Relative Biological Effectiveness-Clinical Practice at US Proton Therapy Centers.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

Proton therapy, with its high conformality and superior dose distribution, is becoming an increasingly prevalent modality in radiation oncology. Although a generic relative biological effectiveness (RBE) value of 1.1 for treatment planning has been adopted, evidence suggests that RBE varies with dose, linear energy transfer (LET), and biological endpoints. This variation raises concerns about underestimating the RBE-weighted dose, which may significantly impact treatment outcomes. To assess the awareness and management of RBE variability in clinical practice, we conducted a survey among US proton therapy centers.

Materials and methods

The survey consisted of 32 questions grouped into subtopics, such as awareness of RBE variability, practices to account for variabilit

SUBMITTER: Luhr A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12686715 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature