Page 13 - 2014 Printable Abstract Book
P. 13
ION THERAPY FOR CANCER TREATMENT
(P004) Ion therapy for cancer treatment. Marco Durante, University Federico II, Napoli, Italy
Radiotherapy is one of the most common and effective therapy for cancer. Generally, patients are
treated with X-rays produced at electron accelerators. The use of high-energy charged particles was
proposed several years ago, both for their physical and radiobiological advantages compared to X-rays.
Particle therapy is now becoming an emerging technique in radiotherapy. Protons and carbon ions have
been used for treating many different solid cancers, and several new centers with large accelerators are
under construction. Meanwhile, tremendous technological improvements in image-guided radiation
therapy (IGRT) paved the way to hypofractionation (down to high-dose, single fraction treatments) of X-
rays for both cranial (sterotactic radiosurgery) and extracranial (stereotactive ablative radiotherapy)
targets. These new technologies can be competitive with surgery, for example in lung cancer. Can particle
therapy produce better results in radiosurgery and eventually become an alternative to surgery? The talk
will try to address this question and present research challenges in medical physics and radiobiology.
11 | P a g e
(P004) Ion therapy for cancer treatment. Marco Durante, University Federico II, Napoli, Italy
Radiotherapy is one of the most common and effective therapy for cancer. Generally, patients are
treated with X-rays produced at electron accelerators. The use of high-energy charged particles was
proposed several years ago, both for their physical and radiobiological advantages compared to X-rays.
Particle therapy is now becoming an emerging technique in radiotherapy. Protons and carbon ions have
been used for treating many different solid cancers, and several new centers with large accelerators are
under construction. Meanwhile, tremendous technological improvements in image-guided radiation
therapy (IGRT) paved the way to hypofractionation (down to high-dose, single fraction treatments) of X-
rays for both cranial (sterotactic radiosurgery) and extracranial (stereotactive ablative radiotherapy)
targets. These new technologies can be competitive with surgery, for example in lung cancer. Can particle
therapy produce better results in radiosurgery and eventually become an alternative to surgery? The talk
will try to address this question and present research challenges in medical physics and radiobiology.
11 | P a g e
