Vienna, Austria: Patients with early stage pancreatic cancer could be given longer to live if they receive radiotherapy at a high enough dose, according to research presented at the ESTRO 36 conference. Pancreatic cancer already affects around 338,000 people worldwide annually and this figure is increasing [1]. It is notoriously difficult to treat and consequently […]
Giving a single, high dose of radiation directly to the site of a prostate tumour is safe and results in high patient satisfaction
Vienna, Austria: Doctors have found that treating prostate cancer with a single, high dose of radiation delivered precisely to the site of the tumour results in good quality of life and fewer trips to the hospital, with adverse side effects that are no worse than if the radiation treatment had been given in several lower […]
Adaptive radiotherapy reduces pneumonitis while controlling lung cancer
Vienna, Austria: Lung cancer patients who are treated with radiotherapy can develop an inflammation of the lung tissue called pneumonitis; this can limit the dose of radiation they can receive and severe forms of pneumonitis, if left untreated, can be fatal. Now researchers have found that it is possible to adapt radiation treatment so that […]
ESTRO announces GIRO: a project to save one million lives in under twenty years
Vienna, Austria: Although radiation therapy is an essential part of modern cancer treatment, and is indicated for about half of all new cancer patients, facilities for its provision are sadly lacking in many countries worldwide. Indeed, 29 out of 52 African nations have no radiotherapy facilities whatsoever. At the ESTRO 36 conference leaders of the […]
Cervical cancer survivors frequently suffer from long-term fatigue, insomnia and hot flushes
Vienna Austria: Around half of women who have been treated for locally advanced cervical cancer suffer from symptoms of insomnia, fatigue or hot flushes at some point, according to new research presented at the ESTRO 36 conference. Cervical cancer affects more than 500,000 women around the world each year [1], with an average age at […]
England’s Cancer Drugs Fund ‘failed to deliver meaningful value to patients and society’
Analysis of the drugs that were approved for use by the NHS Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) in England has shown that the fund was not good value for patients and society and may have resulted in patients suffering unnecessarily from toxic side effects of the drugs. In a study published in the leading cancer journal […]
Symptoms of cystitis probably caused by bacterial infection, even when tests are negative
The majority of women suffering with pain when urinating, or needing to urinate often or urgently probably do have a bacterial infection, even when nothing is detected by standard urine testing. Symptoms of a urinary tract infection (UTI) such as cystitis are common in women but, in around a quarter of cases, no infection is […]
Link between alcohol consumption and cardiac arrhythmias found in drinkers at the Munich Octoberfest
Researchers who studied beer drinkers at the Munich Octoberfest have found that the more alcohol consumed the higher was the likelihood of developing abnormal heart rhythms called cardiac arrhythmias. The research, which is published in the European Heart Journal [1], is the first study to investigate the link between acute alcohol consumption and cardiac arrhythmias […]
Measuring immune response could be key to differentiating malaria from other infections
Vienna, Austria: Analysing a patient’s immune response could be key to quickly and accurately diagnosing malaria, according to research presented on World Malaria Day at the 27th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID). Malaria affects around 200 million people around the world but its non-specific symptoms, coupled with a lack of access […]
New test can identify dangerous bacteria with resistance to last-resort antibiotic
Vienna, Austria: New research suggests it is possible to quickly and accurately diagnose some the most dangerous and drug-resistant types of bacterial infections, using equipment already owned by most hospitals. Bacteria have been gradually evolving to become resistant to the antibiotics used to treat them. Over the last few year, scientists have found evidence that […]