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BGRT: Biologically guided radiation therapy—The future is fast approaching!
Author(s) -
Stewart Robert D.,
Li X. Allen
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
medical physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.473
H-Index - 180
eISSN - 2473-4209
pISSN - 0094-2405
DOI - 10.1118/1.2779861
Subject(s) - radiation therapy , medical physics , dosimetry , biological effect , medical imaging , biological imaging , image guided radiation therapy , medicine , nuclear medicine , physics , radiology , optics , fluorescence , endocrinology
Rapid advances in functional and biological imaging, predictive assays, and our understanding of the molecular and cellular responses underpinning treatment outcomes herald the coming of the long‐sought goal of implementing patient‐specific biologically guided radiation therapy (BGRT) in the clinic. Biological imaging and predictive assays have the potential to provide patient‐specific, three‐dimensional information to characterize the radiation response characteristics of tumor and normal structures. Within the next decade, it will be possible to combine such information with advanced delivery technologies to design and deliver biologically conformed, individualized therapies in the clinic. The full implementation of BGRT in the clinic will require new technologies and additional research. However, even the partial implementation of BGRT treatment planning may have the potential to substantially impact clinical outcomes.