Tailoring radiation therapy for brain cancer treatment: A personal investigation

A University of Ottawa neuroscientist’s personal battle with cancer has inspired new research geared toward tailoring radiation treatment to reduce damage to the brain. The research is published in the journal Scientific Reports.

Cancer treatments—including radiation therapy—can have debilitating effects on patients, weakening the immune system and leading to memory and cognitive loss, physical diminishes and susceptibility to virus.

Jean-Philippe Thivierge has firsthand experience with these side effects.

Thivierge is now cancer free after overcoming a metastatic tumor. The experience helped push the professor from the School of Psychology to team up with radiologists from The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) to develop a platform for testing the effects of radiation therapy on thousands of brain cells simultaneously, providing an unprecedented window into how the brain reacts to cancer treatment.

“This work is meaningful to me as I received cancer treatment at The Ottawa Hospital and was seeking ways to use my expertise as a neuroscientist to improve the life of patients undergoing similar treatments,” says Thivierge, whose intensive treatment included 30 doses of radiation over six weeks at one point.

“The downside of higher doses is the healthy brain neurons may get damaged, so this work allows us to look into the details of brain circuits to see exactly what the effects of higher doses of radiation are and to find the right strategy to deliver a quick treatment without damaging the brain,” adds Thivierge, the Vice-Dean of Undergraduate Studies in the Faculty of Social Sciences,

While radiation therapy and stereotactic radiosurgery—focused radiation beams—are common treatments for brain malignancies, their impact on underlying neural circuits is poorly understood. This is particularly true in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), where neurons send signals that inform the cognitive processes. Understanding the impact of radiation on these circuits, which play a vital role in the brain’s memory, attention, and perception functions, and more, is important.

Thivierge collaborated with OHRI’s Dr. Vimoj Nair on this novel protocol, setting up the Cyberknife system to deliver high doses of radiation to animal models for various types of cancer. Examining the resulting samples provided key data for moving the project forward.

“This will help lay the groundwork to examining how substances like medication, diet, and cannabis interact with the brain during cancer treatment,” says Thivierge. “Ultimately, this will allow us to make recommendations to patients about what to do and what to avoid while undergoing radiation therapy,” says Thivierge.