Tumour Therapy with Particle Beams

Photons are exponentially attenuated in matter producing high doses close to the surface. Therefore they are not well suited for the treatment of deep seated tumours. Charged particles, in contrast, exhibit a sharp increase of ionisation density close to the end of their range, the so-called Bragg-peak. The depth of the Bragg-peak can be adjusted by varying the particle’s energy. In parallel with the large energy deposit the increase in biological effectiveness for cell killing at the end of the range provides an ideal scalpel for the surgeon effectively without touching the surface tissue. Consequently proton therapy has gained a lot of ground for treating well localized tumours. Even superior still are heavy ions, where the ionisation pattern is increased by the square of their charge (∼ z).