Advancing radiotherapy with deep Learning: A review of dose prediction models.

BACKGROUND: Artificial intelligence (AI), especially deep learning algorithms, holds significant promise in transforming radiation therapy by enabling more precise, personalized, and efficient treatment planning. In particular, deep learning models have demonstrated their utility in critical tasks such as dose prediction, helping to streamline complex processes and improve patient outcomes. METHODS: This paper provides a comprehensive review of recent research on deep learning applications for radiotherapy dose prediction, highlighting the architectures, datasets, and methodologies used. RESULTS: The review highlights the advancements in accuracy, efficiency, and robustness achieved by deep learning-based dose prediction models. These approaches help reduce treatment planning time and minimize human error, thereby improving clinical workflows. CONCLUSION: Deep learning offers promising solutions to enhance radiotherapy dose delivery. Future research should focus on developing the generalized dose prediction models, multi-institutional validation frameworks, explainable AI approaches for clinical trust, real-time adaptation capabilities, uncertainty quantification methods, and strategies for handling rare anatomical variations.