Adaptive radiation therapy (ART) is a close-cycle radiation therapy using various measurements’feedback to modify the initial plan. It intends to improve radiation therapy by systematically control the variations during the course of treatment and use them to reoptimize the initial plan. In this process, beam field and delivery dose should be routinely customized to each individual patient so that they can achieve a much safer dose escalation. This paper introduces the background and basic concept of ART, and discusses the basic ART method, as well as their advantages and disadvantages by analyzing the application of off-line and on-line ART programs in recent years. Its application in nasopharyngeal carcinoma, cervical cancer, and prostate cancer is reviewed, and the feasibility and effectiveness of a variety of hardware and software technologies are discussed. The current research achievement has demonstrated the value of ART in tumor treatment. Future research direction may be oriented to improvement of its technical specifications and clinical application.

tumor radiotherapy  /  adaptive radiation therapy technology  /  re-planning