Dear Radiation Oncology Insider,
How passionate do you get about the types of radiation therapy available to cancer patients? Since the previous issue of this newsletter was published, quite a debate has been raging over treatments for early-stage breast cancer patients.
Proponents of accelerated partial-breast irradiation (APBI) brachytherapy have been up in arms over a study on the technology by researchers from MD Anderson Cancer Center. The results were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association; click here to read about the uproar.
Meanwhile, positive results with APBI were reported at the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO) meeting, and good news was also discussed at the American Society of Breast Surgeons conference, where outcomes of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) patients were presented.
Two other studies offered positive news to patients: One reported that intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) may produce fewer side effects, and the other found that patients who have mastectomies may not benefit from radiation therapy. Both studies are controversial -- click here and here to read about them.
In other Radiation Oncology Digital Community news, we also present two studies about the use of IMRT for prostate cancer patients. Read about the positive one here and the negative one here.
Last but not least, this issue's Insider Exclusive focuses on the use of proton therapy to treat children with cancer. The expense of proton therapy treatment is controversial, but this article makes a compelling case for its use.
And if you want to read more coverage of ESTRO, the European radiation oncology society's annual meeting, please visit AuntMinnieEurope.com.
