An overview of current practice in external beam radiation oncology with consideration to potential benefits and challenges for nanotechnology

Cancer Nanotechnology

Review

Kevin M. Prise¹  Stephen J. McMahon¹  Karl T. Butterworth¹  Suneil Jain²  Alan R. Hounsell³  Raymond B. King³  Conor K. McGarry³  Wendy B. Hyland⁴ 

[1] Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology, Queen’s University Belfast, BT9 7AE, Belfast, UK;Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology, Queen’s University Belfast, BT9 7AE, Belfast, UK;Clinical Oncology, Northern Ireland Cancer Centre, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, BT9 7AB, Belfast, UK;Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology, Queen’s University Belfast, BT9 7AE, Belfast, UK;Radiotherapy Physics, Northern Ireland Cancer Centre, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, BT9 7AB, Belfast, UK;Radiotherapy Physics, North West Cancer Centre, Western Health and Social Care Trust, BT47 6SB, Londonderry, UK;

关键词: Cancer diagnosis;    Imaging contrast agents;    External beam radiotherapy;    Stereotactic ablative radiotherapy;    Radiosensitisation;    Theranostic nanoparticles;    Prostate cancer;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12645-017-0027-z

 received in 2016-09-20, accepted in 2017-01-20,  发布年份 2017

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

Over the past two decades, there has been a significant evolution in the technologies and techniques employed within the radiation oncology environment. Over the same period, extensive research into the use of nanotechnology in medicine has highlighted a range of potential benefits to its incorporation into clinical radiation oncology. This short communication describes key tools and techniques that have recently been introduced into specific stages of a patient’s radiotherapy pathway, including diagnosis, external beam treatment and subsequent follow-up. At each pathway stage, consideration is given towards how nanotechnology may be combined with clinical developments to further enhance their benefit, with some potential opportunities for future research also highlighted. Prospective challenges that may influence the introduction of nanotechnology into clinical radiotherapy are also discussed, indicating the need for close collaboration between academic and clinical staff to realise the full clinical benefit of this exciting technology.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2017