The Curie Institute has announced the launch of a flash radiotherapy project, a technique for targeting aggressive cancers against which conventional radiation is ineffective, while saving healthy tissues.
- The Curie Institute, in collaboration with CEA, launches the construction of a revolutionary machine for flash radiotherapy, a technique which delivers in a fraction of a second a dose of rays 10 to 15 times more intense.
- This flash radiotherapy effectively targets tumors while sparing healthy tissue, thus reducing side effects. Scheduled in Orsay by 2026, it could treat cancers of bad prognosis, such as those of the brain, lung or even the pancreas.
- Faced with the increase in cancer cases in the world, this advance represents a major hope for patients and a turning point in the fight against disease.
A wind of hope for patients with incurable cancer. The Institut Curie officially launched, Tuesday, January 28, the project to build the first “flash radiotherapy” machine, an innovative and promising medical technology against tumors of bad prognosis. Created in collaboration with the atomic energy police station (CEA), this unique infrastructure in the world will be born in Orsay by 2026, with clinical trials planned for 2028.
Major profits for cancer patients
The Frathea project (Flash radiation Therapy Electron Acceleration) is a rupture technology. Unlike conventional radiotherapy, which administers radiation over several minutes and in several sessions, flash radiotherapy is to deliver a dose of rays 10 to 15 times more intense. Thanks to very high energy electrons, the machine makes it possible to reach deep tumors, up to 30 cm, while preserving healthy tissues, and thus to treat incurable cancers for which current treatments are ineffective.
Patients with brain, thorax or abdomen cancer, for whom conventional radiotherapy is too toxic, could notably benefit from this flash radiotherapy. The technique is also very promising for advanced lung cancers, pancreas cancers and certain pediatric tumors, according to the Curie Institute.
Another essential asset of flash radiotherapy lies in reducing side effects. By limiting the exposure of healthy tissues to radiation, this method would reduce the risk of long -term consequences and improve the quality of life of patients.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibzeot9-wyy
A global public health issue
While, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), the incidence of poor prognosis cancers could increase by 30 % in the next 15 years, and that more than 35 million new cases are scheduled for 2050 (a one increase of 77 % compared to 2022), the development of new anti-cancer therapies is more than ever crucial.
The Frathea project therefore arouses great interest at the international level, especially in Europe and the United States, where several research projects are underway. In France, if another project is led by the Gustave Roussy Institute, the Curie Institute could carry out a world first by implementing this technology in an operational manner.
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