Construction of a proton therapy center typically requires debt financing, and servicing the debt requires a case mix with a high proportion of simple or prostate cancer patients, according to an analysis published in the August issue of the Journal of American College of Radiology. Pediatric or complex cases require more time and translate into reduced reimbursement per room.

Susan G. Komen for the Cures 2011 breast cancer awareness campaign has come under fire as a misleading overstatement of the benefits of mammography which ignore its potential harms in a commentary published Aug. 3 the British Medical Journal.

Payment cuts to radiation oncology proposed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) could severely impact community-based cancer care across the U.S., according to the results of a survey conducted by ASTRO, the American Society for Radiation Oncology.

Spectral mammography could accurately measure breast density, reduce the radiation dose of mammography by up to half and help determine cancer risk, according to preliminary research presented Aug. 2 at the 54th annual meeting of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM).

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) has launched a developer challenge aimed at reducing cardiovascular disease. Developers are being asked to build a mobile application that can engage those at risk, direct them to community health centers and motivate them to take action.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced a data initiative that creates the new Office of Information Products and Data Analysis. The office is designed to maximize CMS data for internal and external users.

As controversy continues to divide medical professionals over the benefits of prostate specific antigen (PSA) test screening for prostate cancer (PC), an analysis from researchers at the University of Rochester has demonstrated that eliminating PSA testing would triple the number of men who present with metastatic PC.

Patients with plantar fasciitis experienced significantly less pain and improved quality of life following a standard dose of external beam radiation therapy (RT), according to a study published online July 25 in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics.