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Introduction
Particle Therapy
The probability to develop cancer increases with age. Due to an aging society and increasing life expectancy, cancer therapy will become even more important than today. Aside from microbiological approaches to treating cancer, which are still probably decades away from clinical application, a very important advance in cancer therapy is particle therapy, the use of light and heavier ions for radiotherapy. For about 50 years, this new approach to treating cancer has been studied at research institutes with very encouraging results. For 10 years, patients have been treated with protons in the first clinic devoted to proton therapy. In proton therapy, the cancer cells are irradiated with positively charged hydrogen nuclei. While the clinical use of protons is widely accepted today because of physical advantages, radiobiologists all over the world also see the potential of heavier ions. A number of Japanese studies show very impressive results for treating cancer with carbon ions. Especially for ocular, prostate, head and neck tumors, the therapeutic benefit of ion therapy is widely accepted.
Therapy with protons and heavier ions is technologically far more challenging because of the more dedicated particle accelerators and the more complex treatment planning.
Highly advanced positioning makes it possible to target tumors with almost sub-millimeter accuracy. With the most dedicated irradiation method called pencil beam scanning, the tumor is being scanned by the narrow ion beam in three dimensions.
Why Particle Therapy*?
Peaked Depth Dose Distribution
The advantages of particle therapy in comparison to radiotherapy with photons are improved dose conformity inside the tumor as well as the lower integral dose deposited in the healthy tissue surrounding the tumor. The lower integral dose is a consequence of the physical differences of particles to photons. Having a non-negligible mass, most of the energy of the particles is deposited inside the tumor at the depth of the so called Bragg peak. In classical photon radiotherapy, the dose is deposited along the whole path of the radiation, with energy deposition at its highest within a short distance to the body surface.
Aside from the possibility of treating tumors resistant to classical photon therapy, the special physical properties of particles allow the treatment of deep-seated tumors with a high integral dose to healthy tissue while on its way to the tumor. Particle therapy is also favorable for tumors in the vicinity of sensitive or vital organs due to the higher accuracy of this treatment method. Because of the decreased energy deposition in healthy tissue, the probability of developing secondary cancer in the tissue surrounding the tumor is strongly decreased. Therefore particle therapy is especially suited for pediatric tumors. This is especially important due to the long life expectancy of children after irradiation and the high risk of secondary cancer caused when treating them with classical photon therapy.
Why Siemens?
The development of a particle therapy facility must be supported by companies who understand the need for collaboration on a large scale, and who are able to combine the software, hardware and workflow processes to deliver the most effective solutions to healthcare providers. Throughout the world, Siemens has earned the legacy of leadership in electronics, power generation, telegraphy, imaging, radiation therapy, microscopy and information technology. Through several research and industrial collaboration, Siemens is taking the logical steps to deliver state-of-the-art solutions for cancer therapy. By participating in the Heidelberg Ionenstrahl Therapiezentrum (HIT, Heidelberg ion beam therapy center) in Germany, Siemens gained additional knowledge that will be used in the first wholly commercial particle therapy project in Germany, the particle therapy center at the Marburg University Hospital in Germany owned by the private hospital group Rhön-Klinikum-AG.
Contact Center
U.S. (English): +1 888 82 69 702
International (English): +49 69 797 6602
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Fax: +49 800 73 63 336
You can call us Monday through Thursday 8 am to 5 pm, Friday 8 am to 4 pm CET.
*Siemens Particle Therapy products and solutions are works-in-progress and require country specific regulatory approval prior to clinical use.
