Host: The Japan Radiation Research Society
Co-host: City of Kitakyushu, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan
Excellent biological effectiveness and dose conformity represent a rationale for heavy-ion therapy. Heavy-ion therapy which is currently available at three facilities (e.g., Natl. Inst. Radiol. Sci) has so far achieved good cancer controllability while sparing critical normal organs. Several other facilities (e.g., Gunma, Univ.) are now under construction or in the planning phase, so that heavy-ion therapy is becoming more widely available. Nevertheless, the biological mechanism of heavy-ion action is incompletely understood. This workshop aims to summarize the current knowledge and discuss future perspectives. The topic includes repair of heavy ion-induced complex DNA lesions, overcoming tumor radioresistance with heavy ions, potential biological approaches to sensitize tumor cells to heavy ions, and differences in biological actions of photons and heavy ions.
