FLASH-RT delivers that same amount of radiation, in higher-intensity bursts usually lasting less than a second
Radiation or radiotherapy, is a popular conventional cancer treatment that uses radiation to kill cancer cells or slow their growth. It can be used alone or in combination with other treatments, such as chemotherapy or surgery. According to experts, many advancements have been carried out that show that intense exposure to ultra-high levels of radiation allows for the same anti-tumour effects but with significantly less damage to normal tissue.
When used in radiation therapy, this method is now known as FLASH-RT.
In flash radiotherapy, radiation is delivered in less than a second, as opposed to traditional radiotherapy for cancer treatment, which typically takes numerous sessions. Also, while traditional radiotherapy is super effective, it damages healthy tissues in cases such as brain cancer.
Doctors say flash radiotherapy cuts the number of sessions drastically, sometimes into one or a small handful of sessions, because it delivers radiation at dose rates that are more than 300 times higher than those used in conventional radiation treatments. This induces a phenomenon known as the FLASH effect, which reduces the harm that may occur to normal tissue surrounding a tumour during conventional radiation therapy while still killing the cells at the tumour site.
What are the benefits of flash radiotherapy?
A patient who receives fractional radiation therapy undergoes several treatme all of which take several minutes. Flas radiotherapy or FLASH-RT, delivers that same amount of radiation, but in higher-intensity bursts usually lasting less than a second. This could mean fewer and shorter treatment sessions for patients; in some cases, it could be as few as one session.
While this is more convenient for the patient, the major benefit is known as the sparing effect, where the same dose of radiation is delivered at this intense rate and surrounding tissue is spared from the usual level of damage. It allows for the same level of benefit while reducing any kind of side effects and opens the door to higher doses of radiation than were previously possible.
“Because FLASH radiotherapy is given at ultra-high dose rates, it appears to cause less normal tissue injury. This offers the possibility of delivering larger doses of radiation—which could result in higher cure rates for patients with resistant tumours—without increasing side effects,” Dr. John Breneman, FASTRO, principal investigator on the trial and a professor of radiation oncology and neurosurgery at the University of Cincinnati Cancer Centre earlier was quoted by the Times of India.
Risks of concerns about flash radiation therapy
According to experts, even though there is overwhelming and mounting evidence that FLASH-RT works, how it works is largely still a mystery. Many different types of theories exist, and several factors are likely to contribute. There are many aspects of FLASH-RT that are still being tested and manipulated to understand how to make it more effective.
Scientists say there are lots of unknowns about how ultra-high-dose radiation impacts not only tumours but the tumour microenvironment. There are some potentially interesting implications for the entire body that expand beyond just the tumour itself.
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