Radiation Therapy News and Research

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Radiation therapy (also called radiotherapy, x-ray therapy, or irradiation) is the use of a certain type of energy (called ionizing radiation) to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation therapy injures or destroys cells in the area being treated (the “target tissue”) by damaging their genetic material, making it impossible for these cells to continue to grow and divide. Although radiation damages both cancer cells and normal cells, most normal cells can recover from the effects of radiation and function properly. The goal of radiation therapy is to damage as many cancer cells as possible, while limiting harm to nearby healthy tissue.

Study Reveals How H3K36 Methylation Controls Intestinal Cell Plasticity and Regeneration

Researchers from the University of Colorado Cancer Center have solved a cellular mystery that may lead to better therapies for colorectal and other types of cancer.

26 Mar 2025

New Microscopy Technique Reveals Cancer's Metabolic Secrets

Understanding how tumors alter their metabolism to evade treatments is an increasingly important area of cancer research.

4 Feb 2025

Mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes carrying vincristine sulfate are effective in killing cancer stem cells

Whether loading vincristine sulfate into mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes could improve the targeted delivery of the drug specifically to cancer stem cells.

21 May 2024

Understanding Prostate Cancer Disparities Through Proteogenomics

Certain proteogenomic signatures in the prostate cancers of men of African and European ancestries were associated with higher risk of metastasis and/or recurrence of the disease, according to a study presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2024, held April 5-10.

10 Apr 2024

Non-Invasive Early Cancer Detection Using Chromatin Signatures in Mononuclear Blood Cells

Blood cells reveal tumors in the body. Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute achieve an advance with the development of a test for early diagnosis of cancer.

18 Dec 2023

Research may Offer a New Way to Break Through Cancer's Hypoxia-Induced Defenses

For most of our tissues and cells, a lack of oxygen, or hypoxia, is bad news. Cancer cells, on the other hand, can thrive in these hypoxic conditions, which render tumors less susceptible to anti-cancer treatments, including radiation.

11 Jul 2023

Study Shows How Excess Dietary Sugar Worsens IBD Symptoms

Excess sugar hampers cells that renew the colon's lining in a mouse model of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), according to a new study by University of Pittsburgh scientists.

23 May 2023

Cancer cells use new DNA repair mechanism to recover from next-generation cancer radiation therapy

A team of scientists led by Dr. Kei-ichi TAKATA from the Center for Genomic Integrity within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), has discovered a new type of DNA repair mechanism that cancer cells use to recover from next-generation cancer radiation therapy.

20 Mar 2023

Rice biologists embark on a three-year project to create genetically encoded antibiotics

Synthetic biologists at Rice University are embarking on a three-year project to create "genetically encoded antibiotics," strands of RNA that bacteria will readily copy and share that will selectively kill only disease-causing, pathogenic bacteria.

14 Mar 2023

Using nanoparticles to carry drugs across the blood-brain barrier

Brain tumors are notoriously hard to treat. One reason is the challenge posed by the blood-brain barrier, a network of blood vessels and tissue with closely spaced cells.

3 Mar 2023

Predictive classifier identifies patients who can skip radiation therapy

According to the findings of a meta-analysis proposed at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium held on December 6–10th, 2022, patients with invasive breast cancer who had low scores on an investigational gene molecular signature seemed to have similar rates of local recurrence regardless of whether they received adjuvant radiation therapy after breast-conserving surgery.

12 Dec 2022

Nanomaterials offer a rich avenue to achieve broad-spectrum bioactivities

Cancer treatment is a lengthy procedure because surviving cancer cells frequently transform into aggressive versions that are no longer curable.

From The Max Planck Institute 9 Sep 2022

Spaceflight increases the risk of developing cancer and heart disease

A groundbreaking study from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai found that astronauts are more likely to experience mutations that could be connected to spaceflight and increase their lifetime risk of acquiring cancer and heart disease.

2 Sep 2022

Researchers devise a new treatment approach to cure aggressive brain tumors

Glioblastomas (GBMs) are cancerous tumors of the brain and spinal cord that are incredibly aggressive.

23 May 2022

Scientists discover a special cell in salivary glands that is likely crucial for oral health

Scientists at Scripps Research and the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research have discovered a special type of cell that resides in salivary glands and is likely crucial for oral health.

13 Apr 2022

Novel method can report specific immune cell types using only DNA from blood

Flow cytometry is a powerful and complex technology used to count, sort or measure characteristics of cells and to detect biomarkers.

10 Feb 2022

Genetic biomarker test could help personalize therapy for men with high-risk prostate cancer

A new meta-analysis finds that a genetic biomarker test accurately predicts how men with high-risk prostate cancer will respond to treatment with radiation and hormone therapy.

26 Oct 2021

Radiation therapy can reprogram heart muscle cells to a younger state, suggests study

New research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests that radiation therapy can reprogram heart muscle cells to what appears to be a younger state, fixing electrical problems that cause a life-threatening arrhythmia without the need for a long-used, invasive procedure.

27 Sep 2021

New research focuses on possible treatment options for childhood brain cancer

Medulloblastoma is a rare but devastating childhood brain cancer. This cancer can spread through the spinal fluid and be deposited elsewhere in the brain or spine.

11 Jun 2021

New substance could improve the treatment of drug-resistant cancers

A new substance could improve the treatment of persistent cancers. Researchers at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg and the University of Greifswald have developed a new inhibitor that makes drug-resistant tumor cells respond again to chemotherapy.

9 Mar 2021