Point: The linear-quadratic model is an appropriate methodology for determining iso-effective doses at large doses per fraction

摘要

The tool most commonly used for quantitative predictions of dose / fractionation dependencies in radiotherapy is the mechanistically-based linear-quadratic (LQ) model. The LQ formalism is now almost universally used for calculating radiotherapeutic isoeffect doses for different fractionation/protraction schemes. In summary, LQ has the following useful properties for predicting isoeffect doses: First, it is a mechanistic, biologically-based model; second, it has sufficiently few parameters to be practical; third, most other mechanistic models of cell killing predict the same fractionation dependencies as does LQ; fourth, it has well documented predictive properties for fractionation/dose-rate effects in the laboratory; fifth, it is reasonably well validated, experimentally and theoretically, up to about 10 Gy / fraction, and would be reasonable for use up to about 18 Gy per fraction. To date, there is no evidence of problems when LQ has been applied in the clinic.