Frank Cucinotta (Health Physics and Diagnostic Sciences) spoke during the National Cancer Institutes' workshop that addressed the biological consequences of radiation therapy in the development of new treatments. The workshop brought together leading experts to explore the potential of clinical dose-effect using biological measures that could provide innovative uses of radiation as a drug and pairing it with molecular targeted drugs, immunotherapy, and normal tissue mitigators. The discussion also examined uses of radiation alone for hypofractionation, systemic radiotherapy, and particle therapy. Professor Cucinotta spoke about the prospects for proton and carbon beam radiation to improve cancer therapies.
While the assembled noted a need for greater understanding in how to best implement new treatments during this time of precision medicine, they also acknowledged the growing knowledge about cancer, normal tissue, and immune biology coupled with the technological advances in radiation oncology, including proton and carbon beam therapies, is ushering in a new era for radiation therapy.
