Perspectives for microbeam irradiation at the SYRMEP beamline

Area of Science:

• Medical physics
• Radiation oncology
• Cancer research

Background:

• Microbeam irradiation (MBI) shows promise for controlling malignant tumors, potentially surpassing conventional broad beam irradiation.
• Expanding international microbeam research capacity is crucial for advancing cancer therapy.
• The SYRMEP biomedical beamline at Italy's ELETTRA synchrotron facility is a key resource for such research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct the first microbeam irradiation experiment at the SYRMEP biomedical beamline.
• To assess the efficacy of MBI in reducing murine melanoma cells.
• To evaluate the suitability of lower energy spectra for in vitro studies and superficial tumor treatments.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a TECOMET multislit collimator to generate quasi-parallel microbeams (50 µm width, 400 µm center-to-center distance).
• Irradiated murine melanoma cell cultures with a target dose of ~65 Gy at ~30 keV mean photon energy.
• Achieved a high dose rate of 70 Gy/s with a peak-to-valley dose ratio of ~123.

Main Results:

• Successfully generated microbeam arrays at the SYRMEP beamline.
• Demonstrated an approximate 80% reduction in murine melanoma cells following MBI.
• The experiment confirmed the feasibility of MBI at this facility.

Conclusions:

• Microbeam irradiation is effective in reducing melanoma cells.
• Lower energy X-ray spectra may be advantageous for in vitro studies and superficial tumor treatments.
• The SYRMEP beamline is now equipped to support international microbeam research.