In hadrontherapy, the ballistic properties are of greater clinical interest: heavier particles have the particular characteristic of depositing the majority of their energy at the end of their path, just before coming to a complete stop. The dose deposition curve therefore forms a true “peak” known as the Bragg peak, which means that the deposited energy is predominantly concentrated at a single point, and is less diffuse in depth than with X-rays.
This allows for fewer irradiation angles and much better preservation of the healthy tissue surrounding the tumour, particularly beyond the Bragg peak.
Furthermore, carbon therapy offers the advantage of a particularly narrow and less diffuse Bragg peak, which gives it the best ballistic precision at the beam entrance and on its sides. Carbon is therefore especially effective in sensitive and deep regions.
In hadrontherapy, the ballistic properties of heavy ions enable more energy to be deposited at the end of their path, resulting in greater DNA damage to cancerous tumours.
Depending on the type of treatment, the number of sessions required is:
30 to 35
fractions for a conventional radiotherapy treatment 1 2
8 to 16
fractions for carbon therapy, thanks to its superior effectiveness
Hadrontherapy, thanks to its physical, ballistic and biological properties, is an ideal method for treating certain cancers located in sensitive regions, while minimising damage to the patient’s healthy tissue and organs. Hadrontherapy, and carbon therapy in particular, is also used to treat radio-resistant, rare, radiation-induced cancers as well as cases requiring re-irradiation.
1. Antonovic L., Dasu A., Furusawa Y., Toma Dasu I.
Relative clinical effectiveness of carbon ion radiotherapy: theoretical modelling for head & neck tumours. Journal of Radiation Research, 2015.
2. Fossati P., Perpar A., Stock M., et al.
Carbon Ion Dose Constraints in the Head and Neck and Skull Base: Review of MedAustron Institutional Protocols. International Journal of Particle Therapy, 202
Hadrontherapy is an irradiation technique that can use proton or carbon beams. Initially, it is the proton therapy technique that is being developed. Proton therapy is a form of radiotherapy particularly well suited for the irradiation of certain tumours in children and young adults, and promising for the treatment of cancers that are currently inoperable or chemo- and/or radio-resistant. It is an innovative treatment method that uses the energy of a proton beam to irradiate tumours, while sparing healthy tissue and particularly sensitive organs as much as possible.
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