Five-day breast brachytherapy treatment for early-stage breast cancer was linked with low toxicity rates, according to a scientific poster presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Breast Disease in Dallas, April 12-14.

In patients with surgically treatable metastatic melanoma, FDG PET/CT can detect unexpected metastases that are missed or not imaged with conventional imaging, and can be considered as part of preoperative workup, according to a study in the April issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.

Atrophy of the corpus callosum (CC) is involved in early Alzheimers disease (AD) and can be detected in subjects with very mild dementia in the early stage of AD, according to a study published in the May issue of Academic Radiology.

Abiomed has received CE Mark approval in the European Union to market the Impella cVAD device, a new percutaneous Impella heart pump that provides peak flow of approximately 4 liters of blood per minute.

Carestream Health is supporting a series of mammography education, training and professional development opportunities, including CE and CME courses, to keep radiologists and technologists updated on breast cancer detection trends.

Despite conflicting reviews about its clinical benefits, cost-effectiveness and additional costs up to $20,000 more per treatment, intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) use increased more than tenfold among Medicare beneficiaries with prostate cancer from 2001 to 2007, according to a study published in the April issue of Health Affairs. The findings may suggest overuse and could foreshadow a similar challenge with the adoption of proton beam therapy. The authors suggested several policies which might help bend the cost curve.

A new medical isotope project at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, has shown promise for producing major quantities of a new cancer-treatment agent, actinium 225 (Ac-225).

The FDA has approved a humanitarian use device (HUD) designation for SynCardia Systems' temporary Total Artificial Heart to be used for destination therapy in addition to its current premarket approval as a bridge to transplant.