There is conflicting evidence about whether digoxin, a drug that has been used worldwide for centuries to treat heart disease, might contribute to an increase in deaths in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) or congestive heart failure (CHF). Now, the largest review of all the evidence to date shows that it is associated with an […]
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease increases the risk of sudden cardiac death
People suffering from the common lung disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), have an increased risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD), according to new research published online on Wednesday in the European Heart Journal [1]. When compared with people of the same age and sex who do not have the disease, those with COPD have […]
New proton therapy technique brings hope of more effective treatment for tumours without causing collateral damage
Barcelona, Spain: Radiotherapy using protons can deliver more accurate treatment to a tumour while reducing the dose to surrounding tissue. However, in mobile organs such as the lung, precise targeting of the dose is difficult. Now researchers have succeeded in making a model of breathing movement that allows for the precise measurement of narrow beams […]
Prostate cancer patients who receive permanent radiotherapy implants twice as likely to be free of cancer after five years
Barcelona, Spain: Results from a randomised controlled trial to compare the use of permanent radioactive implants (brachytherapy) with dose-escalated external beam radiotherapy in patients with prostate cancer show that the men who received brachytherapy were twice as likely to be cancer-free five years later. Presenting these results at the 3rd ESTRO Forum in Barcelona, Spain, […]
High radiotherapy dose improves prospects for children with brain cancer
Barcelona, Spain: Two studies presented on Sunday at the 3rd ESTRO Forum in Barcelona, Spain, show that increasing the dose of radiotherapy given to children with an intracranial ependymoma, a form of cancer of the central nervous system, can significantly improve their survival. Malignant ependymoma, which develops in the cells that line the hollow cavities […]
Brachytherapy improves survival for inoperable early stage endometrial cancer
Barcelona, Spain: Women who have early stage endometrial cancer and are inoperable tend to live longer if they have been treated with brachytherapy with or without external beam radiation, according to new research presented at the 3rd ESTRO Forum in Barcelona, Spain, on Sunday. Brachytherapy is a type of internal radiotherapy that involves putting a […]
Combined brachytherapy techniques should be “benchmark” for cervical cancer treatment
Barcelona, Spain: The first large international study to investigate the late side-effects of a combination of two forms of brachytherapy to treat cervical cancer has shown that the technique successfully delivers higher radiation doses to the tumour without an increase in treatment-related problems afterwards. Brachytherapy is a type of internal radiotherapy that involves putting a […]
Pesticides in fruit and vegetables linked to semen quality
The first study to investigate the relationship between eating fruit and vegetables containing pesticide residues and the quality of men’s semen has shown a link with lower sperm counts and percentages of normally-formed sperm. The study, which is published online in Human Reproduction [1], one of the world’s leading reproductive medicine journals, shows that men […]
New research shows possibility of cure for HPV positive throat cancer patients with limited distant metastasis
Nice, France: Patients with cancer of the throat caused by the Human Papilloma virus (HPV+) have a better prognosis than those who are negative for the virus (HPV-). Now, for the first time, researchers have shown with convincing evidence that a group of patients with HPV+ cancer of the oropharynx (the part of the throat […]
New radiotracer helps avoid neck dissection in patients with early head and neck cancer
Nice, France: The discovery that the identification and biopsy of the first lymph node to which a cancer spreads (the sentinel node) can lead to more accurate diagnosis and treatment has revolutionised the management of breast cancer. Now a team of researchers has been able to identify accurately the sentinel node (SN) in head and […]