate in patients with orbital indolent B-cell lymphoma. The results were presented today at the 2022 ASTRO Annual Meeting.
MD Anderson and ARTIDIS announce strategic alliance to advance nanomechanical technology platform for optimizing cancer treatment
MD Anderson and ARTIDIS today announced a strategic alliance to investigate ARTIDIS nanotechnology platform as a treatment-optimization tool for patients with solid tumors.
MD Anderson and Empyrean announce agreement to develop novel radiation therapy technologies
MD Anderson and Empyrean announced an exclusive license and joint development agreement to advance new technologies and products in radiation oncology.
Study: Counting Cancerous Lymph Nodes Is Best Predictor
Patients newly diagnosed with cancer typically focus on one question, eclipsing all others: “What is my prognosis?”
Henry Ford Health is First in the World to Offer Latest Advancement in MR-Guided Radiation Therapy
Henry Ford Health is the first in the world to complete a full course of patient treatments using the latest advancement in magnetic resonance (MR)-guided radiation therapy, which integrates real-time magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and linear acceleration to deliver precise and accurate radiation treatment more rapidly than ever before.
Simple changes in care reduced heart exposure during lung cancer radiation treatment
A team at the University of Michigan Health Rogel Cancer Center, in partnership with the statewide Michigan Radiation Oncology Quality Consortium (MROQC) lung cancer collaborative, found that raising awareness about the risk of radiation exposure to the heart and standardizing cardiac exposure limits reduced the average dose to the heart by 15% and reduced the number of patients receiving the highest heart doses by half without minimizing tumor treatment or increasing dosage to other at-risk organs in the chest
Serial radiation therapy is safe and effective as alternative treatment to systemic therapy for kidney cancer
In a new single-arm study, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reported that radiation therapy as monotherapy is a safe and effective noninvasive treatment for oligometastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC). The findings were published today in The Lancet Oncology
Senators and representatives unite to call on CMS to protect patient access to high-quality radiation treatments
Eighty-five members of Congress have joined together to issue bipartisan, bicameral oversight letters that call on CMS to scale back severe cuts to radiation therapy reimbursement. Without action from CMS, radiation oncology will face estimated cuts of $300 million starting January 1, 2022, jeopardizing patient access to care.
MD Anderson and Siemens Healthineers collaborating to enable consistent clinical implementation of quantitative MRI
MD Anderson and Siemens Healthineers have announced the collaborative development of an education program focused on enabling the implementation of consistent, high-quality MRI in radiation oncology.
The Medical Minute: Real-time tumor tracking delivers high cure rates, decreased side effects for cancer patients
Think of it like radio making way for television. Image-guided radiation therapy has evolved to include the ability to track tumors in real time during treatment. It’s improving cure rates and limiting side effects for a growing number of cancer patients.
Long-term benefit of SABR for operable early-stage NSCLC shown in new study
A new study from researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center showed that stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) was as effective as surgery at providing long-term benefits to patients with operable early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and generated minimal side effects. The study is the first of its kind to compare long-term results of SABR against surgical treatment in patients with operable early-stage NSCLC.
ASTRO submits comments to CMS: Stop the draconian cuts that will harm cancer patient care
The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) submitted two comment letters to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) today urging the agency to reconsider policy changes that will result in $300 million in Medicare cuts for radiation therapy services starting January 1, 2022.
Researchers: Enlarged prostate lowers odds of significant prostate cancer
A team of Beaumont Health researchers from Radiology, Radiation Oncology and Urology studied the relationship between benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH, and prostate cancer in 405 men by quantitatively looking at different parts of prostate tissue on MRI.
American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) to host in-person Annual Meeting in Chicago, October 24-27
Registration opens today for the American Society for Radiation Oncology’s (ASTRO) 63rd Annual Meeting, which will return to an in-person conference at McCormick Place West in Chicago, October 24-27, 2021. Media resources and registration are available at www.astro.org/astro2021press, and general registration is available at www.astro.org/annualmeeting.
Statewide quality improvement project reduced excessive radiation treatments for bone metastases by 80%
An effort by the Michigan Radiation Oncology Quality Consortium reduced unnecessary radiation therapy procedures, and saved the time and resources of patients and families.
COVID-19 pandemic has led to more advanced-stage cancer diagnoses, physician survey finds
Doctors who oversee cancer clinics say that new patients are arriving for treatment with more advanced disease than before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new survey from the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). The survey fielded in early 2021 also found that treatment postponements and deferrals have largely subsided.
American College of Radiology Earns Third Recognition as a Great Place to Work
The American College of Radiology® (ACR®) is certified as a great workplace for the third consecutive year by the independent analysts at Great Place to Work®.
NYU Langone Brings Top Talent to Advance Cancer Care in Brooklyn
To help develop the latest treatment methods and expand cancer care service, Thomas Daniels, MD, has been appointed service chief of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Perlmutter Cancer Center–Sunset Park in Brooklyn.
Combination therapy with radiation shows promise in treating glioblastoma
In a study of mice, researchers at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified a new approach that combines an anti-psychotic drug, a statin used to lower high cholesterol levels, and radiation to improve the overall survival in mice with glioblastoma.
Errant DNA Boosts Immunotherapy Effectiveness
DALLAS – Dec. 17, 2020 – DNA that ends up where it doesn’t belong in cancer cells can unleash an immune response that makes tumors more susceptible to immunotherapy, the results of two UT Southwestern studies indicate. The findings, published online today in Cancer Cell, suggest that delivering radiation – which triggers DNA release from cells – before immunotherapy could be an effective way to fight cancers that are challenging to treat.
Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey Chair of Radiation Oncology and Associate Vice Chancellor Named President-Elect of the RSNA Board
The Radiological Society of North America (RNSA) is an international society of radiologists, medical physicists and other medical professionals across the world, with the mission of promoting excellence in patient care and health care delivery through education, research and technologic innovation. This year, Bruce G. Haffty, MD, associate vice chancellor for cancer programs and chair, radiation oncology at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey has been named president-elect of the society.
Radiation oncologists urge Congress to advance bills that protect patient access to cancer care during the pandemic
Radiation oncologists across the country will meet virtually with members of Congress this week to urge lawmakers to pass legislation that will safeguard access to high-quality, value-based health care for people with cancer. The doctors will meet with Congressional leaders and staff as part of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) virtual Advocacy Day, which will take place November 19-20, 2020.
Penn Study Supports Use of Radiation Before CAR Therapy for Multiple Myeloma
Administering radiation therapy to multiple myeloma patients waiting for CAR T cells to be manufactured was found to be safe and undisruptive to CAR T therapy.
Radiation oncology research and clinical trial results to be featured at ASTRO’s Annual Meeting
The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) announced today the press program for its 2020 Annual Meeting, which will feature studies on cancer treatment advances and discussions of topical issues including COVID-19. Researchers will present their findings via live webcasts on October 26 and 27. Register for press access at www.astro.org/annnualmeetingpress.
ASTRO responds to CMS Radiation Oncology Model: Implementation delay and more reforms needed
In response to today’s announcement by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to establish an advanced alternative payment model (APM) for radiation oncology practices starting January 1, 2021, the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) issued the following statement from Theodore L. DeWeese, MD, FASTRO, Chair of the ASTRO Board of Directors.
Systematic Testing of Environmental Surfaces in a Radiation Oncology Clinic Shows no Detectable SARS-CoV2
It has been hypothesized that SARS-CoV2 spread among people via droplets that come from the nose and mouth or through contact with contaminated objects and surfaces. Researchers at Rutgers Cancer Institute found that environmental surface testing at the center’s Radiation Oncology Department located within Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, an RWJBarnabas Health facility, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in the state showed no detectable SARS-CoV2 – the virus that causes COVID-19.
Memorial Sloan Kettering Awards and Appointments
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) announces its most recent awards and appointments for the institution’s physicians, scientists, nurses, and staff.
American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) to host virtual Annual Meeting, October 25-28
The American Society for Radiation Oncology’s (ASTRO) 62nd Annual Meeting, will be held October 25-28 via an interactive virtual platform. The meeting, Global Oncology: Radiation Therapy in a Changing World, will feature reports from the latest clinical trials; panels on global oncology, health disparities and the novel coronavirus; and an immersive attendee experience in a virtual convention center. Media resources are available at www.astro.org/astro2020press.
Journal of the American College of Radiology Increases Impact Factor in New Rankings
According to the newly released 2020 Journal Citation Report, the Journal of the American College of Radiology (JACR) has achieved a 2019 Impact Factor of 4.268, up from 3.785 last year. This is the journal’s 8th consecutive increase in impact factor year-over-year.
MSK Physician-Scientists Recognized with Top Honors by AACR, ASCO, and ASH Organizations
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) announces the following awards and honors to our staff, given by the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), and the American Society of Hematology (ASH) organizations.