American scientists from the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania have confirmed the effectiveness of proton radiation therapy for cancer, in which the entire course of treatment takes less than a second.
The method is described in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, and Physics.
Radiation therapy is one of the types of cancer treatment, and photon radiation is most often used for it. However, recent studies suggest the possibility of using the flash therapy method, which uses proton radiation. With the same effectiveness, this method is much less damaging to healthy tissues.
According to scientists, flash therapy reduces the risk of side effects by two-thirds compared to photon radiation therapy. At the same time, the treatment indicators are almost identical.
The entire course of treatment can be performed in one session, which lasts less than a second. Due to their greater mass compared to electrons, the radiation beam of protons focuses more precisely on the tumor, which minimizes damage to neighboring tissues.
Scientists described in detail how to use proton radiation in cancer radiotherapy, as well as how to choose the right dose to complete the entire course of treatment in one session.
It is known that cancer remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide. The most deadly cancer is esophageal cancer.
