In their recent review, Radiation Medicine at a Crossroads, published in The Royal College of Radiologists Open, Dr. Katz and Dr. Chalmers explore the scientific and historical perspectives that shaped the perception of radiation as dangerous at any dose.
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, as hospitals around the world scrambled to continue care, a surprising idea resurfaced: could low-dose radiation therapy (LDRT) be used to treat pneumonia caused by the virus?
The idea wasn’t new. Decades before antibiotics, researchers explored using low levels of radiation to calm inflammation in the lungs. In 2020, as the world faced a new respiratory illness without proven treatments, radiation oncologists, radiobiologists and clinical researchers revisited that history and debated whether LDRT could play a role.
While the arrival of vaccines and effective therapies for COVID-19 ultimately closed the door on clinical trials of LDRT for pneumonia, the debate sparked something larger: a chance to reconsider how radiation therapy might be used beyond cancer.
Drs. Katz and Chalmers argue that it’s time to ask harder questions about long-held assumptions and to explore the potential of LDRT in other conditions—including neurodegenerative, neuroinflammatory and autoimmune diseases as well as acute spinal cord injury.
“The controversy around low-dose radiation therapy for COVID-19 pneumonia challenged us to think differently,” said Dr. Katz. “It reminded us that radiation can have different biologic effects at different doses—and that we should be asking whether it can safely help patients in ways we haven’t fully considered.”
At Tufts Medicine, this forward-looking perspective reflects a broader mission: to combine rigorous science with compassionate care. By revisiting old ideas with new knowledge, there’s potential to discover safe, effective treatments that could benefit patients far beyond traditional oncology. It also stimulates new ideas and areas for research and clinical trials to ensure LDRT is evaluated rigorously.
