Conveners
Enhancing radiotherapy by means of nanotechnology
- Jefferson Shinpaugh (East Carolina University, Greenville, USA)
Radiation therapy remains a fundamental tool for cancer treatment, but selective dose deposition within a targeted-tumor, while sparing surrounding structures, remains a challenge. This objective can be achieved by loading the tumor with high-Z elements prior delivery of radiation therapy. Synchrotron sources are ideal sources since they provide high-intensity and tunable monochromatic X-rays...
To improve the efficacy of radiotherapy one of the objective is to increase the dose delivered to the tumour while sparing the surrounding healthy tissues. The strategy we have used consists in loading the tumorwith high-Z elements such as metallic nanoparticles in combination with low energy radiations. Indeed, for low energy radiations (keVrange) the absorption coefficient of heavy elements...