Improving the quality, efficiency and robustness of radiation therapy planning and delivery through mathematical optimization

Radiation therapy is an established cancer treatment which exploits ionizing radiation to harm tumourous cells. As radiation can pass through healthy tissue to reach the tumour, this treatment is particularly useful in the case of deep-seated tumours. However, it inevitably yields exposure of the healthy tissue to radiation. One can limit this exposure through the design of the treatment plan, i.e., the choice of beam location, beam intensities, delivery duration, beam collimation, and many more degrees of freedom. The treatment plan needs to be designed in such a way that the tumour receives a therapeutic dose, while limiting the dose to the surrounding healthy organs. This dissertation covers various topics in radiation therapy treatment plan optimization, and aims to improve the quality, efficiency and robustness of radiation therapy planning and delivery through mathematical optimization.