Dear Radiation Oncology Insider,
From the perspective of AuntMinnie.com, the past seven weeks since the last Radiation Oncology Insider was published have been volatile. Global concern about radiation-induced cancer has been at an all-time high.
The horrific problems of Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant put a spotlight on radiation protection drugs, a subject investigated by international editor Eric Barnes.
Then, a popular U.S. television show put the fear of God in American women that radiation scatter from a mammogram might cause thyroid cancer. If you haven't read about this, click here and here.
What about exposure to high levels of radiation from radiation therapy? For almost 650,000 patients who had treatment in the U.S., the odds were three out of 1,000 for developing a radiation-induced cancer. Read about this important -- and reassuring -- study from the U.S. National Cancer Institute by clicking here.
But a study presented this week at the American Society of Breast Surgeons annual meeting found that patients who receive radiation therapy following breast conservation surgery, and who subsequently develop a recurrence, have more-invasive cancer than patients who only undergo lumpectomy. Click here to learn more.
A cancer center located on the French Riviera reported different news. Early outcomes of women who opted for a second round of breast conservation surgery followed by high-dose brachytherapy treatment instead of having a mastectomy are encouraging. This newsletter's Insider Exclusive may be reporting on a new trend that will prove to be safe and is much less disfiguring. Only time will tell.
Check out the stories below for even more controversial news in the Radiation Oncology Digital Community:
- The therapeutic advantages of stereotactic body radiosurgery have been questioned in a study by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
- Intensity-modulated radiation therapy doubles the cost for breast cancer treatment, according to a story from features editor Wayne Forrest.
- An intraoperative breast brachytherapy product proved to be defective during some procedures and was recalled by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
- Men undergoing radiation therapy for prostate cancer are at greater risk of having hip fractures.
Have your patients expressed concerns about any of these topics? Let us know.
