In Translation

Breathing easier
(continued)

Meanwhile, physicians in the radiation oncology department at the UC Davis Cancer Center are using the taxane drug paclitaxel (brand name Taxol) to make cancer cells more radiosensitive.

"When physicians used only radiation to kill cancer cells, the results were poor," said Janice Ryu, an associate professor of radiation oncology at the UC Davis School of Medicine and principal investigator for the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) trial. "Since we've added chemotherapy in specific sequences, we've seen significant improvements in survival and quality of life."

In related research, the UC Davis Cancer Center is one of a dozen institutions in the United States participating in an RTOG study of ways to safely increase the amount of tumor-killing radiation given to lung cancer patients who are not good candidates for surgery. The clinical trial incorporates three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy, a technique that focuses and shapes external radiation beams so that radiation oncologists can boost dosages with fewer side effects than conventional radiation therapy.