Comparison of intensity modulated photon therapy and intensity modulated proton therapy plans for prostate cancer

Abstract

Nowadays, traditional radiation therapy using x-rays is still the most common type of external exposure in curing cancer. However, the persisting problem is that significant dose delivered to normal tissues because of the characteristics of interaction of photons with matter even with the most advanced delivery techniques such as IMRT, IGRT, etc. Proton therapy is not only the technique producing better conformity to target but also better sparing to organs at risk. In this work, intensity modulated proton therapy (IMPT) and intensity modulated photon therapy (IMRT) plans are generated for a prostate patient. The evaluation and comparison of the two treatment plans were performed in term of physical quantity based on Dose Volume Histogram (DVH) and dose statistics for both target and organs at risk. The results of our study show that IMPT could be beneficial compared to IMRT with 5 fields. The doses to intestine and bladder are low resulting in possibly reducing side effects and second malignancies