Proton FLASH-arc therapy (PFAT): A feasibility study for meeting FLASH dose-rate requirements in the clinic

Background and purpose

Proton arc therapy and FLASH radiotherapy (FLASH-RT) each offer unique advantages in proton therapy. However, clinical translation of FLASH-RT faces challenges in defining and delivering high dose rates. We propose the use of proton FLASH-arc therapy (PFAT) to leverage the benefits of arc while addressing FLASH delivery concerns by spatially fractionating dose delivery to healthy tissue.

Materials and methods

Treatment plans for an abdominal phantom and a clinical brain case were designed in OpenTPS, using monoenergetic beams within a 360-degree gantry rotation. Beams were optimized to achieve target coverage while maximizing spatial fractionation in non-target regions. The temporal dose delivery to healthy-tissue voxels, or in specified organs-at-risk (OARs), was constrained via selective spot removal in the beamlets matrix. The dose, LET, number of spots per voxel, and voxel-wise average dose rate were calculated for each PFAT plan and compared to a corresponding IMPT scenario.

Results

PFAT plans demonstrated comparable dose conformity to IMPT, with LET hotspots shifted towards the target center. The number of spots influencing healthy-tissue voxels was reduced, leading to regions of substantially higher dose rates in many points outside the target. OAR dose-rate optimization in the brain plan resulted in dose rates exceeding 40 Gy/s in the majority of points in the brainstem.

Conclusion

The PFAT technique combines the advantages of FLASH and arc therapy, providing improved LET distributions and enhanced biological effect in the target, while achieving high dose rates in healthy tissue, thus reducing healthy tissue damage. This feasibility study demonstrates the capability of PFAT, setting the foundation for further optimization and application in diverse patient cases and complex geometries.