Progress in charged particle therapy

Charged particle therapy offers a better effect and obvious dosimetric and biological advantages over conventional radiotherapy in tumor control. Charged particles form Bragg peak in the dose distribution in tissue, enable most of energy to be deposited in the target region, and thus enhance tumor control and reduce the damage to normal tissues surrounding the tumor. With the increasing demand for charged particle therapy and the advances in particle accelerator, particle therapy technology is developing rapidly. The core apparatus of particle therapy facility is particle accelerator, and the accelerator type, particle type, and implementation technique determine the performance and therapeutic effect of the facility. This article provides a detailed comparative analysis of various particle therapies. Statistical data show that proton therapy is dominant in particle therapy, and high construction difficulty, large facility size, and extremely high cost have limited the development of heavy ion therapy. Nowadays, there are still some technical problems regarding charged particle therapy, and more clinical trials are required. Key words: Particle accelerator; Proton therapy; Carbon ion therapy