The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston has signed an agreement to join a research group to advance the development of technology to merge radiation therapy (RT) and MRI technology in one system.

An analysis of radiotherapy (RT) services in 33 European countries showed wide disparities in access, multiple areas of fragmentation and unmet needs, according to a study published online Jan. 23 in The Lancet Oncology. 

The overall cancer mortality rate fell 20 percent between its peak in 1991 and 2009, translating to the avoidance of approximately 1.2 million cancer deaths, according to the American Cancer Society’s (ACS) annual reporting of cancer statistics. The Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance (MITA) acknowledged the progress and called for Medicare coverage of CT screening for colon and lung cancer.

Advanced Radiation Therapy (ART), manufacturer of the AccuBoost System for radiation therapy of partial breast, and Elekta have executed an agreement whereby ART acquires the assets of all AccuBoost installations held by Elekta, its worldwide distribution partner.

Most individuals with a life expectancy less than three to five years should bypass screening mammography and fecal occult blood testing, researchers reported in a study published Jan. 8 in British Medical Journal. However, the authors stressed the results should not be used to deny screening for individuals with limited life expectancy.

The American Cancer Society (ACS) has issued lung cancer screening guidelines and recommends clinicians discuss CT screening with patients who fit the profile of individuals screened in the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST). The ACS did not issue a blanket recommendation for screening, and instead stressed shared decision making and the critical role of high-volume, high-access screening centers. 

Annual CT or PET/CT surveillance of patients with certain eye cancers increases estimated lifetime attributable risk of imaging-associated cancer between 0.9 percent and 7.9 percent, depending on patient characteristics, according to a study published in the January issue of JAMA Ophthalmology.

Overall cancer death rates continued to decline in the U.S. among both men and women, among all major racial and ethnic groups and for most common cancer sites, including lung, colon and rectum, female breast and prostate, according to the Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, 1975–2009, published online Jan. 7 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.