Physical and Biological Characteristics of Particle Therapy for Oncologists

Particle therapy is a promising and evolving modality of radiotherapy that can be used to treat tumors that are radioresistant to conventional photon beam radiotherapy. It has unique biological and physical advantages compared with conventional radiotherapy. The characteristic feature of particle therapy is the “Bragg peak,” a steep and localized peak of dose, that enables precise delivery of the radiation dose to the tumor while effectively sparing normal organs. Especially, the charged particles (e.g., proton, helium, carbon) cause a high rate of energy loss along the track, thereby leading to high biological effectiveness, which makes particle therapy attractive. Using this property, the particle beam induces more severe DNA double-strand breaks than the photon beam, which is less influenced by the oxygen level. This review describes the general biological and physical aspects of particle therapy for oncologists, including non-radiation oncologists and beginners in the field.