This handbook is designed to enable radiation oncologists to treat patients appropriately and confidently by means of particle therapy. The orientation and purpose are entirely practical, in that the focus is on the physics essentials of delivery and treatment planning, illustration of the clinical target volume (CTV) and associated treatment planning for each major malignancy when using particle therapy, proton therapy in particular. Disease-specific chapters provide guidelines and concise knowledge on CTV selection and delineation and identify aspects that require the exercise of caution during treatment planning. The treatment planning techniques unique to proton therapy for each disease site are clearly described, covering beam orientation, matching/patching field techniques, robustness planning, robustness plan evaluation, etc. The published data on the use of particle therapy for a given disease site are also concisely reported. In addition to fully meeting the needs of radiation oncologists, this "know why" and "know how" guide to particle therapy will be valuable for medical physicists, dosimetrists, and radiation therapists.

Nancy Lee, MD:As a board-certified radiation oncologist, Dr. Lee's expertise is using intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) to treat patients with thyroid and other head and neck cancers. Using this advanced form of 3D conformal radiotherapy, the goals are twofold - improving patients' outcomes and decreasing the side effects of treatment. Oren Cahlon, MD:Dr. Cahlon is a board-certified radiation oncologist whose clinical practice is primarily focused on breast cancer. As part of a multi-disciplinary team of breast cancer experts, he works with colleagues to identify the optimal treatment approach for each patient. At Memorial Sloan Kettering, they use the most modern radiation techniques, including prone treatment, deep inspiratory breath hold, partial breast irradiation, intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and proton therapy to deliver the most precise form of radiation. Guoliang Jiang, MD, Shanghai Proton and Heavy Ion Center, Department of Radiation Oncology, Shanghai, China Kevin Sine, MD, Procure Proton Therapy Center, Department of Medical Dosimetry, Somerset, NJ, USA Jiade J. Lu, MD, Shanghai Proton and Heavy Ion Center, Department of Radiation Oncology, Shanghai, China Jonathan Leeman, MD, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Department of Radiation Oncology, New York, NY, USA Stefan Both, PhD, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Department of Medical Physics, New York, NY, USA