The 23rd Congress of the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ESTRO)

Press Conference: Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Tuesday 26th October 2004, 12.30 Central European Time

• A breast cancer study of more than 5,000 patients, which showed that a more precise and higher treatment dose decreases, by approximately 20%, the chance of breast cancer returning in women who have undergone breast saving treatment. A very high survival rate of 85% after 8 years is demonstrated.
  
  
• New results that will dramatically improve the treatment of prostate cancer. The results of a major European trial demonstrate that radiotherapy given after surgical removal of the prostate substantially improves survival will be presented.
  
  
• The remarkable results from a European-American study in patients with head and neck cancer. A new drug, Cetuximab (an antibody against a receptor on cell membranes), when given concomitantly with radiotherapy leads to a 13% higher survival rate after 3 years. With this trial the proof of principle is established and demonstrates that the use of "smart drugs" will lead to improvements in cure rates. The design of such smart drugs is based upon an investigation of mechanisms leading to uncontrolled cell growth in the cancer process.