C. Norman Coleman, MD

On November 30–December 2, 2006, the Radiation Research Program of the Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) hosted a workshop entitled “Advanced Technologies in Radiation Oncology: Evaluating the Current Status and Future Potential of Proton and Other Heavy Charged-Particle Radiation Therapy, Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy and Stereotactic Radiation Therapy.”

The entry of new technology into medical practice is complex. New technology in radiation oncology includes advances in imaging (including anatomic and molecular/functional imaging) and radiation therapy planning and delivery involving intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), stereotactic radiation therapy (SRT), and therapy with particles such as protons and carbon ions.

The explosion of new knowledge about radiation sensitivity and radiation biology is such that even the scholarly, relatively extensive review of the subject authored by Drs. Rosen, Fan, Goldberg, and Rockwell covers but a small proportion of this vast, complex topic.

Improved understanding of the underlying biologic mechanisms that pertain to radiation oncology is providing an explanation for the cellular and tissue responses to ionizing radiation and is leading to the potential for novel