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Overview

It is a common practice to use a Relative Biological Effectiveness (RBE) of 1.1 when planning treatments and analyzing outcomes for proton therapy, even though it is known that the RBE varies across the spread-out Bragg peak. Since some claim that it is now possible to estimate RBE values throughout the treated volume, however, it has been suggested that this practice is no longer appropriate. This is the premise debated in this month's Point/Counterpoint.

Arguing for the Proposition is Jakob Ödén, M.Sc. Mr. Ödén is a Ph.D. student in Medical Radiation Physics at Stockholm University in collaboration with RaySearch Laboratories. He studied undergraduate physics and medical physics at Stockholm University and conducted his M.Sc. thesis at the University of Maryland in 2011. Following this, he worked at Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm as a medical physicist and was also a member of the physics group in the commissioning of the Swedish proton center. He started his doctoral studies in 2015 with a research project focused on multifactorial plan selection accounting for radiation quality, fractionation, individual biological features, and dose. So far, he has published six papers in peer-reviewed journals.

Arguing against the Proposition is Paul M. DeLuca Jr., Ph.D. Dr. DeLuca received a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics and Mathematics in 1966 from LeMoyne College, Syracuse, NY and a doctorate in Nuclear Physics from the University of Notre Dame in 1971. In the same year, he joined the University of Wisconsin–Madison as a Research Associate and in 1975, he was appointed as the faculty of the Department of Radiology. He served as Chair of the Department of Medical Physics from 1987 to 1998 and held appointments as Professor in the Departments of Medical Physics, Radiology, Human Oncology, Engineering Physics, and Physics. In 1999, he assumed a role in the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health as Associate Dean for research and graduate studies, and his administrative role was expanded in 2001 with his appointment as Vice Dean. In 2008, Dr. DeLuca was appointed as the first Rennebohm Research Professor and served as Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs from 2009 to 2014, thence assuming his current position of Provost Emeritus and Emeritus Professor of Medical Physics. Dr. DeLuca is an internationally recognized expert in high energy particle radiation effects on humans and is currently Vice Chairman of the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements.

Author information

Ödén J1,2, DeLuca PM Jr.3, Orton CG.
1
Department of Physics, Medical Radiation Physics, Stockholm University, S-171 76, Stockholm, Sweden.
2
RaySearch Laboratories, S-111 34, Stockholm, Sweden.
3
Department of Medical Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 53705-2275, USA.