Researchers at the European Council for Nuclear Research are studying elementary particles in an effort to solve the mysteries of the universe, but their efforts also allow the expansion of treatment for some types of cancer that have so far been considered deadly.

Elementary particles are the smallest particles in the structure of matter, and are called elementary because they are not made of smaller particles.

An example of an elementary particle is the electron.

Researchers at the center, located in a Swiss region on the border with France near Geneva, are using giant particle accelerators to find ways to expand the scope of radiotherapy for cancer, thus treating hard-to-reach tumors whose inability to reach them leads to the inevitable death of patients.

At the center of the center is Roberto Corsini, CLEAR's lab coordinator, alongside a large LPA, a 40-metre-long beam with aluminum foil-wrapped tubes at one end, measuring instruments and wires of all colors.

Fight cancer cells more effectively

Corsini told AFP during a visit to the site that the research at the site aims to create high-energy beams of electrons that can eventually help fight cancer cells more effectively.

Corsini explained that the goal is to develop "electron acceleration technology with energies needed to treat deep tumors above 100 million electron volts."

The idea is to use these high-energy electrons with a promising new processing method called FLASH.

side effects

This method delivers the radiation dose in a few hundredths of a thousandth of a second, rather than a few minutes as is currently the case.

This method has been shown to have the same devastating effect on the target tumor, but causes much less damage to surrounding healthy tissue.

Benjamin Fisch, who is responsible for knowledge transfer at the European Council for Nuclear Research, said conventional radiotherapy "causes collateral damage".

He explained to reporters that the effect of the short and intense flash treatment is to "reduce the risk to healthy tissue while destroying cancerous cells appropriately."

Medical linear accelerators

Flash technology was first used on patients in 2018, based on currently available medical linear accelerators that deliver low-energy electron beams of about 6 to 10 million electronvolts.

However, at such low energy, the beams cannot penetrate deeply, so this highly effective treatment has so far been used only in superficial tumours, such as skin cancers.

But CERN physicists are currently collaborating with the University Center Vaud (CHUV) in Lausanne, Switzerland, to develop a machine capable of sending a beam of electrons from 100 to 200 megaelectronvolts, which would eradicate hard-to-reach tumors. .

change the equation

Deep carcinoid tumors that cannot be treated with surgery, conventional chemotherapy or radiation are often considered a death sentence for patients.

Jean Boris, head of radiology at the Food Center, told AFP that cancers that "we cannot treat at the moment will be the targets" that will be focused on.

He pointed out that for these cancers, "they represent a third of the cases, and this may change the equation."

The researchers hope that the flash method, with its least harmful effect on surrounding tissues, will allow it to attack tumors located in the brain or near other vital organs.

One challenge is making the powerful accelerator compact enough to allow it to be used in a hospital.

Prototype

At the European Council for Nuclear Research, a large hall is dedicated to the CLEAR accelerator, which requires 20 meters to push electrons to the required energy level, and an additional 20 meters for beam conditioning, measurement and delivery.

But Roberto Corsini believes that the accelerator is equipped with the capacity to "accelerate in a smaller space".

The prototype, being designed in collaboration with Food Center, will aim to get the job done using a 10-meter machine.

According to Corsini, this solution "cuts costs, reduces energy consumption and versatility, and can be easily installed in a hospital without having to build an entire building."

Boris said prototype making is expected to begin in February 2023, and clinical trials on patients could begin in 2025, "if all goes well".