The importance of standardisation and challenges of dosimetry in conventional preclinical radiation biology research

Abstract To fully exploit the prospects presented by the increasing focus on biological approaches for enhancing radiotherapy outcomes, improvements in repeatability and translatability of radiobiological and preclinical studies are required. This requires the development and adoption of appropriate dosimetric standards and reproducible approaches to increase confidence in the studies, enabling inter-laboratory validation and facilitating clinical translation. An IPEM Working-Party reviewed the current status and challenges associated with dosimetry of medium-energy X-rays and make recommendations with the aim to optimize the potential clinical significance of radiobiological preclinical investigations. The paper discusses the currently available resources with technical recommendations for performing dosimetry in medium-energy X-rays, along with the consequences of lack of standardization and implications of dose inhomogeneity. It is clear that there is still a gap in understanding the needs for standardisation of dosimetric aspects of preclinical and radiobiological studies. It is recommended that these radiobiology studies should be conducted in partnership with medical/radiation physicists. This collaboration ensures the correct utilization of suitable dosimetry systems, thus guaranteeing accuracy and consistency of dose delivery. Appropriate calibration and traceability to national/international standards laboratory, along with regular quality assurance of radiation devices are paramount to reproducibility. Additionally, it is critical that experimental details and associated dosimetry are sufficiently reported to ensure accurate replication that enables reanalysis including evaluation of dose distributions. Increasing awareness among the researchers and the funding bodies was identified as a crucial step to improve translatability and appropriate resources are budgeted to increase the value for money of research proposals. Advances in knowledge: The proposed recommendations will serve as a vital resource for researchers, encouraging uniformity in experimental design and improving the translatability of preclinical research to clinical settings.