More precise radiation therapy may offer options to lung cancer patients with inoperable tumors
Lung cancer patients usually require 20 to 30 rounds of radiation to stop the tumor growth. But, a more accurately aimed radiation therapy may be able to do the trick for patients with inoperable tumors in just three treatments, according to recent study conducted at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.
Think power in numbers. Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) directs several beams to hit at the exact point of the tumor. Each relatively weak beam enters the body from a slightly different angle, leaving little damage in patients' surrounding tissue. But, when they converge, the beams take a powerful strike at the cancer.
Dr. Robert Timmerman, vice chairman of radiation oncology at the UT Medical Center who led the study, treated 55 lung cancer patients with three outpatient treatments of SBRT. Surgery was not a treatment option for any of the participants because of non-related medical conditions. The treatments stopped the growth of the original tumor in nearly 98 percent of the patients. And 56 percent of the participants survived beyond three years past treatment.
Controlling the primary tumor is essential, according to the UT Medical Center’s press release on the study. So, the researchers concluded SBRT offers a lot of potential to lung cancer patients with inoperable tumors. Timmerman’s team plans further research to compare SBRT results to surgery outcomes in patients eligible for surgery, which could lead to fast, less-invasive treatment.
Read more details of the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in March 2010, here. Read more about Timmerman’s work at UT Medical Center here.
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As an aspiring health journalist, I research studies, medical tips and technology that give me hope that we will cure cancer, and in the meantime, treatment will improve. But no one wins the fight alone. My goal is 50 posts about cancer breakthroughs to convince you to join my hope for a cure by April 10th, 2010, the day of my local American Cancer Society fundraiser, Relay For Life.
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About Me
While pursuing a journalism career in health writing and editing, I come across heart-wrenching stories of those fighting cancer and I am learning how it turns lives upside down. But, I also run into groundbreaking research that makes me believe winning the fight against cancer is possible.
I've interviewed stem cell researchers pioneering new cancer treatments; I've listened to the "lucky" cancer patients who survived, but gave up their pre-cancer lives; and I try to stay as well-versed in health and wellness news as an aspiring health journalist. As the editor in chief of my college health magazine and as a journalism student pursuing health writing, I've had the opportunity to find research that motivates me to keep fighting for a cure for cancer. I think we can do it, and I don't want to keep hearing about the "lucky" survivors whose stories don't seem so "lucky."
As the co-chair of my local American Cancer Society fundraiser, Relay For Life, I see our efforts in this fight get stronger when we come together, sharing our support, our knowledge and our passion.
So, I started this blog to share my motivation: progress. By April 10th, 2010, the date our Relay For Life event, my goal is to find and tell you about 50 ways we are winning the fight against cancer. My hope is that these 50 posts will convince you to join the charge.
I've interviewed stem cell researchers pioneering new cancer treatments; I've listened to the "lucky" cancer patients who survived, but gave up their pre-cancer lives; and I try to stay as well-versed in health and wellness news as an aspiring health journalist. As the editor in chief of my college health magazine and as a journalism student pursuing health writing, I've had the opportunity to find research that motivates me to keep fighting for a cure for cancer. I think we can do it, and I don't want to keep hearing about the "lucky" survivors whose stories don't seem so "lucky."
As the co-chair of my local American Cancer Society fundraiser, Relay For Life, I see our efforts in this fight get stronger when we come together, sharing our support, our knowledge and our passion.
So, I started this blog to share my motivation: progress. By April 10th, 2010, the date our Relay For Life event, my goal is to find and tell you about 50 ways we are winning the fight against cancer. My hope is that these 50 posts will convince you to join the charge.
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