Practice-changing studies on how oncologists treat cancer to be presented at ASTRO Annual Meeting

The following are highlights of new cancer research being released at the American Society for Radiation Oncology's (ASTRO) 52nd Annual Meeting to be held October 31 through November 4, 2010, in San Diego. For full copies of the abstracts and press releases, contact Nicole Napoli at nicolen@astro.org or Beth Bukata at bethb@astro.org. Studies are embargoed until October 25, 2010, at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time.

Adding radiation to hormone therapy for prostate cancer treatment will increase survival chances
Prostate cancer patients who are treated with a combination of hormone therapy and radiation have a substantially improved chance of survival compared to patients who do not receive radiation, according to interim results of the largest randomized study of its kind presented at the plenary session, November 1, 2010…

Aspirin use is associated with lower risk of cancer death for men with prostate cancer
Men with prostate cancer who take anticoagulants like aspirin in addition to radiation therapy or surgery may be able to cut their risk of dying of the disease by more than half, according to a large study presented on November 3, 2010…

Prostate cancer screening improves quality of life by catching the disease earlier before it can spread
Men treated for prostate cancer who were diagnosed after the start of routine screening had a significantly reduced risk of the disease spreading to other parts of the body (metastases) within 10 years of treatment, compared to men who were treated prior to the use of routine screening, according to the first study-of-its-kind presented November 1, 2010…

Radiation before surgery keeps colorectal cancer from returning
Patients with cancer found at the end of the large intestine called the rectum who receive one week of radiation therapy before surgery have a 50 percent reduction in the chance that their cancer will return after 10 years, according to a large, randomized study presented at the plenary session, November 1, 2010…

Newer, more intense chemotherapy with less radiation not more effective against Hodgkin's lymphoma
A lower dose of radiation used to reduce side effects is not as effective as the regular dose when given with standard chemotherapy in the treatment of Hodgkin's lymphoma patients with early, intermediate-stage disease, according to a first-of-its-kind randomized study presented at the plenary session, November 1, 2010…

Chemotherapy plus radiation prevents bladder cancer recurrences
Adding chemotherapy to radiation therapy for muscle invasive bladder cancer allows 67 percent of people to be free of disease in their bladders two years after treatment. This compares to 54 percent of people who receive radiation alone, according to the largest randomized study of its kind presented at the plenary session, November 1, 2010…

Highly targeted radiation technique minimizes side effects of prostate cancer treatment
Men with prostate cancer treated with a specialized type of radiation called intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) have fewer gastrointestinal complications compared to patients treated with conventional three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT), according to a study presented November 1, 2010...

Radiation therapy improves painful condition associated with multiple sclerosis
Stereotactic radiation is an effective, long-term treatment for trigeminal neuralgia: a painful condition that occurs with increased frequency in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Radiation is noninvasive and has less negative side effects than other treatments, according to the longest follow-up in a study of its kind presented October 31, 2010…

Source: American Society for Radiation Oncology