Innovations in Physics and Radiobiology Studies of Particle Therapy

Dear Colleagues,

The physical properties of the charged particles used in radiation therapy, such as protons, helium, oxygen, and carbon ions, have been well characterized to show that these particles have superior dose distributions compared to photon-based treatments. However, particle therapy has inherent biological advantages that have not yet been fully capitalized upon. Biologically optimized charged particle treatments could expand the therapeutic index of radiation therapy by selectively placing areas of the beam with high biological effectiveness to enhance tumor cell kill and simultaneously spare normal tissues from harm. Moreover, experimental evidence indicates that particle therapy effectiveness can be further enhanced through cutting-edge treatment modalities or combination with other cancer therapies. Notably, intriguing data suggest that particle therapy increases the immune response, meaning that, combined with immunotherapy, particle therapy may work to suppress and/or control metastatic dissemination, offering “off-target” systemic effects. This Topic welcomes fundamental studies and translational research on topics related to new technologies, physics, and radiobiology in particle therapy. Articles related to cellular and molecular responses, DNA damage repair, tumor response, normal tissue response, relative biological effectiveness modeling, radiogenomics, radioimmunotherapy, spatially fractionated radiation therapy (SFRT), boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT), and ultrahigh-dose rate FLASH particle therapy are welcome. The aim is to provide an up-to-date overview of innovations in experimental techniques, computational methods, preclinical studies, clinical outcomes, biological effect modeling, biological dose optimization, and the development of novel data analysis tools (e.g., artificial intelligence-based ones) in particle therapy.

Prof. Dr. Yidong Yang
Dr. Francesco Giuseppe Cordoni
Dr. Fada Guan
Topic Editors