"particle therapy"

INTRODUCTION: Charged particle therapy is an emerging radiation treatment for a number of tumors; however, more research is needed to determine its safety and efficacy when treating intra-axial brain tumors (commonly known as gliomas). The overall survival of patients treated with charged particle radiation versus those receiving photon therapy were compared in this systematic review and meta-analysis. METHODS: The databases used as part of the search strategy were the following: MEDLINE (PubMed), Google Scholar, Scopus, and Cochrane...

BACKGROUND: The pursuit of adaptive radiotherapy using MR imaging for better precision in patient positioning puts stringent demands on the hardware components of the MR scanner. Particularly in particle therapy, the dose distribution and thus the efficacy of the treatment is susceptible to beam attenuation from interfering materials in the irradiation path. This severely limits the usefulness of conventional imaging coils, which contain highly attenuating parts such as capacitors and preamplifiers in an unknown position, and requires development of a dedicated radiofrequency (RF) coil with close consideration of the materials and components used...

The evidence for the value of particle therapy (PT) is still sparse. While randomized trials remain a cornerstone for robust comparisons with photon-based radiotherapy, data registries collecting real-world data can play a crucial role in building evidence for new developments. This Perspective describes how the European Particle Therapy Network (EPTN) is actively working on establishing a prospective data registry encompassing all patients undergoing PT in European centers. Several obstacles and hurdles are discussed, for instance harmonization of nomenclature and structure of technical and dosimetric data and data protection issues...

UNLABELLED: Alpha-particle radionuclide-antibody conjugates are being clinically evaluated against solid tumors even when they moderately express the targeted markers. At this limit of lower tumor-absorbed doses, to maintain efficacy, the few(er) intratumorally delivered alpha-particles need to traverse/hit as many different cancer cells as possible. We complement antibody-radioconjugate therapies with a separate nanocarrier delivering a fraction of the same total injected radioactivity to tumor regions geographically different than those affected by targeting antibodies; these carrier-cocktails collectively distribute the alpha-particle emitters better...


Treatment plans of charged-particle therapy have been made under an assumption that all cancer cells within a tumour equally respond to a given radiation. However, an intra-tumoural cellular radiosensitivity heterogeneity clearly exists, and it may lead to an overestimation of therapeutic effects of the radiation. The purpose of this study was to develop a biological model that can incorporate the radiosensitivity heterogeneity into biological optimization for charged-particle therapy treatment planning...

PURPOSE: To provide an understanding of current FLI techniques, and their potential to improve dosimetry and outcomes for lung cancer patients receiving radiation therapy (RT). METHODS: EMBASE, PubMed, and Cochrane Library were searched from 1990 until April 2023. Articles were included if they reported on FLI in one of: techniques, incorporation into RT planning for lung cancer, quantification of RT-related outcomes for lung cancer patients. Studies involving all RT modalities, including stereotactic body radiotherapy and particle therapy, were included...

While particle therapy has been used for decades for cancer treatment, there is still a lack of information on the molecular mechanisms of biomolecules radiolysis by accelerated ions. Here, we examine the effects of accelerated protons on highly concentrated native myoglobin, by means of Fourier transform infrared and UV-Visible spectroscopies. Upon irradiation, the secondary structure of the protein is drastically modified, from mostly alpha helices conformation to mostly beta elements at highest fluence. These changes are accompanied by significant production of carbon monoxide, which was shown to come from heme degradation under irradiation...

BACKGROUND: Rescanning is a common technique used in proton pencil beam scanning to mitigate the interplay effect. Advances in machine operating parameters across different generations of particle therapy systems have led to improvements in beam delivery time (BDT). However, the potential impact of these improvements on the effectiveness of rescanning remains an underexplored area in the existing research. METHODS: We systematically investigated the impact of proton machine operating parameters on the effectiveness of layer rescanning in mitigating interplay effect during lung SBRT treatment, using the CIRS phantom...

At the National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST), a multi-ion therapy using helium, carbon, oxygen, and neon ions has been studied for charged particle therapy with more optimal biological effects. To make multi-ion therapy clinically feasible, a new treatment system was developed to realize the changes of the ion species in each irradiation using the Heavy Ion Medial Accelerator in Chiba (HIMAC). Since radiation therapy is safety-critical, it is necessary to construct a safety system that includes multiple safety barriers in the new treatment system for multi-ion therapy and to perform a safety analysis for the prevention of serious accidents...

BACKGROUND: Uveal melanoma (UM) is the most common primary ocular tumour in adults. The most used eye-preserving treatments are charged-particle therapy (CPT) and brachytherapy. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to compare efficacies and complications of these two radiotherapies. METHODS: We searched EMBASE, PubMed, MEDLINE, and the Cochrane Library from January 2012 to December 2022. Two independent reviewers identified controlled studies comparing outcomes of CPT versus brachytherapy...

The nearing completion of the Australian Bragg Centre for Proton Therapy and Research marks a transformative leap in cancer care in Australia. Highlighting the precision and potential of particle therapy in reducing long-term side effects, particularly in paediatric and rare cancers, this editorial underscores Australia's commitment to integrating this innovative modality into national healthcare, despite challenges in accessibility and cost.

BACKGROUND: Solitary fibrous tumors (SFT) of the central nervous system are rare and treatment options are not well established. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical outcomes of radiotherapy (RT) and re-radiotherapy (re-RT) for de novo intracranial SFT and recurrent intracranial SFT. METHODS: This retrospective study analyzed efficacy and toxicity of different RT modalities in patients who received radiotherapy (RT) for intracranial SFT at Heidelberg University Hospital between 2000 and 2020 following initial surgery after de novo diagnosis ("primary group")...

PURPOSE: Beam delivery latency in respiratory-gated particle therapy systems is a crucial issue to dose delivery accuracy. The aim of this study is to develop a multi-channel signal acquisition platform for investigating gating latencies occurring within RPM respiratory gating system (Varian, USA) and ProBeam proton treatment system (Varian, USA) individually. METHODS: The multi-channel signal acquisition platform consisted of several electronic components, including a string position sensor for target motion detection, a photodiode for proton beam sensing, an interfacing board for accessing the trigger signal between the respiratory gating system and the proton treatment system, a signal acquisition device for sampling and synchronizing signals from the aforementioned components, and a laptop for controlling the signal acquisition device and data storage...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The effort to translate clinical findings across institutions employing different relative biological effectiveness (RBE) models of ion radiotherapy has rapidly grown in recent years. Nevertheless, even for a chosen RBE model, different implementations exist. These approaches might consider or disregard the dose-dependence of the RBE and the radial variation of the radiation quality around the beam axis. This study investigated the theoretical impact of disregarding these effects during the RBE calculations...

BACKGROUND: Macroscopic vascular invasion (MVI) significantly impacts survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), warranting systemic therapy over locoregional therapy. Despite novel approaches, HCC with MVI has a poor prognosis compared to early-to intermediate-stage HCC. This study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of carbon-ion radiotherapy (C-ion RT) for HCC characterized by MVI. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study evaluated HCC patients with MVI treated using C-ion RT with a dose of 45...

This review examines the transformative role of external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) in managing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), spotlighting the progression from traditional EBRT techniques to advanced modalities like intensity-modulated radiotherapy (RT), stereotactic body RT (SBRT), and innovative particle therapy, including proton beam therapy and carbon ion RT. These advancements have significantly improved the precision and efficacy of RT, marking a paradigm shift in the multimodal management of HCC, particularly in addressing complex cases and enhancing local tumor control...

This study evaluated artefacts on computed tomography (CT) images using Hounsfield units (HU) in patients with spinal oligometastatic disease who received carbon-fiber (CF; n = 11) or titanium (n = 11) spine implants and underwent stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR). Pre- and postoperative HU were measured at the vertebral body, pedicle, and spinal cord at three different levels: the lower instrumented vertebra, the level of metastatic spinal cord compression, and an uninvolved level...

PURPOSE: The present study aimed to develop a porous structure with plug-ins (PSP) to broaden the Bragg peak width (BPW, defined as the distance in water between the proximal and distal 80% dose) of the carbon ion beam while maintaining a sharp distal falloff width (DFW, defined as the distance along the beam axis where the dose in water reduces from 80% to 20%). METHODS: The binary voxel models of porous structure (PS) and PSP were established in the Monte Carlo code FLUKA and the corresponding physical models were manufactured by 3D printing...

Particle therapy and radiopharmaceuticals are emerging fields in the treatment of genitourinary cancers. With these novel techniques and the ever-growing immunotherapy options, the combinations of these therapies have the potential to improve current cancer cure rates. However, the most effective sequence and combination of these therapies is unknown and is a question that is actively being explored in multiple ongoing clinical trials. Here, we review the immunological effects of particle therapy and the available radiopharmaceuticals and discuss how best to combine these therapies...

PURPOSE: Neutron Capture Enhanced Particle Therapy (NCEPT) is a proposed augmentation of charged particle therapy which exploits thermal neutrons generated internally, within the treatment volume via nuclear fragmentation, to deliver a biochemically targeted radiation dose to cancer cells. This work is the first experimental demonstration of NCEPT, performed using both carbon and helium ion beams with two different targeted neutron capture agents (NCAs). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Human glioblastoma cells (T98G) were irradiated by carbon and helium ion beams in the presence of NCAs, [10 B]-BPA and [157 Gd]-DOTA-TPP...