Positive perspectives from proton therapy

Abstract

In this issue of the Biomedical Journal, we take a look at some of the benefits of proton therapy, which is an emerging technique in cancer treatment and highlight an animal study, showing that a common fruit ripening agent is toxic when used in excessive doses. Finally, this issue includes reports that shed light on the genetics of stroke and childhood leukemia.

Validation of GATE Monte Carlo code for simulation of proton therapy using National Institute of Standards and Technology library data

“…The assigned geometry to the simulation code was a cubic water phantom with dimensions of 40 × 40 × 40 cm 3 . According to Figure 1, the axis of incident beam was selected to be z-axis.…”

“…Despite modern and advanced radiation therapy techniques, the control and treatment of benign tumours continue to be a major challenge in cancer treatment, necessitating the improvement of therapeutic techniques. In this regard, the introduction of new types of ionising beams is a promising achievement in the field of radiation therapy 3 …”

“…This makes proton therapy more efficient comparing traditional radiation therapy. Treatment planning with proton beams needs very precise dose calculation 3 . Accuracy of clinical proton beam delivery depends highly on accurate modeling of the proton range in body tissues.…”

“…In this regard, the introduction of new types of ionising beams is a promising achievement in the field of radiation therapy. 3 Cancer treatment with charged particle and high-energy beams of heavy ions, such as proton and carbon, is called 'Hadron therapy'. Robert Wilson investigated the depth dose profile of proton beams and observed that these particles deposited the greatest amount of energy right before a peak called the Bragg peak, due to their specific physics.…”

“…Treatment planning with proton beams needs very precise dose calculation. 3 Accuracy of clinical proton beam delivery depends highly on accurate modeling of the proton range in body tissues. Currently, the water phantom is the benchmark phantom most similar to the human body that is used for the quality control of the absorbed dose management.…”