Sharpening the particle knife: The evolution of ultra-precise proton therapy Review
| Authors: | Choi, J. I.; Hasan, S.; Press, R. H.; Chhabra, A. M.; Simone, C. B. 2nd |
| Review Title: | Sharpening the particle knife: The evolution of ultra-precise proton therapy |
| Abstract: | Proton therapy (PT) has long been touted as a superior radiotherapy technology given its ability to stop dose at the distal end of the beam range, thereby better sparing normal tissues from unwanted irradiation dose compared with traditional photon therapy. While advantageous in theory, there is a limit to this superiority if the technology is not properly controlled and calibrated to account for a multitude of new factors that come into play when attempting to deliver radiation in such a precise manner. With a steady growth in proton centers being developed nationally and worldwide, it is of ever-increasing importance that the technology is delivered optimally. In the last several decades, proton technology has been refined, adjusted, and improved, advancing from passive scattering technology, to uniform scanning PT, to the most recent iteration of pencil beam scanning proton therapy (PBS-PT). Concomitantly, there have been adjunct advancements and technologies developed to support the continued refinement and precision of PT to allow for better targeting of increasingly complex tumors, including reduction in spot size, integration of volumetric on-board imaging (OBI), increased utilization of adaptive planning, improvements in motion management, development of optimization algorithms, and application of relative biologic effectiveness (RBE) and linear energy transfer (LET)-based planning, among others. These have allowed this ultra-precise form of radiotherapy to become ever-closer to reaching its full potential as the precision modality of choice in the field of radiation oncology for many disease presentations. © 2021 AME Publishing Company. All rights reserved. |
| Keywords: | radiation therapy; motion management; precision medicine; advanced technology; proton therapy (pt) |
| Journal Title: | Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology |
| Volume: | 5 |
| ISSN: | 2616-2768 |
| Publisher: | AME Publishing Company |
| Date Published: | 2021-03-01 |
| Start Page: | 3 |
| Language: | English |
| DOI: | 10.21037/tro-20-42 |
| PROVIDER: | scopus |
| DOI/URL: | |
| Notes: | Review -- Export Date: 2 August 2021 -- Source: Scopus |
Altmetric
Citation Impact
BMJ Impact Analytics
Related MSK Work