Transformative Technology for FLASH Radiation Therapy
Source abstract
Abstract
The general concept of radiation therapy used in conventional cancer treatment is to increase the therapeutic index by creating a physical dose differential between tumors and normal tissues through precision dose targeting, image guidance, and radiation beams that deliver a radiation dose with high conformality, e.g., protons and ions. However, the treatment and cure are still limited by normal tissue radiation toxicity, with the corresponding side effects. A fundamentally different paradigm for increasing the therapeutic index of radiation therapy has emerged recently, supported by preclinical research, and based on the FLASH radiation effect. FLASH radiation therapy (FLASH-RT) is an ultra-high-dose-rate delivery of a therapeutic radiation dose within a fraction of a second. Experimental studies have shown that normal tissues seem to be universally spared at these high dose rates, whereas tumors are not. While dose delivery conditions to achieve a FLASH effect are not yet fully characterized, it is currently estimated that doses delivered in less than 200 ms produce normal-tissue-sparing effects, yet effectively kill tumor cells. Despite a great opportunity, there are many technical challenges for the accelerator community to create the required dose rates with novel compact accelerators to ensure the safe delivery of FLASH radiation beams.
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Research context
OpenAlex topics: Radiation Therapy and Dosimetry · Advanced Radiotherapy Techniques · Laser-Plasma Interactions and Diagnostics
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
Affiliations
Division of Biomedical Engineering Sciences, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA 92350, USA
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Batavia, IL 60510, USA
RadiaBeam Technologies, LLC, Santa Monica, CA 90404, USA
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
Department of Radiation Oncology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA
Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL 60439, USA
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94551, USA
Opcondys, Inc., Manteca, CA 95336, USA
Department of Radiation Oncology, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94115, USA
Funding
U.S. Department of Energy · NIH/NCI · California Energy Commission · National Institutes of Health
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