A pioneering cancer treatment known as Flash, which delivers radiation in under a second, promises to tackle a wider range of cancers with fewer side-effects than conventional radiotherapy. Developed at Cern, the European particle physics laboratory near Geneva, the technique uses ultra-high dose rates to destroy tumours while sparing healthy tissue.
Eleven years ago, radiobiologist Marie-Catherine Vozenin and colleagues published a paper outlining the Flash approach. Experiments in rodents showed that tumours could be destroyed with minimal damage to surrounding cells, sparking global interest. Since then, studies have extended to household pets and humans, with promising results for difficult-to-treat cancers such as brain tumours and metastases.
Conventional radiotherapy typically involves multiple sessions over several weeks, with the risk of damaging healthy tissue. Flash therapy, by compressing the dose into a fraction of a second, allows higher radiation doses to be used while reducing side-effects. For example, animal studies have shown fewer complications such as reduced saliva production or difficulty swallowing in head and neck cancers.
Professor Billy Loo of Stanford University explains that tumours are often intertwined with healthy tissue, limiting the dose that can be safely applied. Flash therapy could overcome this barrier, potentially improving survival rates for patients with cancers that have spread to the brain or other organs. Vozenin emphasises the technology's potential for paediatric brain tumours, where current treatments can cause lifelong cognitive impairment.
Researchers are now working to translate Flash therapy from the lab to clinical practice, with hopes of building a new generation of radiotherapy machines. While cautious optimism prevails, the approach marks a significant step forward in cancer treatment, aiming to cure more patients while preserving their quality of life.
