https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-024-05455-x
Review
Very high-energy electrons as radiotherapy opportunity
1
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Victoria, 3800 Finnerty Rd, V8P 5C2, Victoria, BC, Canada
2
Department of Radiation Physics, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
3
Department of Radiation Oncology, Indiana University Health, Indianapolis, IN, USA
4
Department of Physics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Received:
16
February
2024
Accepted:
13
July
2024
Published online:
13
August
2024
The use of very high-energy electrons (VHEEs) with energies in the range of 100-250 MeV has recently garnered significant attention for use in radiotherapy. VHEE beams manifest distinctive dosimetric characteristics, including increased depth penetration, narrow penumbra, and insensitivity to inhomogeneities compared to clinically used 6-20 MeV electrons. These attributes increase the applicability of electron therapy to include deep-seated tumors with dose distributions similar to state-of-the-art photon beam therapy. The advantages of VHEEs are amplified by their potential use in ultrahigh dose rate (UHDR) regimes which may lead to increased tissue sparing through the FLASH effect and the potential application of pencil beam scanning technology for ultrafast conformal dose delivery. As the use of VHEEs nears clinical implementation, the aim of this review is to encapsulate the current knowledge of VHEEs, including the description of accelerator technology, dose calculations and measurements, and treatment planning and determine areas of interest for future work. Through a comprehensive analysis of these topics, this review covers exciting potential of VHEEs in modern radiotherapy practice. Additionally, a discussion of special methods of beam delivery, focused VHEEs and spatially fractionated radiotherapy, is also included to further evaluate tissue sparing potential beyond the use of UHDR radiotherapy.
To Lech Papiez, who illuminated the path toward utilizing very high-energy electrons for radiotherapy to the world.
Copyright comment Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Società Italiana di Fisica and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2024. Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
