Principles and Practice of Proton Beam Therapy

Commissioned by The American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) for their June 2015 Summer School, Proton Therapy: Physical Principles and Practice, this is the first AAPM monograph printed in full colour. Proton therapy has been used in radiation therapy for over 70 years, but within the last decade its use in clinics has grown exponentially. This book fills in the proton therapy gap by focusing on the physics of proton therapy, including beam production, proton interactions, biology, dosimetry, treatment planning, quality assurance, commissioning, motion management, and uncertainties. Chapters are written by the world's leading medical physicists who work at the pioneering proton treatment centers around the globe. They share their understandings after years of experience treating thousands of patients. Case studies involving specific cancer treatments show that there is some art to proton therapy as well as state-of-the-art science. Even though the focus lies on proton therapy, the content provided is also valuable to heavy charged particle therapy. The book is tailored mainly to clinical physicists, who might use this as a textbook in the fast-growing field of proton therapy. Furthermore, this book provides up-to-date references to the scientific literature on each aspect of proton therapy covered in its 28 chapters. The book also includes an appendix of proton therapy nomenclature.