CLIC prototype on which the electron FLASH radiotherapy design is based

Technology developed for the proposed Compact Linear Collider (CLIC) at CERN is poised to make a novel cancer radio‑therapy facility a reality. Building on recently revived research from the 1970s, oncologists believe that ultrafast bursts of electrons damage tumours more than healthy tissue. This “FLASH effect” could be realised by using high-gradient accelerator technology from CLIC to create a new facility at Switzerland’s Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV). A 2014 study carried out by researchers from the CHUV hospital, and from the Institute Curie in Paris, showed an outstanding differential FLASH effect between tumours and normal tissues in mice. The results were later confirmed by several other leading institutes. Then, in 2019, CHUV used FLASH to treat a multi-resistant skin cancer in a human patient, causing the tumour to completely disappear with nearly no side effects.