Nonconventional radiation therapy fast neutrons

Fast neutrons were the first nonconventional radiation used in cancer therapy. Fast neutrons (a high-LET radiation) were introduced for the following radiobiological reasons (1) a reduction of the OER with increasing LET (2) a reduction in the difference in radiosensitivity related to the position of the cells in the mitotic cycle (3) and less repair and thus less clinical relevance of the different repair mechanisms. The best and clinically proven indications for fast neutrons are salivary gland tumors, locally advanced prostatic adenocarcinomas, and slowly growing, well-differentiated sarcomas. 

Fast neutrons were the first nonconventional radiations to be used in clinical radiation therapy. The pioneering work in fast neutron therapy was performed by Stone [26] and his associates at Berkeley between 1938 and 1943. In the late 1960s, after extensive radiobiological experiments, a neutron therapy program was initiated at the Hammersmith... 

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See also in sourсe #XX -- [ , , , ]

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