# Cargo Cult Radiotherapy: The Illusion of Precision in Advanced Technologies

**Authors:** Susannah G Ellsworth, Christopher Wilke

PMC · DOI: 10.7759/cureus.79005 · 2025-02-14

## TL;DR

The paper questions if advanced radiotherapy techniques truly offer precision benefits as claimed.

## Contribution

It challenges the assumptions behind precision radiotherapy and encourages critical evaluation of these technologies.

## Key findings

- Advanced radiotherapy techniques aim to improve outcomes through anatomical precision.
- The paper argues that the benefits of these techniques may be based on flawed assumptions.
- The goal is to stimulate debate rather than provide a comprehensive review.

## Abstract

Emerging radiotherapy technologies such as proton therapy, MR-guided radiotherapy, and real-time adaptive radiotherapy share a common goal of improving radiotherapy outcomes by increasing the anatomic precision of treatment delivery. In this piece, we provide a critical view of “precision radiotherapy” by examining the assumptions underlying the theory and practice of these techniques. Our goal was not to provide an exhaustive review of published literature; rather, we strove to write an accessible and thought-provoking article that would challenge conventional wisdom and stimulate further discussion and debate.

## Full-text entities

- **Diseases:** non-small-cell lung cancer (MESH:D002289), toxicities (MESH:D064420), testicular teratoma (MESH:C562472), damage (MESH:D020263), prostate cancer (MESH:D011471), parotid gland toxicity (MESH:D010309), small-cell lung cancer (MESH:D055752), colorectal cancer (MESH:D015179), melanoma (MESH:D008545), head and neck cancer (MESH:D006258), bladder cancer (MESH:D001749), cancer (MESH:D009369), pancreatic cancer (MESH:D010190)
- **Species:** Homo sapiens (human, species) [taxon 9606]

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC11911286