Cancer: A medical challenge for Physics

by Ken Peach

Friday 19 Oct 2012, 14:00 → 16:00 Europe/Rome

Aula Amaldi (Dipartimento di Fisica - Ed. G: Marconi)

Cancer is a distressing condition that will affect one third of us at some time. While it is predominantly a condition associated with an aging population, there are a few paediatric cancers and cancers in younger people. Charged Particle Therapy (a form of radiation therapy that uses of protons and other light ions such as carbon) offers advantages when compared with conventional radiotherapy using MV x-rays in a reduced dose to normal tissue and thus fewer complications, and (because of the special properties of the Bragg peak, where the rate of energy loss of ions increases dramatically towards the end of their range) the ability to ensure that vital organs receive little or no dose. There are a significant number of challenges for physics in developing the technology for Charged Particle Therapy, many of which are being addressed through a series of EU-funded initiatives. Some of these will be discussed.