Radiation therapy is a medical treatment that uses high doses of radiation to kill or damage cancer cells. It works by damaging the DNA within the cancer cells, ultimately causing cell death. Radiotherapy can be used as a primary treatment, adjuvant treatment in combination with surgery or chemotherapy or palliative treatment to relieve symptoms in advanced cancer stages. Radiation therapy is constantly improving in order to enhance the effect on cancer cells and reduce the side effects on healthy tissues. Our results clearly demonstrate that proton therapy and, even more, carbon ion therapy appear as promising alternatives to overcome the radioresistance of various tumors thanks to less dependency on oxygen and a better ability to kill cancer stem cells. Interestingly, hadrons also retain the advantages of radiosensitization approaches. These data confirm the great ability of hadrons to spare healthy tissue near the tumor via various mechanisms (reduced lymphopenia, bystander effect, etc.). Technology and machine improvements such as image-guided radiotherapy or particle therapies can improve treatment quality and efficacy (dose deposition and biological effect) in tumors while increasingly sparing healthy tissues. Radiation biology can help to understand how cancer cells resist radiation (hypoxia, DNA repair mechanisms, stem cell status, cell cycle position, etc.), how normal tissues may display sensitivity to radiation and how radiation effects can be increased with either radiosensitizers or accelerated particles. All these research topics are under investigation within the ARCHADE research community in France. By focusing on these areas, radiotherapy can become more effective, targeted and safe, enhancing the overall treatment experience and outcomes for cancer patients. Our goal is to provide biological evidence of the therapeutic advantages of hadrontherapy, according to the tumor characteristics. This article aims to give an updated view of our research in radiation biology within the frame of the French “ARCHADE association” and new perspectives on research and treatment with the C400 multi-ions accelerator prototype.
放射治疗是一种利用高剂量辐射杀灭或损伤癌细胞的医疗方法，其作用机制是通过破坏癌细胞内的DNA，最终导致细胞死亡。放疗可作为主要治疗手段，也可作为手术或化疗的辅助治疗，或在晚期癌症阶段作为缓解症状的姑息治疗。为增强对癌细胞的作用效果并减少对健康组织的副作用，放射治疗技术持续改进。我们的研究结果明确表明，质子治疗尤其是碳离子治疗因对氧依赖性较低且能更有效杀灭癌症干细胞，有望成为克服多种肿瘤放射抵抗性的替代方案。值得注意的是，重离子治疗还保留了放射增敏方法的优势。这些数据证实了重离子通过多种机制（如减少淋巴细胞减少症、旁观者效应等）保护肿瘤附近健康组织的卓越能力。图像引导放射治疗和粒子治疗等技术及设备的进步，可在提升肿瘤治疗质量与疗效（剂量沉积和生物效应）的同时，更好地保护健康组织。放射生物学有助于理解癌细胞抵抗辐射的机制（缺氧、DNA修复机制、干细胞状态、细胞周期位置等），揭示正常组织对辐射敏感性的表现规律，以及如何通过放射增敏剂或加速粒子增强辐射效应。法国ARCHADE研究联盟正在对这些研究课题进行系统性探索。通过聚焦这些领域，放射治疗将朝着更高效、精准和安全的方向发展，从而提升癌症患者的整体治疗体验与预后效果。我们的目标是根据肿瘤特征，为粒子治疗的优势提供生物学证据。本文旨在法国“ARCHADE联盟”框架下，结合C400多离子加速器原型机的研究进展，系统阐述我们在放射生物学领域的最新研究成果，并展望未来研究与治疗的新方向。
肿瘤(癌症)患者之家