Cancer News
Scientists develop scans that light-up aggressive cancer tumors for better treatment
Researchers have used a chemical compound to light up treatmentresistant cancers on imaging scans , in a breakthrough that could help medical professionals better target and treat cancer .
Using the radiotracer -- an injected compound used in PET scans -- could help inform doctors that a patients aggressive cancer will not respond to chemotherapy before treatment is given . This would prevent the patients receiving unnecessary treatment and provide them with alternative options that will give them the best chance of beating the disease .
Non-small cell lung cancer is the most common type of lung cancer in the UK and 47,000 people are diagnosed with it every year . Typically , patients with lung cancer will be started on a treatment plan -- such as chemotherapy -- and then wait twelve weeks to have a CT or PET scan to see whether the treatment has shrunk the tumour , or the tumour has stayed the same or has grown . But twelve weeks can often be too late to change course of treatment and end-of-life care is frequently the only option .
Researchers from King ’ s re-purposed a radiotracer , currently used as a diagnostic tool in clinical trials in the USA and South Korea , to show treatment-resistant tumours on PET scans . The molecule targets xCT , a tumour-associated protein which is present on therapy-resistant tumours . In images from the study , PET scans of animal models show tumour-resistant cancer cells light up brighter compared to tumours responsive to treatment .
Source : King ’ s College London
Cancer Hospital in Thailand joins Rays of Hope as anchor centre
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t its 68th General Conference , the IAEA welcomed its latest Rays of Hope Anchor Centre – Mahidol University ’ s Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital in Thailand – marking one year of progress since the first five such Centres were established under the Agency ’ s Rays of Hope : Cancer Care for All initiative . The initiative seeks to expand access to cancer care where it is needed most . As the fourth Anchor Centre in the Asia- Pacific and tenth overall , the hospital joins a growing network of knowledge and capacity-building hubs , creating opportunities for regional and interregional advances in cancer care .
Under Rays of Hope , the hospital will work closely with the IAEA and other Anchor Centres to train radiotherapy , radiology , nuclear medicine and medical physics . It will provide technical expertise to other cancer facilities and organize meetings and workshops on cancer care practices and research . It will also contribute to developing curricula , academic programmes , and operational strategies for the appropriate use of radiation medicine .
In subsequent discussions , Anchor Centres representatives highlighted several capacity-building events organized over the past year , while delegates of the countries hosting these facilities welcomed Ramathibodi Hospital as the latest addition .
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