British researchers believe that laser-produced high energy electron accelerators may offer an improved form of radiotherapy treatment for cancer.
According to developers at Strathclyde University, Scotland, the technology could provide improved targeting and higher doses to destroy tumour cells.
The researchers have now set out their early findings in the journal Scientific Reports.
The Strathclyde team is working with researchers at the universities of Glasgow and Surrey on the project together with Indiana University, USA, and the Wolfson Wohl Cancer Research Centre.
Researcher Karolina Kokurewicz said: “Electrons, much like protons, have properties specific to particles. The significantly smaller electron mass, however, must be compensated for by increasing their energy and therefore inertia to achieve an effect similar to high mass particles.
“We push the envelope to fully investigate the potential advantages of very high energy electrons in radiotherapy.
“In our studies, we show that a VHEE beam, when focused, can be easily controlled to target precisely tumours similar to beam scanning modalities. The net effect is a greatly enhanced dose profile that conforms closely to the target volumes and potentially provides better tumour control.
“It is a first step to realise the real potential of VHEEs.”
Fellow researcher Professor Dino Jaroszynski said: “We are setting up a new medical beamline at the Scottish Centre for the Application of Plasma-based Accelerator at Strathclyde, to use laser-produced high energy electron accelerators to investigate the ideas published in our paper.
These ultra-compact laser-wakefield accelerators are only millimetres long and can be easily focused; most of the space is taken up by the power supply, which is the laser.
“This is a very exciting new project that has potential to eventually transform radiotherapy by reducing its cost, while improving its effectiveness.”
Focused very high-energy electron beams as a novel radiotherapy modality for producing high-dose volumetric elements. Scientific Reports 25 July 2019; doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-46630-w
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