Adapting radiotherapy to brain cancer treatment: a personal investigation

A University of Ottawa neuroscientist’s personal battle with cancer has inspired new research aimed at tailoring radiation therapy to reduce brain damage. 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 impairments and susceptibility to viruses.

Jean-Philippe Thivierge has direct experience of these side effects.

Dr. Thivierge is now cured of a metastatic tumour. This experience prompted the School of Psychology professor to team up with radiologists at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) to develop a platform to simultaneously test the effects of radiation therapy on thousands of brain cells, providing an unprecedented perspective on how the brain responds to cancer treatment.

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

“The downside of higher doses is that healthy neurons in the brain can be damaged. So this work allows us to look in detail at brain circuits to see exactly what the effects of higher doses of radiation are and to find the right strategy to deliver treatment quickly without damaging the brain,” adds Thivierge, vice-dean of undergraduate studies in the Faculty of Social Sciences.

Radiation therapy and stereotactic radiosurgery (focused beams of radiation) are common treatments for malignant brain tumors, but their impact on underlying neural circuits is poorly understood. This is particularly true in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), where neurons send signals that inform cognitive processes. It is important to understand the impact of radiation on these circuits, which play a critical role in the brain’s memory, attention, and perception functions, among others.

Thivierge collaborated with Dr. Vimoj Nair of OHRI on this new protocol, developing the Cyberknife system to deliver high doses of radiation to animal models for various types of cancer. Examination of the resulting samples provided key data to move the project forward.

“This will lay the foundation for studying how substances like medications, diet and cannabis interact with the brain during cancer treatment,” Thivierge says. “Ultimately, this will allow us to make recommendations to patients about what they should do and what they should avoid during radiation therapy,” Thivierge adds.