Radiation Oncology

Radiation therapy uses high-energy radiation to damage cancer cells' DNA and destroy their ability to divide and grow. It is delivered using linear accelerators, proton accelerators, metered cobalt-60 exposure, or brachytherapy where radioactive seeds are placed inside the patient on a temporary or permanent basis to kill cancer or relieve pain. The main radiation oncology society and annual conference is the American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

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Projected supply and demand of radiation oncology: Can the workforce keep up?

In years past, concerns have been raised over whether a growing radiation oncology workforce would eventually outpace patient demands, but a new report brings positive news.

Chemical imaging method could improve radiotherapy planning

A team of experts has been researching a method known as photo acoustic chemical imaging, or PACI, to understand how it can offer added insight into the chemical makeup of a tumor.  

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Older women with breast cancer can safely forego radiation therapy

New data suggest that it may not be necessary for women older than 65 with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer to undergo radiotherapy after breast-conserving surgery and hormone therapy, as it does not impact death rates or metastasis risk.

FDA grants passage to autonomous, biology-guided radiotherapy

A therapeutic oncology company has been cleared to market a cancer treatment that that turns a tumor’s own biology into a self-signaling target for radiation therapy.

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Experts have concerns about recently approved prostate cancer radiotherapy

In March of 2022, 177Lu-PSMA-617 was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer in men with PSMA-avid disease who have previously undergone chemotherapy and a novel androgen receptor-directed therapy. 

Incoming American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) President Ehsan Samei, PhD, DABR, FAAPM, FSPIE, FAIMBE, FIOMP, FACR, chief imaging physicist for Duke University Health System and the Reed and Martha Rice Distinguished Professor of Radiology at Duke, is part of the team that developed the two specialized, medical-grade mannequin humans to test how much radiation NASA astronauts will receive on the Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond.

VIDEO: Radiology expertise used to create radiation astronaut phantoms for the Artemis I moon mission

Incoming AAPM President Ehsan Samei, PhD, FACR, chief imaging physicist for Duke University Health System, helped develop two specialized radiology phantom astronauts to measure how much radiation NASA astronauts will receive on future Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond.

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Hospital-provided rideshare services could shorten radiation therapy treatment courses

Cancer patients who are offered free hospital-provided rideshare services are more likely to comply with radiation therapy recommendations. 

SPECT technique might measure absorbed tissue dose from radiation therapy

Washington University is using a novel low-count quantitative SPECT technique to measure the concentration of alpha particle radiopharmaceutical therapy activity in the tumor and in radio-sensitive organs.