Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) has emerged as an important innovative treatment for various primary and metastatic cancers. This book provides a comprehensive and up-to-date account of the physical/technological, biological, and clinical aspects of SBRT. It will serve as a detailed resource for this rapidly developing treatment modality. The organ sites covered include lung, liver, spine, pancreas, prostate, adrenal, head and neck, and female reproductive tract. Retrospective studies and prospective clinical trials on SBRT for various organ sites from around the world are examined, and toxicities and normal tissue constraints are discussed. This book features unique insights from world-renowned experts in SBRT from North America, Asia, and Europe. It will be necessary reading for radiation oncologists, radiation oncology residents and fellows, medical physicists, medical physics residents, medical oncologists, surgical oncologists, and cancer scientists.

Proton Therapy Physics goes beyond current books on proton therapy to provide an in-depth overview of the physics aspects of this radiation therapy modality, eliminating the need to dig through information scattered in the medical physics literature. After tracing the history of proton therapy, the book summarizes the atomic and nuclear physics background necessary for understanding proton interactions with tissue. It describes the physics of proton accelerators, the parameters of clinical proton beams, and the mechanisms to generate a conformal dose distribution in a patient. The text then covers detector systems and measuring techniques for reference dosimetry, outlines basic quality assurance and commissioning guidelines, and gives examples of Monte Carlo simulations in proton therapy. The book moves on to discussions of treatment planning for single- and multiple-field uniform doses, dose calculation concepts and algorithms, and precision and uncertainties for nonmoving and moving targets. It also examines computerized treatment plan optimization, methods for in vivo dose or beam range verification, the safety of patients and operating personnel, and the biological implications of using protons from a physics perspective. The final chapter illustrates the use of risk models for common tissue complications in treatment optimization. Along with exploring quality assurance issues and biological considerations, this practical guide collects the latest clinical studies on the use of protons in treatment planning and radiation monitoring. Suitable for both newcomers in medical physics and more seasoned specialists in radiation oncology, the book helps readers understand the uncertainties and limitations of precisely shaped dose distribution.

This volume is the first comprehensive and practical clinical reference on proton and charged particle radiotherapy. The first half of the book explains the treatment delivery systems used, offers detailed guidance on treatment planning techniques, examines key clinical issues in proton radiotherapy, and reviews recent experience with heavier charged particle radiotherapy. The second half of the book offers "how-to" information on treatment of pediatric tumors, lymphomas, and tumors of the central nervous system, eye, skull base, cervical spine, bone and soft tissue, paranasal sinus, nasal cavity, nasopharynx, oropharynx, oral cavity, salivary glands, prostate, lung, gastrointestinal tract, female reproductive tract, and breast. More than 100 full-color illustrations complement the text.

Treatment Planning and Dose Calculation in Radiation Oncology, Third Edition describes the treatment methods and technical guides as models of contemporary radiation therapy. These models should be modified for each individual patient to yield a best fit to the disease being treated and the radiation sources employed. This book is composed of seven chapters, and begins with an overview of the elements of clinical radiation oncology. The subsequent chapter deals with the production, interaction, and measurement of radiation. These topics are followed by intensive discussions of dose calculation for external beams and pretreatment procedures of radiation therapy. A chapter looks into the principles, apparatus, and dose calculation in brachytherapy. The final chapters describe the principles and practical applications of treatment planning. This book will be of value to radiation oncologists.

This handbook is designed to enable radiation oncologists to treat patients appropriately and confidently by means of particle therapy. The orientation and purpose are entirely practical, in that the focus is on the physics essentials of delivery and treatment planning , illustration of the clinical target volume (CTV) and associated treatment planning for each major malignancy when using particle therapy, proton therapy in particular. Disease-specific chapters provide guidelines and concise knowledge on CTV selection and delineation and identify aspects that require the exercise of caution during treatment planning. The treatment planning techniques unique to proton therapy for each disease site are clearly described, covering beam orientation, matching/patching field techniques, robustness planning, robustness plan evaluation, etc. The published data on the use of particle therapy for a given disease site are also concisely reported. In addition to fully meeting the needs of radiation oncologists, this "know why" and “know how” guide to particle therapy will be valuable for medical physicists, dosimetrists, and radiation therapists.