The favorable geometric situation for α-particles in small-scale metastases (e.g., in the adjuvant setting) is depicted in a scanning electron microscopy micrograph of micro-metastatic clusters from ovarian cancer on the peritoneal lining (mouse). The range of the α-particles in red (here ~50–70 μm), can hardly reach the surrounding normal healthy cells other than possibly the mesothelium and its sub-layer. They cannot reach the epithelial cells of the intestinal lining. The situation for β− particles on the other hand, shows that a great deal of its energy will be deposited far away from the binding site and possibly into healthy tissue as demonstrated by the white dashed line (here ~700 μm). Consequently, it may add to side effects. Bar equals 100 μm.