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Review
. 2021 May 25:11:644400.
doi: 10.3389/fonc.2021.644400. eCollection 2021.

FLASH Radiotherapy: History and Future

Binwei Lin  1 , Feng Gao  1 , Yiwei Yang  2 , Dai Wu  3 , Yu Zhang  1 , Gang Feng  1 , Tangzhi Dai  1 , Xiaobo Du  1
Affiliations
Review

FLASH Radiotherapy: History and Future

Binwei Lin et al. Front Oncol. .

Abstract

The biological effects of radiation dose to organs at risk surrounding tumor target volumes are a major dose-limiting constraint in radiotherapy. This can mean that the tumor cannot be completely destroyed, and the efficacy of radiotherapy will be decreased. Thus, ways to reduce damage to healthy tissue has always been a topic of particular interest in radiotherapy research. Modern radiotherapy technologies such as helical tomotherapy (HT), intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), and proton radiotherapy can reduce radiation damage to healthy tissues. Recent outcomes of animal experiments show that FLASH radiotherapy (FLASH-RT) can reduce radiation-induced damage in healthy tissue without decreasing antitumor effectiveness. The very short radiotherapy time compared to that of conventional dose-rate radiotherapy is another advantage of FLASH-RT. The first human patient received FLASH-RT in Switzerland in 2018. FLASH-RT may become one of the main radiotherapy technologies in clinical applications in the future. We summarize the history of the development of FLASH-RT, its mechanisms, its influence on radiotherapy, and its future.

Keywords: FLASH radiotherapy; conventional dose-rate radiotherapy; future; history; mechanisms.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The dose-rate of FLASH-RT and conventional irradiation.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Biological mechanism of FLASH-RT.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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