Reliability of the bony anatomy in image-guided stereotactic radiotherapy of brain metastases

PURPOSE: To evaluate whether the position of brain metastases remains stable between planning and treatment in cranial stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT). METHODS AND MATERIALS: Eighteen patients with 20 brain metastases were treated with single-fraction (17 lesions) or hypofractionated (3 lesions) image-guided SRT. Median time interval between planning and treatment was 8 days. Before treatment a cone-beam CT (CBCT) and a conventional CT after application of i.v. contrast were acquired. Setup errors using automatic bone registration (CBCT) and manual soft-tissue registration of the brain metastases (conventional CT) were compared. RESULTS: Tumor size was not significantly different between planning and treatment. The three-dimensional setup error (mean +/- SD) was 4.0 +/- 2.1 mm and 3.5 +/- 2.2 mm according to the bony anatomy and the lesion itself, respectively. A highly significant correlation between automatic bone match and soft-tissue registration was seen in all three directions (r >/= 0.88). The three-dimensional distance between the isocenter according to bone match and soft-tissue registration was 1.7 +/- 0.7 mm, maximum 2.8 mm. Treatment of intracranial pressure with steroids did not influence the position of the lesion relative to the bony anatomy. CONCLUSION: With a time interval of approximately 1 week between planning and treatment, the bony anatomy of the skull proved to be an excellent surrogate for the target position in image-guided SRT.