Workshop Report for Cancer Research: Defining the Shades of Gy: Utilizing the Biological Consequences of Radiotherapy in the Development of New Treatment Approaches—Meeting Viewpoint

Abstract

The ability to physically target radiotherapy using image-guidance is continually improving with photons and particle therapy that include protons and heavier ions such as carbon. The unit of dose deposited is the gray (Gy); however, particle therapies produce different patterns of ionizations, and there is evidence that the biological effects of radiation depend on dose size, schedule, and type of radiation. This National Cancer Institute (NCI)–sponsored workshop addressed the potential of using radiation-induced biological perturbations in addition to physical dose, Gy, as a transformational approach to quantifying radiation.