Heavy Particles and the Bragg Peak in Therapy

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Abstract
High-energy heavy-particle beams with their advantageous properties of great penetration, little scatter, greater biological effect per unit of ionization in tissue, Bragg peak effect, and relative insensitivity to oxygen concentration have been successfully used in therapy during the past decade. They have made it possible to deliver large amounts of energy to localized areas of the body without damage to surrounding tissue, and have been successfully used for the ablation or suppression of pituitary function in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer, acromegaly, diabetic retinopathy, malignant exophthalmos, and Cushing''s disease, for the direct treatment of soft-tissue and brain tumors, and for the production of central nervous system lesions in the treatment of Parkinson''s disease. Further research is being done using various heavy particles to investigate the relationship of linear energy transfer to both the relative biological effect and the oxygen effect, as well as studying the possible therapeutic use of Pi mesons. In more recent years heavy particles have been used in similar investigations at Harvard University and at the University of Uppsala in Sweden. It is hoped that other centers, where such particles are available will take up these investigations and therapeutic uses in medicine.