DOCTORS may one day be able to use X-rays to destroy the blood vessels that feed a brain tumour—without the debilitating side effects of current treatments. The trick is to blast the tumour with more than 20 ultrathin X-ray beams, instead of the single broad beam of conventional radiotherapy
Although these “microbeams” will also puncture healthy blood vessels, only those that feed the tumour become leaky and die. This is because cancer cells do not communicate with each other like healthy capillary cells, so cannot repair the gaps created by X-rays. (see Graphic). While the cancer cells die,…
