Trends in Physics Contributions to the 'Red Journal': A 30-year Journey and Comparison to Global Trends

In this study, we catalogued physics contributions in the Red Journal over the past three decades and compared publication trends with global publication trends.

We used the website of the Red Journal (International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, and Physics) to access physics contributions published between 1988 and 2017. The contributions were catalogued following taxonomy guidelines endorsed by the American Association of Physicists in Medicine. From each issue, publications classified as "Physics Contributions" or as "Technical Innovations" or listed a physicist as one of the primary authors was indexed. Results are presented using descriptive statistics; chi-square [Formula: see text]² testing were utilized to examine trends in contributions over 10-year time intervals. For global trend comparison of Red Journal physics contributions, we utilized PubMed database to obtain publication counts on the topics of interest.

A total of 2,852 physics contributions were indexed (86 volumes and 436 issues). Overall, 76% of contributions were photon-beam therapy applications, 15% brachytherapy, 7% particle-beam therapy, and 3% electron-beam therapy. [Formula: see text]² analyses revealed significant changes in this distribution over time (p<0.001). Brachytherapy accounted for 23% of publications in the first decade, compared to 7% in the third decade. Particle beam therapy accounted for 4% of publications in the first decade and 12% in the third decade. Among treatment techniques, three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT) accounted for 64% of contributions in the first decade, compared to 3% in the third decade. Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT)/volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) accounted for 4% in the first decade, compared to 54% in the third decade. Significant increases in the proportions of studies focused on motion management, functional imaging for treatment planning, and radiation safety/quality assurance during the third decade were observed (p<0.001).

Trends of physics publications in the Red Journal and globally, in general, largely mirror technological advances in the field of radiation oncology. These changes reflect a technological transition in the field over three decades from beam's-eye-view designed static treatment ports to functional imaging and knowledge-based treatment planning with biological dose optimization and real-time tumor tracking.