Overview
Purpose: The electronbeamtherapy.com web site is intended to provide educational materials for instructors, students, and trainees, as well as practicing clinicians and researchers, in radiation oncology. These include:
This web site was motivated by a perceived lack of adequate education and clinical training of radiation oncology professionals in electron beam radiotherapy, which could result in electron beam therapy being avoided when it offers the best personalized therapy or being used suboptimally when it is the most effective, efficient, and/or cost-effective radiotherapy modality for a specific patient’s treatment.
Content: The web site contains many components aimed at educating the user.
History: Through the years, many clinical and research professionals in radiation oncology have contributed to the current knowledge and practice of electron beam therapy. One of the major sites that has contributed to the body of knowledge is The University of Texas M D Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) at Houston. Initial clinical efforts there were led by radiation oncologist Norah duV Tapley, MD and medical physicist Peter R. Almond, PhD (Tapley 1976, “Clinical Applications of the Electron Beam,” Wiley-Biomedical). Tapley’s textbook presents both electron and mixed (electron + x-ray) beam therapy in the head, neck, breast, post-mastectomy chest wall, extremities, and other sites. Dr. Almond contributed to early research and development of clinical dosimetry for electron beams, particularly in methods of dose calibration and measurement. In 1979, Dr. Almond recruited Kenneth R. Hogstrom, PhD to develop dose calculations in patient heterogeneous tissue. By 1982, MDACC had implemented CT scanning for treatment planning and developed the first CT-based, electron pencil-beam dose algorithm that became available on the General Electric (GE) RT/Plan treatment planning system. During the 1980s, MDACC researched and developed new or refined existing (1) treatment techniques for craniospinal, total skin, total limb, and total scalp irradiation, (2) arc therapy dose algorithms for the GE Target treatment planning system, (3) beam collimating systems for Siemens that included modified fixed applicators, a variable electron applicator, arc electron collimators, cones for a dedicated Siemens intraoperative accelerator, and a prototype electron multileaf collimator, (4) tungsten eyeshields for electron beams, and (5) multiple central-axis dose measurement and calculation techniques incorporated into AAPM Task Group 21 & 25 Reports.
In 1986, Dr. Hogstrom recruited Dr. George Starkshcall, who led the development of the MDACC 3D treatment planning system COPPERPlan (Computer Optimization and Planning of Photon and Electron Radiotherapy Planning); Dr. Starkschall was essential in implementing the pencil-beam and redefinition pencil-beam electron dose algorithms and bolus electron conformal therapy into COPPERPlan by the early 1990s. In 1990, Dr. Hogstrom hired John • Data (Machine Dosimetry): Generic central-axis dosimetry data in water (depth dose, output factors, and air gap factors) for multiple machine manufacturers is intended to provide typical data that can be used for dosimetry problems, for developing and testing educational software, and for developing and testing research methods. • Data (Algorithm Verification): Publicly available measured data sets are available for evaluating dose algorithms in homogeneous and heterogeneous phantoms both without and with compensating bolus. • Vendor Products: This page will provide links to vendor products that are specific to electron beam therapy. • Questions and Answers: This page will allow the user to ask questions and to access questions of others. Responses (opinions of experts in the field) will be publicly available. Antolak, PhD, to assist in further developing the electron therapy program, particularly in the areas of bolus electron conformal therapy and total skin electron therapy.
In parallel to this 30+ years of research and development, Dr. Almond developed and directed an MDACC continuing education course on high energy electron and x-ray beams. In 1985, Dr. Hogstrom became the course director, and in 2001, Drs. Almond and Hogstrom together taught in the 30th and final offering of the course. Lecture materials at the end of this course provided the foundation for many subsequent lectures by Drs. Hogstrom and Antolak, which constitute the bedrock for this web site.
About the Contributors: