Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33797840›Full record

ArticleJournal of applied clinical medical physics2021

Dosimetric impact of range uncertainty in passive scattering proton therapy.

Ruirui Liu, Baozhou Sun, Tiezhi Zhang, Jeffery F Williamson, Joseph A O'Sullivan, Tianyu Zhao

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of applied clinical medical physics, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.4field-weighted citation impact, top 36% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Current state of proton therapy for tumors of the central nervous system in Spain: physical bases, indications, controversies and perspectives.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2025
    Review
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Ruirui LiuDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5314-8477
Baozhou SunDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
Tiezhi ZhangDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7828-1031
Jeffery F WilliamsonDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
Joseph A O'SullivanDepartment of Electrical and Systems Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA.
Tianyu ZhaoDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
Washington University in St. Louis · US

Funding

QUANTITATIVE DUAL-ENERGY CT IMAGING FOR CANCER IMAGING AND RADIATION THERAPY APPLICATIONSR01CA212638 · NCI · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI O'SULLIVAN, JOSEPH A · 2017 to 2021
$2.3M
NCI NIH HHS R01 CA212638NIH HHS RO1 CA 212638
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeThe objective of this study was to investigate the dosimetric impact of range uncertainty in a large cohort of patients receiving passive scatter proton therapy.

methodsA cohort of 120 patients were reviewed in this study retrospectively, of which 61 were brain, 39 lung, and 20 prostate patients. Range uncertainties of ±3.5% (overshooting and undershooting by 3.5%, respectively) were added and recalculated on the original plans, which had been planned according to our clinical planning protocol while keeping beamlines, apertures, compensators, and dose grids intact. Changes in the coverage on CTV and DVH for critical organs were compared and analyzed. Correlation between dose change and minimal distance between CTV and critical organs were also investigated.

resultsAlthough CTV coverages and maximum dose to critical organs were largely maintained for most brain patients, large variations over 5% were still observed sporadically. Critical organs, such as brainstem and chiasm, could still be affected by range uncertainty at 4 cm away from CTV. Coverage and OARs in lung and prostate patients were less likely to be affected by range uncertainty with very few exceptions.

conclusionThe margin recipe in modern TPS leads to clinically acceptable OAR doses in the presence of range uncertainties. However, range uncertainties still pose a noticeable challenge for small but critical serial organs near tumors, and occasionally for large parallel organs that are located distal to incident proton beams.

Indexed as

Proton TherapyRadiotherapy, Intensity-ModulatedHumansMaleOrgans at RiskRadiotherapy DosageRadiotherapy Planning, Computer-AssistedRetrospective StudiesUncertaintydose calculationpassive scatter proton therapyproton range uncertaintyretrospective study

Identifiers

PMID33797840
PMCPMC8130244
OpenAlexW3141240147

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.