The Science of High-Energy Physics
The Benefits of High-Energy Physics:Cancer Treatment
Accelerators for Cancer Treatment
Use of the Fermilab linear accelerator (Linac) as a source of irradiation for cancer treatments was developed by a research program funded by the National Cancer Institute. The program evolved into a partnership of physicians which contracts with Fermilab for beam time, personnel, and other goods and services necessary to treat patients using neutrons.
Neutrons, created by the collision of protons from the Linac with a beryllium target, are used to irradiate tumors. The treatment has proven to be highly effective in the treatment of tumors of the salivary glands, certain inoperable sarcomas and bladder and prostate cancer. The Midwest Institute for Neutron Therapy at Fermilab (MINT) is located in the Linac gallery where patients come for their treatment. A physician must refer patients to MINT.
In 1990, Fermilab completed the design and construction of a small, variable energy proton therapy accelerator for Loma Linda University Medical Center in California The entire accelerator - magnets, voltage supplies and various other components - was built and tested at Fermilab, then disassembled and shipped to Loma Linda where it was reassembled in a special complex which includes five patient treatment rooms. This accelerator is the first to be designed specifically for patient treatment.
Proton therapy has a significant advantage over other methods of cancer treatment in that the radiation dose is tightly confined to the diseased site, thus reducing the side effects of treatment while still killing diseased cells. Commissioning of this new and exciting medical tool occurred in October 1990.
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