When Accelerators Start to Speed Up Cancer Healing
imagine a cancer treatment that delivers a life-saving dose of radiation in less than a second. This isn’t science fiction—it’s FLASH radiation therapy, a groundbreaking approach that could revolutionize oncology. Unlike traditional radiation therapy, which takes minutes, FLASH supercharges the process by blasting tumors with an ultra-intense dose of radiation in a fraction of a second. The result? Cancer cells are destroyed while surrounding healthy tissue remains largely unharmed.
Early experiments in healthy lab mice have shown promising results. Even after two rounds of radiation, the rodents did not develop the typical side effects associated with conventional treatments. This is becuase healthy tissues can withstand the rapid dose better than cancer cells, offering a significant advantage in reducing collateral damage.
The growth of FLASH radiotherapy is backed by an unlikely source: CERN,the particle physics laboratory famous for the Large Hadron Collider. While the concept of FLASH emerged from radiobiologists over a decade ago, CERN is adapting its particle accelerators—originally designed to destroy atoms—to deliver radiation at ultra-high speeds for cancer treatment.
Billy Loo, who runs the FLASH lab at Stanford University, told the BBC that FLASH produces less normal tissue damage than conventional irradiation without compromising anti-tumor efficacy. This is particularly beneficial for treating delicate areas like the brain, where traditional treatments often come at a high cost. As Dr.Marie-Catherine Vozenin of the University Hospitals of Geneva explained,