Anisotropic Bladder Planning Target Volume in Bladder Radiation Therapy

Purpose

This study aimed to investigate 3 planning target volume (PTV) margin expansions and determine the most appropriate volume to be used in bladder preservation therapy when using daily cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). We aimed to establish whether a smaller PTV expansion is feasible without risking geographical miss.

Methods and materials

The study included patients with bladder cancer who were treated with a hypofractionated course of radiation therapy delivered with intensity modulated radiation therapy. The clinical target volume (CTV) was the whole empty bladder, and the PTV consisted of a 1.5-cm margin around the bladder (PTV_{1.5 cm}). Patients underwent daily CBCT imaging before treatment to assess the bladder volume and ensure accurate positioning. We investigated 2 additional smaller PTV margin expansions to determine the most appropriate volume to be used with CBCT as a daily image guided radiation therapy modality. These margins were created retrospectively on every CBCT. The first additional volume was a uniform PTV margin of the surrounding 1 cm (PTV1 cm). When considering that the majority of the internal bladder movement was due to the variation in filling that occurs in the superior and anterior directions, a second volume of an anisotropic PTV margin with a 1.5-cm superior/anterior and 1 cm in other directions (PTV1/1.5 cm) was created. We recorded the frequency and measured the volume of bladder falling out of each PTV based on the daily CBCT.

Results

For the purpose of this study, we considered an arbitrary 5 cm³ of CTV falling out of the designated PTV as a clinically significant volumetric miss. The frequency of such a miss when applying the uniform PTV1 cm was 1%. However, when applying the uniform PTV1.5 cm and anisotropic PTV1/1.5 cm margins, the frequency was 0.5% and 0.5%, respectively.

Conclusions

The anisotropic PTV expansion of 1.5 cm superiorly and anteriorly and 1 cm in all other directions around the bladder (CTV) provides a safe PTV approach when daily CBCT imaging is used to localize an empty bladder.