CERN Academic Training on hadron therapy - Introduction to hadrontherapy: rationale and clinical results

About

Abstract

Radiotherapy is a mainstay of cancer treatment, using ionising radiation to damage the DNA of cancer cells. In most cases, a particle accelerator is used to generate a therapeutic beam. Conventional radiation therapy uses X-rays generated by a linac, and is widely available at relatively low cost. Hadrontherapy is a specific type of radiation therapy, which uses protons or other ions to provide a very conformal dose to the target volume in the treatment of many solid tumors. Nowadays it is often called particle therapy or heavy ion therapy. Hadrontherapy may also decrease the risk of adverse effects due to the reduced radiation dose to the normal tissues, especially for those tumors surrounded by radiosensitive organs.

This first lecture will recap the principles and rationale of hadron therapy, and provide an overview of the clinical results obtained so far.

Bio - Sandro Rossi

Sandro Rossi is Director General of the National Centre for Oncological Hadrontherapy in Pavia, commissioned and financed by the Italian Ministry of Health with the purpose of treating oncological patients with innovative techniques based on the use of particle beams (protons and carbon ions). Sandro Rossi coordinated first as Technical Director and since 2008 as Director General, the design, construction and operation of the accelerators and the medical devices for the treatment of patients. More than 600 companies contributed to the construction of the facility for a total budget of about 170 million euros. More than 20 national and international institutions have provided qualified resources and skills to complement a project group which has now 170 people, including physicists, engineers, medical doctors, technicians, health care and administration operative staff. CNAO treated so far more than 4600 patients with very positive results and beamtime is also devoted to research activities with groups coming from all over the world.

Since April 2021, Sandro Rossi is…