Abstract: The main scope of radiotherapy is to exploit the specific energy deposition by different types of ionizing radiation in an optimal way, maximizing the damage to the tumor cells while minimizing that one to the normal tissues, in particular to organs at risk. The recent discovery, based on hypotheses argued already in the 60s, but evidenced in vivo only in the last 5-7 years, that irradiations delivered at ultra-high dose rate may have a relevant effect in differentially sparing healthy tissue while keeping the same killing effect on the tumor, thus, lead the potential to revolutionate the complete paradigm of radiotherapy and a new intense field of research called FLASH radiotherapy raised exponentially in the last few years. Such new research directions include: novel dosimetric methods, for controlling ultra-high dose rate irradiations, new approaches for dose delivery and treatment planning, and most fundamentally, intense efforts in mechanistic studies, for unraveling an effect that, after initial simple tentative hypotheses, appears today extremely far to be understood. It is indeed clear that its explanation should involve physics, chemistry and biology related steps, spanning on multiple temporal and spatial scales. Such a limited understanding appears as the major hindrance to the clinical exploitation of FLASH. An overview on such FLASH-related new research directions, also in the context of the recently funded INFN Call FRIDA, will be given, with a focus on the role of multi-scale biophysical modeling in attempting to explain a still highly mysterious effect.
Abstract e slide disponibili su: https://agenda.infn.it/event/29198/
Il seminario si terrà in presenza nella Sala Galilei (stanza 131) per un numero limitato di persone (48) e via Zoom al seguente indirizzo:
https://infn-it.zoom.us/j/84261721878?pwd=MDZNaGdBUlcvUUJXa2phSHZVZk5sdz09
ID riunione: 842 6172 1878
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