Radiation Oncology

The health benefits of yoga are many, but in the oncology setting, studies of the approach have focused primarily on women with breast cancer. However, a small, first-of-its-kind study by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania is exploring how yoga may also improve treatment-related symptoms in men who are undergoing radiotherapy for their prostate cancer. And the results, thus far, are promising.

Researchers have discovered that shorter, more intensive radiation treatment for patients in the early stages of prostate cancer can be performed without compromising cancer control.

Previous studies have linked radiation to the pancreas during childhood to an increased risk of type 1 or 2 diabetes, and in a recent small study, researchers investigated the mechanisms leading to abnormal glucose and insulin dynamics in survivors of childhood cancers.

Kavita Dharmarajan, MD, MSc, assistant professor of radiation oncology and palliative medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital, discusses palliative radiation oncology referrals.

For patients with painful bone metastases, an intervention combining palliative care with radiation oncology led to better results, according to preliminary findings from a new study.

Jyoti Patel, MD, of Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, talks about the subject of delaying whole brain radiation for brain metastases.

Susan Schwartz, MSN, RN, APN, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, discusses a program aimed at providing better care for patients following radiotherapy.

Two studies suggest that treatment during pregnancy does not appear to negatively impact neurologic or cardiac fetal development.

Despite a recent decline in utilization, consolidated radiation therapy (RT) has been shown to improve 10-year survival rates for patients with stage I/II Hodgkin's lymphoma following treatment with chemotherapy.

A new study has found that standardizing prescribing practices for single-fraction radiation therapy (SFRT) for palliation of bone metastases may result in cost savings and an improvement in patients' quality of life.