We present a nitrogen-targeting-Proton-Carbon-Alpha-Therapy method, abbreviated as Proton-CAT, which partially converts protons into carbon-12 and α particles through nuclear reactions between protons and nitrogen-15. Monte Carlo simulations validated the effectiveness of the Proton-CAT, and the study specifically focused on the distribution of relative energy deposition. The results indicated that the presence of nitrogen-15 enhanced the maximum dose level of protons, resulting in more effective damage confined to tumor cells. Statistical analysis of secondary ions has shown that the Proton-CAT significantly increases the production efficiencies of carbon-12 and α particles. Furthermore, it has been revealed that elevating the nitrogen-15 concentration significantly boosts the dose of carbon and α particles within the tumor region. The present work would contribute to the future development of proton therapy.
@article{arxiv.2402.02760,
title = {Proton-CAT: a Novel Strategy for Enhanced Proton Therapy},
author = {Zhao Sun and Zhencen He and Zhuohang He and Junxiang Wu and Liyuan Deng and Zhuohang He and Ziqi Chen and Junkang Jiang and Hang Zhu and Shuyu Zhang and Zhimin Hu},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2402.02760},
year = {2024}
}