Status and Future of Particle Accelerators for Cancer Treatment

Abstract

In recent cancer treatment, particle beam therapy, irradiates tumors with high-energy beams of protons or carbon, is spreading due to its capability of reducing radiation exposure to normal tissues. Advances in particle accelerators such as synchrotrons and cyclotrons have played an important role in the spread of particle beam therapy. Development of treatment dedicated accelerators has contributed to the miniaturization of the accelerator systems, and the scanning irradiation method has become a standard irradiation method in particle beam therapy because it can form a precise irradiation area even for tumors with complicated shapes. In the future, superconducting technology will enable further miniaturization of the accelerator system, and improvement of dose rate will contribute to higher throughput and more sophisticated irradiation.