In the treatment of cancer patients, irradiation can be adapted anew each day to the position of the tumor and conditions in the body. Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI have now, for the first time, integrated such a workflow into everyday clinical practice in proton therapy—an important step in the individualization of therapy. The study is published in Physics in Medicine & Biology .
Every day, our body is a little bit different. The intestines are sometimes more full, sometimes less; sometimes there's more air rumbling in there, sometimes less. Yesterday the nose was clear—today you have to blow your nose often, and the sinuses are full of mucus.
Not to mention that many people lose or gain weight over time. Most of the differences that can be seen from one day to another are slight and occur on a scale of millimeters. "But for cancer patients who are irradiated with protons, even such small changes can have significant effects on the optimal radiation dose," says Francesca Albertini, medical physicist at PSI's Center for Proton Therapy.
More or less mucus, air, musculature, or fat—all that should be taken into account in calculating the treatment plan. In a worldwide first, PSI researchers have now succeeded for the first time in integrating this approach into daily clinical practice. This latest pioneering achievement of the Center for Proton Therapy in Villigen will now further improve an already excellent treatment.
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