The University of Colorado and Colorado State University have just recently hosted a symposium that brought together cancer researchers, oncologists, and radiological scientists in a groundbreaking event that aimed to discuss the advantages of radiation as a form of cancer treatment. The event, amply titled Photon, Proton, and Carbon Ion Radiotherapy Symposium was able to look into the latest in the field of radiation therapy.
According to Jac Nickoloff, CSU Head of the Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences Department, "Radiation oncology is, by nature, multidisciplinary as it draws on physics, biology, and medicine. This symposium is unique in its focus in all three radiation modalities that have proven effective in cancer treatment."
The symposium was attended by speakers and representatives from some of the most well-known research and treatment centers in the region who made impressive presentations about the different stages of researches that are being conducted in relation to the subject matter, as well as raising awareness about the pioneering direction that is now being taken by radiological treatment. In recent years, the medical community has been directing significant attention to research studies regarding the use of the carbon ion radiation method as a means for treating severe cases of cancer as opposed to typical proton or photon radiotherapy. This technology was instigated by the Japanese National Institute Of Radiological Sciences and has seen a notable level of success in identifying tumors that are normally difficult to identify including those in soft tissues such as lung, rectal, pancreatic, and prostate cancers. It has also been used for the identification of bone, neck, and head tumors. The influx of interest for carbon ion radiotherapy, according to Nickoloff, is a great avenue for providing patients in the United States with a possible third therapeutic option for such conditions.
"Our partnership is hugely beneficial as the [Japanese] institute now has more than 20 years of clinical experience with this life-saving treatment option. Photon and proton radiotherapy are well established in the US and the world, but carbon ion radiotherapy is only available in Japan, Germany, and Italy," added Nickoloff.