Version 1
: Received: 9 June 2024 / Approved: 10 June 2024 / Online: 13 June 2024 (12:18:36 CEST)
How to cite:
Bondy, S. C.; Wu, M. FLASH Radiotherapy versus Conventional Therapy in Cancer Treatment; Promises, Paradoxes and Problems. Preprints2024, 2024060689. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202406.0689.v1
Bondy, S. C.; Wu, M. FLASH Radiotherapy versus Conventional Therapy in Cancer Treatment; Promises, Paradoxes and Problems. Preprints 2024, 2024060689. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202406.0689.v1
Bondy, S. C.; Wu, M. FLASH Radiotherapy versus Conventional Therapy in Cancer Treatment; Promises, Paradoxes and Problems. Preprints2024, 2024060689. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202406.0689.v1
APA Style
Bondy, S. C., & Wu, M. (2024). FLASH Radiotherapy versus Conventional Therapy in Cancer Treatment; Promises, Paradoxes and Problems. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202406.0689.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Bondy, S. C. and Meixia Wu. 2024 "FLASH Radiotherapy versus Conventional Therapy in Cancer Treatment; Promises, Paradoxes and Problems" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202406.0689.v1
Abstract
A novel means of applying radiotherapy in cancer treatment is the application of the radiation dose at a very high intensity for a very short time, FLASH radiotherapy (FLASH-RT). This technique involves exposure of tumors to >40 Gy/s, usually for less than one second. Studies conducted in cell and preclinical models suggest that FLASH-RT seems less damaging to normal tissues from adverse effects, relative to the same overall dose of radiation administered in conventional therapy (CONV-RT) which involves administration of lower levels of radiation repeated intermittently over a protracted period. In contrast, the susceptibility of tumor tissues to FLASH-RT is not diminished relative to CONV-RT. Within solid tumors both modes of dispensation of radiation produce an equivalent degree of cell damage. This differential between normal and malignant material has been found in isolated tissues, animal studies, and more recently in clinical trials. However, the classical radiation concept is that high energy linear transfer radiation (LET) is more damaging than the equivalent total dose of low LET. Thus, the susceptibility of cells should be greater to short-term exposure to high LET. This article discusses the potential reasons that may account for this discrepancy. While the relative protection given to untransformed tissues by FLASH-RT relative to tumor tissue is a major step forward in radiation therapy of cancer, the processes that lie behind this phenomenon are incompletely understood and are considered here.
Keywords
Radiotherapy; tumors; FLASH radiation; dosage; frequency
Subject
Medicine and Pharmacology, Clinical Medicine
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
