A recent study has unveiled the microscopic processes that give heavy-ion cancer therapy its edge in destroying tumor cells. Published as a highlighted paper in Physical Review X, the research was led by scientists at the Institute of Modern Physics (IMP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with international partners.
Heavy-ion therapy, which uses beams of heavy ions, has been shown to achieve two to three times greater cancer-cell-killing efficiency compared to traditional X-ray radiotherapy under the same radiation dose, as explained by researcher Xu Shenyue.
The breakthrough came with the observation of an intermolecular energy and proton transfer cascade in biomolecular clusters—a mechanism that results in more efficient DNA double-strand breaks in tumor cells. This discovery was made at heavy-ion research facilities in Lanzhou, Gansu Province in the Chinese mainland.
Researcher Ma Xinwen commented, "The observed mechanism sheds light on the molecular processes of radiation damage and may play an essential role in optimizing radiotherapy techniques in the future."
Since its inception in 1946, heavy-ion therapy has treated over 50,000 patients worldwide, marking an important step towards more effective and tailored cancer treatment strategies.
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Scientists reveal key mechanism behind heavy-ion cancer therapy
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