Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a highly aggressive and recurrent brain tumour that remains one of the greatest challenges in oncology. While radiotherapy is a key component of GBM treatment, it often causes severe side effects such as cognitive decline, radiation necrosis, and vascular damage. Charged particle therapy offers improved dose precision and biological effectiveness by using high-energy protons or carbon ions. There is broad consensus, however, that heavier ions could further enhance tumour control in extremely resistant, hypoxic, and lethal tumours such as GBM, though their clinical use is limited by excessive normal tissue toxicity.

The recently discovered FLASH effect, achieved through ultra-high dose-rate (UHDR) irradiation, has demonstrated an unprecedented ability to spare healthy tissue while maintaining tumour control, thereby expanding the therapeutic window. Within the Biophysics department at GSI, the first demonstration of the FLASH effect with high-energy carbon ions was achieved, suggesting that UHDR irradiation with even heavier ions could be both safe and highly effective for resistant tumours.

Building on this foundation, the HI-FLASH project will investigate neon-ion (20Ne) FLASH therapy for GBM. Neon ions, with their higher linear energy transfer (LET) and relative biological effectiveness (RBE), are expected to deliver superior tumour control compared to lighter particles. We will compare survival, toxicity (via assessment of cognitive function), and tumour control in a GBM rat model between UHDR neon irradiation, conventional dose-rate treatment, and UHDR protons.

Please check out also our project’s website. If you have questions or if you are interested in a Master thesis, we are happy to receive your application.

Contact: J. Jansen (j,jansen(at)gsi.de) and K. Wen (kai.wen(at)stud.tu-darmstadt.de)