Scientists Unveil Mechanism Behind Heavy-Ion Cancer Therapy

New Delhi: A recent study has provided deeper insights into the microscopic mechanism behind heavy-ion cancer therapy, paving the way for enhancing cancer treatment strategies and advancing radiotherapy technologies.

The research, led by scientists from the Institute of Modern Physics (IMP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences along with international collaborators, was recently published as a highlighted paper in the journal Physical Review X, Xinhua news agency reported.

Heavy-ion therapy is an advanced form of radiotherapy that employs heavy-ion beams to eliminate cancer cells. Since its initial proposal in 1946, more than 50,000 patients worldwide have received heavy-ion treatment. Compared to conventional X-ray radiotherapy, heavy-ion therapy is known to deliver two to three times more efficient cancer cell-killing effects under the same radiation dose.

Xu Shenyue, a researcher at the IMP, explained that heavy ions are more effective at inducing DNA double-strand breaks within tumour cells, leading to stronger biological impacts. However, the precise microscopic processes behind this efficiency had remained unclear.

To better understand these processes, researchers conducted experiments at heavy-ion research facilities in Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China. Their investigation led to the observation of an intermolecular energy and proton transfer cascade mechanism initiated by heavy-ion irradiation in biomolecular clusters. This discovery marks the first time such a mechanism has been documented.

According to Ma Xinwen, another researcher from the IMP, understanding this mechanism could significantly contribute to refining radiotherapy techniques in the future by providing a clearer picture of how radiation damages cancer cells at the molecular level.

The study was carried out in collaboration with researchers from Russia's Irkutsk State University, Germany's Heidelberg University, the University of Science and Technology of China, Xi'an Jiaotong University, and Lanzhou University.

In a related development, scientists are also working on a new antibody that may offer a potential option for treating breast and ovarian cancers resistant to current therapies. Known as IgE, this antibody has demonstrated the ability to stimulate the immune system and inhibit tumour growth. Unlike the commonly used IgG antibodies in immunotherapy, which specifically target cancer cells, IgE could provide an additional strategy in managing difficult-to-treat cancers.