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Fast Neutron Therapy
Fast neutron therapy utilizes high energy neutrons typically between 50 and 70 MeV to treat cancer. Most fast neutron therapy beams are produced by reactors, cyclotrons (d+Be) and linear accelerators. Neutron therapy is currently available in Germany, Russia, South Africa and the United States. In the United States, one treatment center is operational, in Seattle, Washington. The Seattle center uses a cyclotron which produces a proton beam impinging upon a beryllium target. Advantages Radiation therapy kills cancer cells in two ways depending on the effective energy of the radiative source. The amount of energy deposited as the particles traverse a section of tissue is referred to as the linear energy transfer (LET). X-rays produce low LET radiation, and protons and neutrons produce high LET radiation. Low LET radiation damages cells predominantly through the generation of reactive oxygen species, see free radicals. The neutron is uncharged and damages cells by direct effect ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neutron
The neutron is a subatomic particle, symbol or , which has a neutral (not positive or negative) charge, and a mass slightly greater than that of a proton. Protons and neutrons constitute the nuclei of atoms. Since protons and neutrons behave similarly within the nucleus, and each has a mass of approximately one atomic mass unit, they are both referred to as nucleons. Their properties and interactions are described by nuclear physics. Protons and neutrons are not elementary particles; each is composed of three quarks. The chemical properties of an atom are mostly determined by the configuration of electrons that orbit the atom's heavy nucleus. The electron configuration is determined by the charge of the nucleus, which is determined by the number of protons, or atomic number. The number of neutrons is the neutron number. Neutrons do not affect the electron configuration, but the sum of atomic and neutron numbers is the mass of the nucleus. Atoms of a chemical element t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oxygen Enhancement Ratio
The oxygen enhancement ratio (OER) or oxygen enhancement effect in radiobiology refers to the enhancement of therapeutic or detrimental effect of ionizing radiation due to the presence of oxygen. This so-called oxygen effect is most notable when cells are exposed to an ionizing radiation dose. The OER is traditionally defined as the ratio of radiation doses during lack of oxygen compared to no lack of oxygen for the same biological effect. This may give varying numerical values depending on the chosen biological effect. Additionally, OER may be presented in terms of hyperoxic environments and/or with altered oxygen baseline, complicating the significance of this value. :OER = \frac The maximum OER depends mainly on the ionizing density or LET of the radiation. Radiation with higher LET and higher relative biological effectiveness (RBE) have a lower OER in mammalian cell tissues. The value of the maximum OER varies from about 1–4. The maximum OER ranges from about 2–4 for l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neutron
The neutron is a subatomic particle, symbol or , which has a neutral (not positive or negative) charge, and a mass slightly greater than that of a proton. Protons and neutrons constitute the nuclei of atoms. Since protons and neutrons behave similarly within the nucleus, and each has a mass of approximately one atomic mass unit, they are both referred to as nucleons. Their properties and interactions are described by nuclear physics. Protons and neutrons are not elementary particles; each is composed of three quarks. The chemical properties of an atom are mostly determined by the configuration of electrons that orbit the atom's heavy nucleus. The electron configuration is determined by the charge of the nucleus, which is determined by the number of protons, or atomic number. The number of neutrons is the neutron number. Neutrons do not affect the electron configuration, but the sum of atomic and neutron numbers is the mass of the nucleus. Atoms of a chemical element t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boron Neutron Capture Therapy
Neutron capture therapy (NCT) is a type of radiotherapy for treating locally invasive malignant tumors such as primary brain tumors, recurrent cancers of the head and neck region, and cutaneous and extracutaneous melanomas. It is a two-step process: ''first'', the patient is injected with a tumor-localizing drug containing the stable isotope boron-10 (B), which has a high propensity to capture low energy "thermal" neutrons. The neutron cross section of B (3,837 barns) is 1,000 times more than that of other elements, such as nitrogen, hydrogen, or oxygen, that occur in tissue. In the ''second'' step, the patient is radiated with epithermal neutrons, the sources of which in the past have been nuclear reactors and now are accelerators that produce higher energy epithermal neutrons. After losing energy as they penetrate tissue, the resultant low energy "thermal" neutrons are captured by the B atoms. The resulting decay reaction yields high-energy alpha particles that kill the cancer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arlene Lennox
Arlene Judith Lennox (1942–2008) was an American medical physicist. Known for her work on neutron therapy for cancer patients at Fermilab, she became "one of the world's experts on neutron therapy", and her work was featured in the 2009 documentary ''The Matter of Everything''. Education and career Lennox was born in Cleveland, Ohio. She was educated at an all-girl Catholic high school, entered a convent as a novitiate at age 14, finished high school at age 15, and became an undergraduate at Notre Dame College in Ohio at age 16. She studied there to become a high school mathematics and science teacher, and taught for six years, beginning at age 17. She spent the last two summers of this period studying for a master's degree at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, supported by a National Science Foundation program aimed at improving the quality of national science education. She was invited to continue at the University of Notre Dame as a doctoral student, becoming the onl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fermilab
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), located just outside Batavia, Illinois, near Chicago, is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory specializing in high-energy particle physics. Since 2007, Fermilab has been operated by the Fermi Research Alliance, a joint venture of the University of Chicago, and the Universities Research Association (URA). Fermilab is a part of the Illinois Technology and Research Corridor. Fermilab's Main Injector, two miles (3.3 km) in circumference, is the laboratory's most powerful particle accelerator. The accelerator complex that feeds the Main Injector is under upgrade, and construction of the first building for the new PIP-II linear accelerator began in 2020. Until 2011, Fermilab was the home of the 6.28 km (3.90 mi) circumference Tevatron accelerator. The ring-shaped tunnels of the Tevatron and the Main Injector are visible from the air and by satellite. Fermilab aims to become a world center in neutri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dosimetry
Radiation dosimetry in the fields of health physics and radiation protection is the measurement, calculation and assessment of the ionizing radiation dose absorbed by an object, usually the human body. This applies both internally, due to ingested or inhaled radioactive substances, or externally due to irradiation by sources of radiation. Internal dosimetry assessment relies on a variety of monitoring, bio-assay or radiation imaging techniques, whilst external dosimetry is based on measurements with a dosimeter, or inferred from measurements made by other radiological protection instruments. Dosimetry is used extensively for radiation protection and is routinely applied to monitor occupational radiation workers, where irradiation is expected, or where radiation is unexpected, such as in the aftermath of the Three Mile Island, Chernobyl or Fukushima radiological release incidents. The public dose take-up is measured and calculated from a variety of indicators such as ambient measure ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cyclotron
A cyclotron is a type of particle accelerator invented by Ernest O. Lawrence in 1929–1930 at the University of California, Berkeley, and patented in 1932. Lawrence, Ernest O. ''Method and apparatus for the acceleration of ions'', filed: January 26, 1932, granted: February 20, 1934 A cyclotron accelerates charged particles outwards from the center of a flat cylindrical vacuum chamber along a spiral path. The particles are held to a spiral trajectory by a static magnetic field and accelerated by a rapidly varying electric field. Lawrence was awarded the 1939 Nobel Prize in Physics for this invention. The cyclotron was the first "cyclical" accelerator. The primary accelerators before the development of the cyclotron were electrostatic accelerators, such as the Cockcroft–Walton accelerator and Van de Graaff generator. In these accelerators, particles would cross an accelerating electric field only once. Thus, the energy gained by the particles was limited by the maximum elec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Head And Neck Cancer
Head and neck cancer develops from tissues in the lip and oral cavity (mouth), larynx (throat), salivary glands, nose, sinuses or the skin of the face. The most common types of head and neck cancers occur in the lip, mouth, and larynx. Symptoms predominantly include a sore that does not heal or a change in the voice. Some may experience a sore throat that does not go away. In those with advanced disease, there may be unusual bleeding, facial pain, numbness or swelling, and visible lumps on the outside of the neck or oral cavity. Given the location of these cancers, trouble breathing may also be present. The majority of head and neck cancer is caused by the use of alcohol or tobacco, including smokeless tobacco, with increasing cases linked to the human papillomavirus (HPV). Other risk factors include Epstein-Barr virus, betel quid, radiation exposure, certain workplace exposures. About 90% are pathologically classified as squamous cell cancers. The diagnosis is confirmed by t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma
Adenoid cystic carcinoma is a rare type of cancer that can exist in many different body sites. This tumor most often occurs in the salivary glands, but it can also be found in many anatomic sites, including the breast, lacrimal gland, lung, brain, bartholin gland, trachea, and the paranasal sinuses. It is the third-most common malignant salivary gland tumor overall (after mucoepidermoid carcinoma and polymorphous adenocarcinoma). It represents 28% of malignant submandibular gland tumors, making it the single most common malignant salivary gland tumor in this region. Patients may survive for years with metastases because this tumor is generally well-differentiated and slow growing. In a 1999 study of a cohort of 160 ACC patients, disease-specific survival was 89% at 5 years, but only 40% at 15 years, reflecting deaths from late-occurring metastatic disease. Cause Activation of the oncogenic transcription factor gene ''MYB'' is the key genomic event of ACC and seen in the vast m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Salivary Gland Tumor
Salivary gland tumours, also known as mucous gland adenomas or neoplasms, are tumours that form in the tissues of salivary glands. The salivary glands are classified as major or minor. The major salivary glands consist of the parotid, submandibular, and sublingual glands. The minor salivary glands consist of 800 to 1000 small mucus-secreting glands located throughout the lining of the oral cavity. Patients with these types of tumours may be asymptomatic. Presentation Salivary gland tumours usually present as a lump or swelling in the affected gland which may or may not have been present for a long time. The lump may be accompanied by symptoms of duct blockage (e.g. xerostomia). Usually, in their early stages it is not possible to distinguish a benign tumour from a malignant one. One of the key differentiating symptoms of a malignant growth is nerve involvement; for example, signs of facial nerve damage (e.g. facial palsy) are associated with malignant parotid tumours. Facial pai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that surrounds the urethra just below the bladder. It is located in the hypogastric region of the abdomen. To give an idea of where it is located, the bladder is superior to the prostate gland as shown in the image The rectum is posterior in perspective to the prostate gland and the ischial tuberosity of the pelvic bone is inferior. Only those who have male reproductive organs are able to get prostate cancer. Most prostate cancers are slow growing. Cancerous cells may spread to other areas of the body, particularly the bones and lymph nodes. It may initially cause no symptoms. In later stages, symptoms include pain or difficulty urinating, blood in the urine, or pain in the pelvis or back. Benign prostatic hyperplasia may produce similar symptoms ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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