Application of FLASH radiotherapy with an ultra-high dose rate in malignant tumor / 中华放射医学与防护杂志

ABSTRACT

As a method for local treatment, radiotherapy plays a key role in the management of tumors. In the past few decades, great progress has been made in radiotherapy technology, with improvements in conformity, homogeneity, and radiotherapy efficiency, and the results are encouraging. Nevertheless, the maximum tolerated dose of normal tissue has limited the further increase in radiotherapy dose in the tumor area. If radiation-induced toxicities can be reduced, a higher radiotherapy dose can be delivered to tumor tissue, so as to achieve a better treatment response. In recent years, the unique FLASH effect of ultra-high-dose-rate radiotherapy (FLASH-RT) is capable of maintaining a consistent tumor response whilst reducing radiation-induced toxicities in normal tissue, and therefore, FLASH-RT has become a research hotspot in the field of radiotherapy across the world. At present, some scholars tend to explain the FLASH effect using the theory of acute oxygen depletion, but the protective effect of FLASH-RT on normal tissue remains to be clarified. In addition, preliminary clinical studies have been conducted for FLASH-RT, and the results are promising. Based on existing evidence, this article elaborates on the research advances in FLASH-RT in the treatment of malignant tumor, so as to provide a reference for the translation and application of this new technique.