Bringing FLASH to the Clinic: Treatment Planning Considerations for Ultrahigh Dose-Rate Proton Beams

摘要

Purpose: Preclinical research into ultrahigh dose rate (eg, >= 40 Gy/s) "FLASH"-radiation therapy suggests a decrease in side effects compared with conventional irradiation while maintaining tumor control. When FLASH is delivered using a scanning proton beam, tissue becomes subject to a spatially dependent range of dose rates. This study systematically investigates dose rate distributions and delivery times for proton FLASH plans using stereotactic lung irradiation as the paradigm.