Introduction to Mathematical Oncology

Chapter 11

Radiation Therapy

11.1 Introduction

On December 28, 1895, Wilhelm Röntgen (often spelled “Roentgen” in English) presented to the Physical Society of Würzburg a report detailing his discovery of a type of extraordinary new rays. These rays were capable of passing through black cardboard to light a paper, coated in barium platinocyanide, with a “brilliant fluorescence.” These unknown “X-rays” (so named since x is often the unknown variable) passed through all materials, but with varying permeabilities that related loosely to the materials’ density, biological materials included; in Röntgen’s original report:1

If the hand be held before the fluorescent screen, the shadow shows the bones clearly with only faint outlines of the surrounding ...