A new study involving patients with stage IV cancer finds treatment with radiation therapy and immunotherapy can halt the growth of tumors by stimulating the body’s immune system to attack the cancer. In the phase II trial, patients with end-stage cancer that had spread to the lungs or liver demonstrated a favorable response to the combined treatment. Between 30 and 60 percent of the patients, depending on the treatment arm, found that their cancer stopped spreading. Findings were presented at the 59th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), Sept. 24-27 in San Diego.

Network Radiology, a leading independent radiology center and teleradiology service provider in Cleveland, is using Exa PACS/RIS from Konica Minolta Healthcare Americas Inc. to help increase productivity and enable high reading volumes for both business applications. With a growing number of imaging studies between the two business segments, Network Radiology relies on Exa PACS server-side rendering and the solution’s diagnostic-quality zero footprint universal viewer for fast access to imaging studies from virtually any location, workstation or modality.

University of Iowa Health Care recently purchased Carestream’s Vue Motion enterprise viewer, lesion management and mammography/tomography software to augment the capabilities of its existing Carestream Clinical Collaboration Platform.

Radiation therapy following mastectomy for intermediate-stage, high-risk breast cancer can be shortened from five to three weeks while maintaining tumor control rates in the breast and surrounding region that are equivalent to conventional treatment, according to new research. The findings were presented at the 59th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), Sept. 24-27 in San Diego.

In a new phase III trial report, recurrence-free and overall survival rates for women with stage I-II high-risk endometrial cancer were not superior following vaginal cuff brachytherapy plus chemotherapy when compared with pelvic radiation therapy. Risks of pelvic and para-aortic nodal recurrence and frequency of short-term side effects were greater for the brachytherapy-chemotherapy approach. High completion rates for each treatment arm suggest that both therapies are well-tolerated by patients. Findings from the report from the National Clinical Trial Network group, NRG Oncology, were presented at the 59th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), Sept. 24-27 in San Diego.

Toshiba Medical announced it will highlight several of its latest vascular and interventional imaging solutions at the 2017 Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), Nov. 26-Dec. 1 in Chicago.

For certain patients with oropharyngeal cancer caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV), an aggressive reduction of radiation therapy after surgery may provide excellent cancer control while simultaneously reducing post-treatment side effects, according to research presented at the 59th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). Reducing radiation therapy post-surgery may also improve quality of life and lower treatment costs. Patients in the phase II clinical trial received half the standard radiation dose but achieved equally high cure rates at two years following treatment.

Psychological distress has long been associated with negative health outcomes for cancer patients, though specific reasons remain unclear. A new study finds that roughly half of all patients who reported having severe distress, which the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) describes as “a mix of anxiety and depressive symptoms,” subsequently missed one or more radiation therapy appointments and/or were admitted to the hospital during their treatment, compared with fewer than 20 percent of patients who reported lower levels of distress. The study was presented at the 59th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), which runs Sept. 24-27 in San Diego.