Comparison of organ-at-risk sparing and plan robustness for spot-scanning proton therapy and volumetric modulated arc photon therapy in head-and-neck cancer

摘要

Purpose: Proton radiotherapy for head-and-neck cancer (HNC) aims to improve organ-at-risk (OAR) sparing over photon radiotherapy. However, it may be less robust for setup and range uncertainties. The authors investigated OAR sparing and plan robustness for spot-scanning proton planning techniques and compared these with volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) photon plans.