The medical community has seen incredible technological advancements, especially in recent years with the cyclotron (also known as a synchrotron) being a key, yet silent, invention. Cyclotrons were originally invented by scientists E.O Lawrence and M.S Livingston in 1934 to investigate nuclear structure (just your typical protons, neutrons, and electrons), later leading to the invention of proton therapy (shooting beams of protons at a tumor, sort of like guns) for cancer treatment instead of the usual X-ray radiation therapy. There are currently 1500 cyclotron facilities in the world, with many more in the process of being built.
Radiation therapy is a method of cancer treatment which involves exposing cancerous tumors in a person to high doses of radiation so that the cells in the tumor slowdown in growth or die. Traditional radiation therapy uses photons or x-rays to kill the tumor however, this can damage nearby tissues causing more side effects for the person. In proton therapy, the protons stop at the tumor, preventing any damage to nearby tissues, which is why some people believe that proton therapy is safer than traditional radiation therapy.
The cyclotron can be broken down into two words: Clyco (circle) and tron (instrument), thus explaining its large spiral shape. It kills cancerous tumors by speeding up protons, using magnets, giving the protons a lot of energy and allowing them to travel to the desired depth in the body and giving the desired tumor a dose of radiation.
Similarly, the cyclotron can also be used to detect cancer cells. Neutron therapy is also created using two magnets which fire protons at a certain material most commonly oxygen–18 as it has 8 protons and 10 neutrons, meaning that once the proton beam reaches the nucleus of the atom, it can get rid of one neutron making the atom now known as fluorine-18 and thus also radioactive. After a certain time (a few hours) if enough fluorine-18 is made, it can be used to make PET scans on people, thus detecting cancerous cells among other conditions. Although, the problem with this is that once the fluorine is created, doctors and scientists must move fast as the fluorine has a half-life of merely 2 hours, meaning that after 2 hours, only half of the fluorine will be left for use.
Despite the effectiveness of these cyclotrons, not enough research and clinical trials have been done to fully understand whether this is a promising form of cancer treatment and the research on these contraptions has been full of technical difficulties such as: poor penetration, poor methods of adjusting the beams, and hazards from the radioactivity. The high requirement of oxygen is still required in tissues in order for this to work, which can also be a problem as the tumors may not have this. In order to eliminate these issues, new machines are being developed and hopefully we’ll see a rise in the use of proton therapy.
Bibliography:
BYJU'S. byjus.com/physics/cyclotron/. Accessed 17 Sept. 2023.
Cancer.Net. www.cancer.net/navigating-cancer-care/how-cancer-treated/radiation-therapy/proton-therapy#:~:text=A%20machine%20called%20a%20synchrotron,radiation%20dose%20in%20the%20tumor. Accessed 17 Sept. 2023.
IAEA. www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/cyclotrons-what-are-they-and-where-can-you-find-them#:~:text=It%27s%20actually%20a%20particle%20accelerator,which%20diagnose%20and%20treat%20cancer. Accessed 17 Sept. 2023.
NIH. www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/types/radiation-therapy#:~:text=during%20radiation%20therapy-,How%20radiation%20therapy%20works%20against%20cancer,and%20removed%20by%20the%20body. Accessed 17 Sept. 2023.
Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Cyclotrons and Their Applications. accelconf.web.cern.ch/c81/papers/gi-03.pdf. Accessed 17 Sept. 2023.
Science in 60 Seconds: Cyclotron!
Provision health care https://provisionhealthcare.com/2020/06/18/proton-therapy-cancer-treatment-lower-risk-of-second-cancer/ Accessed 17 Sept. 2023.
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