Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40703092›Full record

ArticlePhysics and imaging in radiation oncology2025

Hybrid proton planning combining spread-out Bragg peak beams with transmission beams to shorten field delivery times while maintaining plan quality.

Roni Hytönen, Reynald Vanderstraeten, Wilko F A R Verbakel

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Physics and imaging in radiation oncology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
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

3 authors.

Roni HytönenVarian, a Siemens Healthineers Company, Helsinki, Finland.
Reynald VanderstraetenVarian, a Siemens Healthineers Company, Brussels, Belgium.
Wilko F A R VerbakelVarian, a Siemens Healthineers Company, Palo Alto, CA, United States.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background and purpose: Delivery times of Bragg-peak-based intensity-modulated proton therapy fields play an important role in patient throughput and comfort. Despite the associated exit dose, single-layer proton transmission beams benefit from sharper penumbras and are extremely fast to deliver. In this study, we investigated the trade-offs in field delivery times (FDT) and plan quality when using both field types. Materials and methods: Reference treatment plans were created for eight left-sided breast and ten oropharynx cancer patients using an in-house automatic iterative optimizer. Comparative hybrid plans were created for each case. For breast, different combinations of transmission and conventional beams were evaluated. For oropharynx, two of the three conventional beams were replaced with six transmission beams. Hybrid plans were evaluated by comparing the dose metrics and FDT against the reference plans. Results: Hybrid breast plans exhibited mean and maximum organ at risk (OAR) doses, and target dose homogeneity and conformity comparable to the reference plans, while their FDTs decreased by median (interquartile range) of 58 %/166 s (56-61 %). Compared to reference plans, hybrid oropharynx plans exhibited higher mean OAR dose especially to oral cavity (median of 34 Gy vs 31 Gy) and spinal cord (20 Gy vs 11 Gy), while FDTs decreased by 73 %/91 s (71-73 %). Discussion: Depending on the case, hybrid planning can significantly reduce total FDT with only limited impact on plan quality. The reduced total FDT can improve patient comfort, reduce overall duration of the treatment, and improve beam scheduling at multi-room centers.

Indexed as

Head and neck cancerLeft sided breast cancerProton therapyTreatment efficiency

Identifiers

PMID40703092
PMCPMC12284364

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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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.