Accuracy strategies in radiotherapy

Abstract

Radiotherapy is one of the most effective modalities for the treatment of cancer. Is it possible to increase its effectiveness? It is well known that there is a high degree of uncertainty associated with the target volume of most cancer sites. The sources of these uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the uncertainty involved in the delivery of the therapeutical dose, the delineation of the target volume, patient setup errors, the motion of the target, and patient movements. Such uncertainties will always influence the accuracy of radiotherapy. It is assumed that this directly has an impact on the effectiveness of radiotherapy. In order to develop strategies to improve the accuracy and hence effectiveness of radiotherapy it is therefore first needed to assess required and achievable uncertainties of all steps involved. Only based on such data strategies for improvements can be developed. © 2009 Springer Science + Business Media B.V.