ESTRO 2025 - Abstract Book

S152

Invited Speaker

ESTRO 2025

4927

Speaker Abstracts Proton Arc Sophie Wuyckens Research, RaySearch Laboratories, Stockholm, Sweden

Abstract:

Proton arc therapy is the natural evolution of proton treatment delivery, just as volumetric modulated arc therapy was for photon treatment delivery. The proposed advantages of proton arc delivery are numerous, including improved dosimetry, enhanced radiobiological effectiveness, and a more streamlined treatment workflow. However, does this truly translate into a meaningful clinical impact? While it is still a bit early to answer, several in silico planning studies have shown promising results in terms of clinical outcomes for patients, including reduced normal tissue complication probabilities for specific endpoints and treatment sites. In fact, the planning results were so encouraging that proton arc therapy recently reached a major milestone with the treatment of the first head and neck cancer patients using static arcs at the Trento Proton Therapy Center. Nevertheless, this novel delivery mode also introduces software and hardware challenges that must be addressed to fully unlock its potential. The increased degrees of freedom in treatment planning can become a bottleneck, heavily relying on sophisticated algorithms and advanced computational methods to optimize treatment plans efficiently. On the hardware side, further upgrades are required to support this new technology. Looking ahead, the future of proton arc therapy is bright, with several exciting synergies with other emerging treatment modalities on the horizon.