CERN's particle accelerator is used in a groundbreaking cancer treatment called Flash radiotherapy. This method delivers extremely high doses of radiation in less than a second, minimizing side effects while targeting tumors more effectively than conventional radiotherapy.
In a series of vast underground caves on the outskirts of Geneva, Switzerland, experiments are being carried out that may one day lead to a new generation of radiotherapy machines.
The hope is that these devices could make it possible to treat complex brain tumors (PDF), on elimination of cancers that have metastasized to other organs and generally limit the complications of cancer treatment in the human body.
The headquarters of these experiments is the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), better known worldwide as the particle physics hub that developed the Large Hadron Collider, a 27-kilometer-long ring of superconducting magnets capable of accelerating particles to near the speed of light.
Arguably Cern's crowning achievement was the discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012, the so-called "God particle" that gives other particles their mass and in this way lays the foundation for everything in the universe.
But in recent years, the center's unique expertise in high-energy particle acceleration has found a new niche – in the world of cancer radiotherapy.
Eleven years ago, Marie-Catherine Vozenin, a radiobiologist now working at the University Hospitals of Geneva (Hug), and others published a paper describing an approach that changes traditional radiotherapy treatment. They called it Flash.
By delivering radiation at extremely high dose rates, in an exposure of less than a second, they showed that it was possible to destroy tumors in rodents while sparing healthy tissue.
Its impact was immediate. International experts described it as a major breakthrough, and it prompted fellow radiobiologists around the world to conduct their own experiments using the Flash approach to treat a wide variety of tumors in rodents, household pets, and now humans.
In recent years, animal studies have repeatedly shown that the Flash approach It makes it possible to significantly increase the amount of radiation delivered to the body, while minimizing the impact it has on surrounding healthy tissue.
In one experiment, healthy laboratory mice given two rounds of radiation via Flash did not experience the typical side effects that would be expected during the second round.
In another study, animals treated with Flash for head and neck cancers experienced fewer side effects, such as decreased saliva production or difficulty swallowing.
Researchers are optimistic that in the future, humans may also experience such benefits.
“The Flash approach causes less physiological tissue injury than conventional radiation, without compromising anti-tumor efficacy – which could be a game-changer,” they report.
An additional hope is that all this could reduce the risk of secondary cancers (PDF), resulting from radiation-induced damage later in the patient's life, although it is still too early to know whether this will happen.
The next phase of research isn't just about testing whether Flash works in humans. It's about determining what kind of radiation is best to use.
George is still wondering what he is doing here….
