Next Evolutions in Charged Particle Therapy

Over 150,000 patients have been treated to-date using particle therapy since its birth in the mid-20th century and recent efforts in radiation oncology research and development have seen a surge in clinical applications of charged particle beams. With advances in compact facility design and enhanced precision in dose delivery, proton and carbon ion centers are sprouting worldwide for patient treatment.

Consequently, the scientific literature related to particle beam applications in medicine is increasing exponentially. Understanding the physical phenomena, biological processes of radiation induced damage, their associated uncertainties and impact on clinical outcome remains a principal focus. Moreover, recent initiatives aim to transition the field into the next phase of novel treatment and delivery techniques for improved efficacy with reduced uncertainties and adverse side-effects.

This Research Topic will consider fundamental and translational research in physics, biology and medicine for charged particle therapy, with subjects for submission including (but not limited to) the following:

- Measurement and modeling of the physical and biological mechanisms of ion-beam induced effects, driving forward next-generation treatment concepts (e.g., novel beams, delivery techniques, multi-modality approaches, FLASH effect, combinatorial treatments with drugs such as radio-sensitizer/DNA repair inhibitors, etc.)
- Patient-specific and/or biologically-informed treatment planning and design via detection of biological markers, novel imaging techniques, etc.
- Novel dosimetry approaches and detectors towards modernizing clinical methods and understanding physical and biological uncertainties specific to particle therapy

- Acceleration and delivery techniques for efficient and robust treatments using charged particles, e.g. emerging topics in particle acceleration, arc, ultra-high dose rate, multi-ion delivery, and image-guidance.
- Accurate, efficient and novel robust treatment planning optimization strategies (novel ions, LET, TCP/NTCP models, etc.)
- Advanced imaging techniques for improving clinical oncology practice (e.g. DECT, MRI-based plan, ion-CT/radiography)
- Neural network, artificial intelligence, deep learning and quantum computing in particle therapy. 

In this collection, the bridging of modern-day oncology research, to the future clinical reality is addressed. Topics can focus on preclinical or clinical investigations (physics, biology, and medical contributions) in particle therapy, with light and heavy ion beams, including proton, helium, carbon, oxygen, neon, etc. Original research, perspective articles, reviews, short communications and technical notes in particle therapy are welcomed.

Please note: manuscripts consisting solely of bioinformatics or computational analysis of public genomic or transcriptomic databases which are not accompanied by validation (independent cohort or biological validation in vitro or in vivo) are out of scope for this section and will not be accepted as part of this Research Topic.