Alpha TAU Killing Tumors With Highly Targeted Alpha Radiation
Radiation is commonly employed in hospitals around the world to treat tumors, typically using gamma ray beams of high energy photons, with a relatively long range, that penetrate all the tissues on the way to and from the tumor. This leads to substantial damage to healthy tissues and too often results in poor outcomes. An alpha particle, consisting of two protons and two neutrons bound together and akin to a helium-4 nucleus, is much trickier to work with in medicine because it is extremely powerful, yet has a very short effective range. Ronen Segal We recently visited the offices of Alpha TAU, a company based in Jeru...
Source: Medgadget - March 2, 2023 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Medgadget Editors Tags: Exclusive Oncology Radiation Oncology TelAvivUni Source Type: blogs

Radiotherapy to Prevent Recurrence Post Brain Tumor Excision: Interview with Matthew Likens, President and CEO of GT Medical
GT Medical Technologies, a company based in Arizona, has developed the FDA-approved GammaTile system, which can provide localized radiation therapy for brain tumor excision sites. Its goal is to reduce tumor recurrence and enhance patient survival. The treatment consists of radiation seeds encased in a collagen substrate. These are easy to place at the excision site with a minimum of effort at the end of a surgical procedure. Unfortunately, brain tumor recurrence is relatively common, and so treatments that can help to reduce this phenomenon, while sparing healthy tissues and reducing side effects, are very welcome. The...
Source: Medgadget - December 15, 2020 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Exclusive Materials Medicine Neurosurgery Oncology Radiation Oncology Radiology Source Type: blogs

New study compares long-term side effects from different prostate cancer treatments
Prostate cancer therapies are improving over time. But how do the long-term side effects from the various options available today compare? Results from a newly published study are providing some valuable insights. Investigators at Vanderbilt University and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center spent five years tracking the sexual, bowel, urinary, and hormonal status of nearly 2,000 men after they had been treated for prostate cancer, or monitored with active surveillance (which entails checking the tumor periodically and treating it only if it begins to grow). Cancers in all the men were still confined to the p...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - February 27, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Charlie Schmidt Tags: Health Prostate Knowledge Treatments HPK Source Type: blogs

A mix of treatments may extend life for men with aggressive prostate cancer
For men diagnosed with aggressive cancer that’s confined to the prostate and nearby tissues, the overarching goal of treatment is to keep the disease from spreading (or metastasizing) in the body. Doctors can treat these men with localized therapies, such as surgery and different types of radiation that target the prostate directly. And they can also give systemic treatments that kill off rogue cancer cells in the bloodstream. Hormonal therapy, for instance, is a systemic treatment that kills prostate cancer cells by depriving them of testosterone, which fuels their growth. Now a new study shows that a mix of different t...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - March 31, 2018 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Charlie Schmidt Tags: Cancer Men's Health Prostate Health Source Type: blogs

Don ’t Underestimate Patients
By GEORGE BERGER, PHD I was diagnosed with aggressive but localized prostate cancer at a major Dutch academic hospital. My parameters were PSA 29 or 31, Gleason sum 4 + 4, and stage T2c. Fortunately, there were no detectable distant metastases. The specialist drew a simple image of my urinary tract and told me I was excluded from brachytherapy, which I had never heard of before, because of the size of my prostate. I had to choose between external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) and radical prostatectomy (RP). How on Earth could I choose rationally while knowing so little about prostate cancer? However, I had studied maths and phy...
Source: The Health Care Blog - June 17, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Irvine Tags: Uncategorized ADT Dutch Health Care System Gleason Prostate Prostate Cancer Sweden Source Type: blogs

Prostate Cancer: Lowering Your Risk
By Amy Campbell After I wrote last week's posting, I came across more information on how nutrition and diet may help lower the risk for prostate cancer, so I'll share that this week. But first things first. How is prostate cancer diagnosed? Prostate cancer may be diagnosed during a physical exam; specifically, a digital rectal exam, during which the doctor inserts a lubricated, gloved finger into the rectum to feel for lumps, bumps, hard areas, or anything else unusual on the prostate. If cancer is suspected, your doctor may be able to tell which side it's on and/or if it's spread. The other way that prostate cancer may ...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - July 1, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: Amy Campbell Source Type: blogs