A pioneering new treatment promises to tackle a wider range of cancers, with fewer side-effects than conventional radiotherapy. It also takes less than a second.
BBC article here Long-ish read, but maybe of interest as the spectre of cancer hangs over so many here.
BBC article here Long-ish read, but maybe of interest as the spectre of cancer hangs over so many here.
In a series of vast underground caverns on the outskirts of Geneva, Switzerland, [CERN] experiments are taking place which may one day lead to new generation of radiotherapy machines. The hope is that these devices could make it possible to cure complex brain tumours, eliminate cancers that have metastasised to distant organs, and generally limit the toll which cancer treatment exerts on the human body...
...The Flash concept resonated as it addressed some of the long-standing limitations of radiotherapy, one of the most common cancer therapies, which two-thirds of all cancer patients will receive at some point in their treatment journey...
..."Flash produces less normal tissue injury than conventional irradiation, without compromising anti-tumour efficacy... An additional hope is that this could then reduce the risk of secondary cancers, resulting from radiation-induced damage later in life...
Perhaps not "coming soon to a hospital near you", although:...The Flash concept resonated as it addressed some of the long-standing limitations of radiotherapy, one of the most common cancer therapies, which two-thirds of all cancer patients will receive at some point in their treatment journey...
..."Flash produces less normal tissue injury than conventional irradiation, without compromising anti-tumour efficacy... An additional hope is that this could then reduce the risk of secondary cancers, resulting from radiation-induced damage later in life...
... Cincinnati Children's Hospital in Ohio, US, is planning an early stage trial in children with metastatic cancer that has spread to their chest bones...
