Researchers at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., are working an imaging technology that combines atomic force microscopy and nuclear MR to simultaneously study the mechanical and biochemical behavior of cells.

For patients testing positive for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive gastric cancer undergoing treatment with the tyrosine kinase inhibitor afatinib, therapy monitoring using PET and the radiopharmaceutical Zr-89 Trastuzumab can effectively assess tumor activity and improve staging of disease, according to research published online April 11 in The Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

A two-step method of F-18 FDG dosing during guided PET/CT tumor ablation procedures has been found to improve post-treatment monitoring without compromising on localization and also provides an opportunity to reintervene while patients are still on the table, according to a study published online April 5 in Radiology.

Researchers have leveraged Listeria bacteria to launch a selective attack on metastatic prostate cancer, according to a study published April 23 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The technique has the potential to launch a new era in the treatment of metastatic prostate cancer, the research team said in a press release.

Better outcomes can be achieved for prostate cancer patients using brachytherapy, a highly targeted form of radiotherapy, compared to surgery - this is the finding of a new study conducted by PANAXEA, The University of Twente, Netherlands.

Beaumont Hospital, Grosse Pointe has opened a new lung nodule clinic to provide early diagnosis and treatment of abnormal pulmonary nodules. Pulmonary nodules are a round or oval-shaped growth in the lung, sometimes referred to as a coin lesion or “spot” on the lung.

Exact Sciences has developed a stool-based screening test that detected 92 percent of cancers found on colonoscopy and 42 percent of precancerous polyps. The results fell shy of the company’s goal of a 50 percent polyp detection rate, according to an article in the New York Times; however, Exact Sciences indicated its plans to file for FDA approval of its Cologuard test.

At the 2013 American Brachytherapy Society (ABS) meeting April 18-20 in New Orleans, Nucletron, an Elekta company, (booth #300), will introduce its newly redesigned Flexitron® remote afterloading platform.