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scientific laboratory Public Information Office OI M wnruw oc UL WO IMI NOTE: Thio release is being issued siaultaneouoly by IASL and t h e lRJH NB Bureau. For additional in for nation contact Margie Taylor at (505) 277-6464 i n Albuquerque, N.M. TEST RESULTS REPORTED Lo8 Al-s-;”N.M. Preliminary results of the first tests of t h e on human tumors and normal skin have been reported at a meeting i n San Juan, Puerto Rico. The teat. were conducted lart fall at the Clinton P. Anderson Lo8 Alamos Meson Physics Facility (UMPF) by the staff of the University of New Mexico Cancer Research and Treatment Center, i n cooperation with the Los Alamos (N.H.) Scientific Laboratory (LASL). Patients who received radiation to tumor nodules in the skin have been under observation since the tests ended on December 19, 1974. vere irradiated vith low doses of conventional x-rays, while others were irradiated with low doses of p i mesons (or “pions”).
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Test Results Reported radiation. Their path i s called the "plateau region." However, as each pion slows damto stop, it is pulled into the nucleus o f an atom. This makes the nucleus unstable, and it explodes, releasing large nuclear fragments that deposit dense radiation. This is referred t o as the creation o f a pion "star," and the stopping region is called the "peak region." By regulating the "peiik region" t o correspond w i t h the area of a tunor, medical scientists hope t o deliver Greater damage t o tumors, while sparing nom1 surrounding tissues i n the plateau region from high doses Dr. Kligennsn cautioned against applying the results of these tests t o other types of body tissue. Each type of body tissue and tumor tissue reacts differently t o radiation, and extensive tests must be done t o see how pions will affect other kinds o f tissues. The series of tests performed on skin nodules will be repeated w f t h other patients t o collect additional data when the pion biomedical channel is reactivated I n the late suamer. Tests will then gradually progress t o include nodules i n the lymph nodes of the neck and i n the lungs, and from there t o include lamer tumors i n other sites of the body. The research program, supported by a grant to the UIM Cancer Center from the National Cancer Institute, Division of Research Resources and Centers, is expected t o take several years. The operation of the proton accelerator is funded by the Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA), Co-authors of the paper presented i n San Juan are Dr. Kligerman,