A brief historical review is given of remote radiation therapy (RT), one of the main cancer treatment methods along with surgery and chemotherapy. Cellular mechanisms of radiation damage are described. Special attention is paid to hadron (proton and ion) therapy, its history, results, problems, challenges, current trends, and prospects. Undeniably great contributions to proton therapy were made by Russian researchers, notably at the experimental centers that operated since the mid last century at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, A.I. Alikhanov Institute for Theoretical and Experimental Physics (ITEP) and B.P. Konstantinov Petersburg Institute of Nuclear Physics. In the world's largest ITEP-hosted multiroom proton therapy center, a quarter of global clinical experience was accumulated by 1990.

Keywords: proton therapy, proton therapy facility, medical electron accelerator, proton cyclotron, proton synchrotron, proton synchrocyclotron, superconductivity, ion therapy, gantry, Bragg curve, radiation exposure, relative biological effectiveness, linear energy transfer PACS: 87.19.xj, 87.55.−x, 87.56.−v (all) DOI: 10.3367/UFNe.2016.06.037823 URL: https://ufn.ru/en/articles/2016/8/e/ 000388449500005 2-s2.0-84995553855 2016PhyU...59..807K Citation: Klenov G I, Khoroshkov V S "Hadron therapy: history, status, prospects" Phys. Usp. 59 807–825 (2016) BibTexBibNote ® (generic)BibNote ® (RIS)MedlineRefWorks Received: 1st, March 2016, revised: 7th, June 2016, accepted: 9th, June 2016 Оригинал: Клёнов Г И, Хорошков В С «Адронная лучевая терапия: история, статус, перспективы» УФН 186 891–911 (2016); DOI: 10.3367/UFNr.2016.06.037823