Biomedical Physics in Radiotherapy for Cancer

While there have been books on both physics, and radiobiology applied to radiotherapy published before, there is a lack of books presenting the two aspects of cancer treatment with radiation (as supported by clinical trials) in a single volume. In addition, none of the books currently available on the market, either on radiotherapy or radiobiology, provides any basic summary or evaluation of major clinical trials, and comprehensive updates on the latest trials are also not available. Radiobiology is the science behind radiotherapy, therefore this book presents the rationale for using radiation in various modalities and schedules for a diversity of tumours. Starting with an introduction to both radiotherapy and radiobiology, the book continues with the major aspects of radiotherapy (types of radiation, apparatus used in the treatment process, conventional treatment modalities, unconventional treatment methods, dosimetry) and radiobiology (biological effects of radiation, tumour characteristics and behaviour during treatment, normal tissue toxicity, models in radiobiology). Each chapter is designed with the three disciplines in mind, illustrating their relationship, explaining the basic science, showing the role of radiobiology in the development of radiotherapy and discussing evidence provided by clinical trials. Modern radiotherapy strongly relies on physics and technology when delivering radiation as well as on cell biology when assessing tumour and normal tissue response to radiation. The authors all lecture on these subjects (both undergraduate and postgraduate levels) and this book book will provide the required textbook. Additionally the authors also work in the clinical environment of a major teaching hospital where they have good hands-on experience. This clinical and technical know-how of individual physical, biological and clinical aspects of various radiotherapy treatment techniques will be included in the book.