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Deep Seated Tumour Treatments With Electrons of High Energy Delivered at FLASH Rates: The Example of Prostate Cancer

Authors :
Alessio Sarti
Patrizia De Maria
Giuseppe Battistoni
Micol De Simoni
Cinzia Di Felice
Yunsheng Dong
Marta Fischetti
Gaia Franciosini
Michela Marafini
Francesco Marampon
Ilaria Mattei
Riccardo Mirabelli
Silvia Muraro
Massimiliano Pacilio
Luigi Palumbo
Loredana Rocca
Damiana Rubeca
Angelo Schiavi
Adalberto Sciubba
Vincenzo Tombolini
Marco Toppi
Giacomo Traini
Antonio Trigilio
Vincenzo Patera
Source :
Frontiers in Oncology, Vol 11 (2021)
Publication Year :
2021
Publisher :
Frontiers Media S.A., 2021.

Abstract

Different therapies are adopted for the treatment of deep seated tumours in combination or as an alternative to surgical removal or chemotherapy: radiotherapy with photons (RT), particle therapy (PT) with protons or even heavier ions like 12C, are now available in clinical centres. In addition to these irradiation modalities, the use of Very High Energy Electron (VHEE) beams (100–200 MeV) has been suggested in the past, but the diffusion of that technique was delayed due to the needed space and budget, with respect to standard photon devices. These disadvantages were not paired by an increased therapeutic efficacy, at least when comparing to proton or carbon ion beams. In this contribution we investigate how recent developments in electron beam therapy could reshape the treatments of deep seated tumours. In this respect we carefully explored the application of VHEE beams to the prostate cancer, a well-known and studied example of deep seated tumour currently treated with high efficacy both using RT and PT. The VHEE Treatment Planning System was obtained by means of an accurate Monte Carlo (MC) simulation of the electrons interactions with the patient body. A simple model of the FLASH effect (healthy tissues sparing at ultra-high dose rates), has been introduced and the results have been compared with conventional RT. The study demonstrates that VHEE beams, even in absence of a significant FLASH effect and with a reduced energy range (70–130 MeV) with respect to implementations already explored in literature, could be a good alternative to standard RT, even in the framework of technological developments that are nowadays affordable.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
2234943X
Volume :
11
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Frontiers in Oncology
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.59aaf646d7b49f884b2f2f23a17f3c6
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2021.777852