The introduction of combination therapy - using both radiation and cisplatin chemotherapy together – offers an important new treatment alternative for patients with advanced bladder cancer who are older or otherwise unable to undergo bladder surgery. The strategy provides tumor shrinkage, limits nearby cancer growth, and enables many patients to retain normal bladder function – a key quality of life benefit.

In 2012, a Phase III study confirms the benefits of this approach, using the chemotherapy drugs fluorouracil and mitomycin. Researchers demonstrate this regimen improves survival, with no significant increase in side effects.

Two studies show that treatment programs involving both radiation and chemotherapy are more effective than either approach alone for patients with "stage III" non-small cell lung cancer (including patients with larger tumors that may or may not have limited spread within the lungs and in nearby lymph nodes). This two-pronged treatment approach soon becomes the standard of care for this disease.

Studies suggest that an approach called brachytherapy extends the lives of patients with prostate cancer, compared to surgical removal of the prostate and surrounding tissue. In this approach, tiny radioactive sources or "seeds" are implanted directly into the prostate gland, delivering a high dose of radiation directly to the tumor while leaving healthy tissue beyond the prostate relatively unaffected.

Brachytherapy has been used since the early 1900s, but became less common after the widespread adoption of external beam radiation. With refined techniques and conclusive data on its effectiveness, the approach once again becomes a central part of treatment for prostate, cervical and other cancers.