Quo Vadis FLASH Radiotherapy?

Abstract:

Recent developments in FLASH radiotherapy has allowed for the delivery of radiation beams at very high dose rates (dose rate ≥40 Gy/s), that ultimately protect healthy organs from radiation effects. At the moment, it is still unknown how to apply clinically FLASH to treat patients. Single beam dose of 10 Gy is not common in standard radiotherapy, because of the very high risk of radiation toxicity. In addition, the true mechanism behind FLASH is still unknown. In the talk we provide an overview of the FLASH effect and how this is influenced by the local oxygen concentration during irradiation. We will also discuss an approach being developed in Heidelberg at the DKFZ to translating FLASH into a standard radiotherapy clinic.