New Forms of Flash Radiotherapy Being Researched

Treating cancer can be a long and tedious process with multiple procedures that need to be performed using radiation equipment such as linear accelerators. To become cancer-free, what if this process could be easier? An emerging form of treatment called FLASH radiation therapy treats a cancer patient with a similar amount of radiation normally given over weeks, dispensed at once, within a second of time. FLASH radiotherapy is found to be as effective in killing cancer cells without the continual exposure of radiation to healthy tissue. Researchers at Pennsylvania University are also studying that by changing the type of particle used in the linear accelerator from electrons to protons the treatment will penetrate deeper into the body, essentially making FLASH radiotherapy more effective in treating cancerous tumors. To read more about this new research, click here.