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Heavier charged particles that kill even radiation-resistant tumours, available at only a handful of centres worldwide.
Carbon-ion therapy uses carbon nuclei that deposit high-LET tracks and clustered DNA damage at a sharp Bragg peak. Relative biological effectiveness is typically around 2 to 3 and is model-dependent (local effect model, microdosimetric kinetic model). The oxygen enhancement ratio falls toward 1, which is the argument in hypoxic, radioresistant tumours (sarcoma, chordoma, adenoid cystic carcinoma, pancreas). About 15 centres operate worldwide (Japan, Germany, Italy, China, Austria); Mayo Clinic Jacksonville is building the first US centre. Randomised comparisons with protons or photons are scarce. The simple version is that heavier charged particles can kill tumours that ordinary radiation cannot, but only a handful of centres can deliver them.
Carbon nuclei deposit dense ionisation tracks causing clustered DNA damage with a sharp Bragg peak.
Query for this technology: (TITLE:"carbon ion radiotherapy" OR ABSTRACT:"carbon ion radiotherapy" OR TITLE:"carbon-ion radiotherapy" OR ABSTRACT:"carbon-ion radiotherapy" OR TITLE:"heavy ion therapy" OR ABSTRACT:"heavy ion therapy"). Results are unfiltered search hits about Carbon-ion therapy, not a curated reading list.
Shares Bragg peak, The linear-quadratic model and fractionation, Alpha/beta ratio, Relative biological effectiveness (RBE).
Shares Bragg peak, Alpha/beta ratio, Relative biological effectiveness (RBE), Linear energy transfer (LET).
Shares Bragg peak, Alpha/beta ratio, Relative biological effectiveness (RBE), Linear energy transfer (LET).
Shares Bragg peak, Relative biological effectiveness (RBE), Linear energy transfer (LET), Use LET, RBE and alpha/beta to decide when protons beat IMRT.
Shares Bragg peak, Relative biological effectiveness (RBE), Linear energy transfer (LET), Use LET, RBE and alpha/beta to decide when protons beat IMRT.
Shares Bragg peak, Relative biological effectiveness (RBE), Linear energy transfer (LET), Pooled coverage-with-evidence for proton therapy across all centres.
Shares The linear-quadratic model and fractionation, Relative biological effectiveness (RBE), Use LET, RBE and alpha/beta to decide when protons beat IMRT, Proton therapy.
Shares Oxygen enhancement ratio, Linear energy transfer (LET), Carbon-ion synchrotrons and facilities, Radiotherapy roadmap: X-rays → shaped beams → fewer fractions, particles and FLASH.
Open-source projects that implement or serve this technology, from OnCo's own catalogue: licence and last activity as the repository reported them on the day of the fetch. Listing is not endorsement; check the licence before reuse and the validation before clinical use.
DKFZ's open MATLAB toolkit for radiotherapy treatment planning research: photons, protons, carbon ions, dose calculation and optimisation.