A comparative dosimetric study on tangential photon beams,intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and modulated electron radiotherapy (MERT) for breast cancer treatment

Recently, energy- and intensity-modulated electron radiotherapy (MERT) has garnered a growing interest for the treatment of superficial targets. In this work. we carried out a comparative dosimetry study to evaluate MERT, photon beam intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and conventional tangential photon beams for the treatment of breast cancer. A Monte Carlo based treatment planning system has been investigated, which consists of a set of software tools to perform accurate dose calculation, treatment optimization, leaf sequencing and plan analysis. We have compared breast treatment plans generated using this home-grown treatment optimization and dose calculation software forthese treatment techniques. The MERT plans were planned with up to two gantry angles and four nominal energies (6, 9, 12 and 16 MeV). The tangential photon treatment plans were planned with 6 MV wedged photon beams. The IMRT plans were planned using both multiple-gantry 6 MV photon beams or two 6 MV tangential beams. Our results show that tangential IMRT can reduce the dose to the lung, heart and contralateral breast compared to conventional tangential wedged beams (up to 50% reduction in high dose volume or 5 Gy in the maximum dose). MERT can reduce the maximum dose to the lung by up to 20 Gy and to the heart by up to 35 Gy compared to conventional tangential wedged beams. Multiple beam angle IMRT can significantly reduce the maximum dose to the lung and heart (up to 20 Gy) but it induces low and medium doses to a large volume of normal tissues including lung, heart and contralateral breast. It is concluded that MERT has superior capabilities to achieve dose conformity both laterally and in the depth direction, which will be well suited for treating superficial targets such as breast cancer.     

全乳腺放射治疗3种照射技术对比

目的评价不同全乳腺放射治疗技术的剂量学优缺点。方法选取乳腺癌保乳术后患者10例,均为女性,年龄25～58岁,中位年龄42岁。用常规切线野、野中野调强、多野调强3种技术设计全乳腺放射治疗计划并进行剂量学对比。结果与常规切线野计划比较,野中野调强计划99%靶区体积含盖剂量从（4640±72）cGy增加到（4753±25）cGy;剂量不均匀指数从1.104±0.017下降到1.060±0.008。常规切线野计划与野中野调强计划在危及器官受量上的差异无统计学意义。野中野调强计划与多野调强计划在靶区剂量分布上的差异无统计学意义;与野中野调强计划比较,多野调强计划中心脏接受高于10Gy剂量的体积（V10）从（13.0±8.5）%增加到（53.3±22.7）%;同侧肺的V10从（25.2±3.4）%增加到（42.7±3.7）%;对侧乳腺、对侧肺、非特异正常组织的V5分别从（1.9±3.1）%增加到（32.6±2.3）%、从0到（18.5±8.3）%、从（9.9±1.0）%到（32.1±3.6）%。结论野中野调强技术较常规切线野技术明显改善靶区剂量分布;在此基础上多野调强技术未能明显进一步改善靶区剂量,但增加正常组织照射。     

Improving intensity-modulated radiation therapy using the anatomic beam orientation optimization algorithm

A novel, anatomic beam orientation optimization (A-BOO) algorithm is proposed to significantly improve conventional intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). The A-BOO algorithm vectorially analyses polygonal surface mesh data of contoured patient anatomy. Five optimal (5-opt) deliverable beam orientations are selected based on (1) tangential orientation bisecting the target and adjacent organ's-at-risk (OARs) to produce precipitous dose gradients between them and (2) parallel incidence with polygon features of the target volume to facilitate conformal coverage. The 5-opt plans were compared to standard five, seven, and nine equiangular-spaced beam plans (5-equi, 7-equi, 9-equi) for: (1) gastric, (2) Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) P-0126 prostate, and (3) RTOG H-0022 oropharyngeal (stage-III, IV) cancer patients. In the gastric case, the noncoplanar 5-opt plan reduced the right kidney V 20 Gy by 32.2%, 23.2%, and 20.6% compared to plans with five, seven, and nine equiangular-spaced beams. In the prostate case, the coplanar 5-opt plan produced similar rectal sparing as the 7-equi and 9-equi plans with a reduction of the V 75, V 70, V 65, and V 60 Gy of 2.4%, 5.3%, 7.0%, and 9.5% compared to the 5-equi plan. In the stage-III and IV oropharyngeal cases, the noncoplanar 5-opt plan substantially reduced the V 30 Gy and mean dose to the contralateral parotid compared to plans with five, seven, and nine equiangular-spaced beams: (stage-III) 7.1%, 5.2%, 6.8%, and 5.1, 3.5, 3.7 Gy and (stage-IV) 10.2%, 10.2%, 9.8% and 7.0, 7.1, 7.2 Gy. The geometry-based A-BOO algorithm has been demonstrated to be robust for application to a variety of IMRT treatment sites. Beam orientations producing significant improvements in OAR sparing over conventional IMRT can be automatically produced in minutes compared to hours with existing dose-based beam orientation optimization methods.     

Dosimetric comparison of partial and whole breast external beam irradiation in the treatment of early stage breast cancer

A dosimetric comparison was performed on external-beam three-dimensional conformal partial breast irradiation (PBI) and whole breast irradiation (WBI) plans for patients enrolled in the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) B-39/Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) 0413 protocol at our institution. Twenty-four consecutive patients were treated with either PBI (12 patients) or WBI (12 patients). In the PBI arm, the lumpectomy cavity was treated to a total dose of 38.5 Gy at 3.85 Gy per fraction twice daily using a four-field noncoplanar beam setup. A minimum 6 h interval was required between fractions. In the WBI arm, the whole breast including the entirety of the lumpectomy cavity was treated to a total dose of 50.4 Gy at 1.8 Gy per fraction daily using opposed tangential beams. The lumpectomy cavity volume, planning target volume for evaluation (PTV_EVAL), and critical structure volumes were contoured for both the PBI and WBI patients. Dosimetric parameters, dose volume histograms (DVHs), and generalized equivalent uniform dose (gEUD) for target and critical structures were compared. Dosimetric results show the PBI plans, compared to the WBI plans, have smaller hot spots in the PTV_EVAL (maximum dose: 104.2% versus 110.9%) and reduced dose to the ipsilateral breast (V50: 48.6% versus 92.1% and V100: 10.2% versus 50.5%), contralateral breast (V3: 0.16% versus 2.04%), ipsilateral lung (V30: 5.8% versus 12.7%), and thyroid (maximum dose: 0.5% versus 2.0%) with p values < or = 0.01. However, similar dose coverage of the PTV_EVAL (98% for PBI and 99% for WBI, on average) was observed and the dose difference for other critical structures was clinically insignificant in both arms. The gEUD data analysis showed the reduction of dose to the ipsilateral breast and lung, contralateral breast and thyroid. In addition, preliminary dermatologic adverse event assessment data suggested reduced skin toxicity for patients treated with the PBI technique.     

Quantifying the effect of intrafraction motion during breast IMRT planning and dose delivery

Respiratory motion during intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) causes two types of problems. First, the clinical target volume (CTV) to planning target volume (PTV) margin needed to account for respiratory motion means that the lung and heart dose is higher than would occur in the absence of such motion. Second, because respiratory motion is not synchronized with multileaf collimator (MLC) motion, the delivered dose is not the same as the planned dose. The aims of this work were to evaluate these problems to determine (a) the effects of respiratory motion and setup error during breast IMRT treatment planning, (b) the effects of the interplay between respiratory motion and multileaf collimator (MLC) motion during breast IMRT delivery, and (c) the potential benefits of breast IMRT using breath-hold, respiratory gated, and 4D techniques. Seven early stage breast cancer patient data sets were planned for IMRT delivered with a dynamic MLC (DMLC). For each patient case, eight IMRT plans with varying respiratory motion magnitudes and setup errors (and hence CTV to PTV margins) were created. The effects of respiratory motion and setup error on the treatment plan were determined by comparing the eight dose distributions. For each fraction of these plans, the effect of the interplay between respiratory motion and MLC motion during IMRT delivery was simulated by superimposing the respiratory trace on the planned DMLC leaf motion, facilitating comparisons between the planned and expected dose distributions. When considering respiratory motion in the CTV-PTV expansion during breast IMRT planning, our results show that PTV dose heterogeneity increases with respiratory motion. Lung and heart doses also increase with respiratory motion. Due to the interplay between respiratory motion and MLC motion during IMRT delivery, the planned and expected dose distributions differ. This difference increases with respiratory motion. The expected dose varies from fraction to fraction. However, for the seven patients studied and respiratory trace used, for no breathing, shallow breathing, and normal breathing, there were no statistically significant differences between the planned and expected dose distributions. Thus, for breast IMRT, intrafraction motion degrades treatment plans predominantly by the necessary addition of a larger CTV to PTV margin than would be required in the absence of such motion. This motion can be limited by breath-hold, respiratory gated, or 4D techniques.     

比较调强放射治疗与三维适形放疗治疗中下段食管癌时心脏和冠状动脉的受量

目的：比较调强放射治疗（IMRT）与三维适形放疗（3D-CRT）治疗中下段食管癌的心脏和冠状动脉的受量。方法：回顾性分析从2011年1月至2012年5月收治的12例中下段食管癌患者,采用Monaco治疗计划系统,所有患者分别制作五野调强放射治疗计划及三野3D-CRT计划,处方剂量均为PTV：60 Gy/30 f。比较五野IMRT和三野3D-CRT计划的DVH、靶区适形度（CI）、心脏,右冠状动脉,左冠状动脉的受量。结果：调强放射治疗计划与3D-CRT计划相比,明显降低了心脏平均剂量（23.01 Gy与28.3 Gy）和V30（24.4%与61.0%）,右冠状动脉平均剂量也有显著的降低（平均剂量23.8Gy与35.5 Gy）,而左冠状动脉平均剂量没有表现出显着改善（平均剂量11.2Gy与9.2Gy）（p〉0.05）。调强放疗显著改善了适形指数。结论：IMRT治疗与3D-CRT相比明显改善了心脏的平均剂量及V30。调强放疗计划与3D-CRT治疗计划相比使心脏V30减少了约40%,同时降低了右冠状动脉受量,这表明调强放射治疗可显着改善放疗诱发的心脏及冠状动脉疾病的风险。调强放疗具有更好的适形度。这将是长期的研究以确定放疗将如何影响冠状动脉心脏疾病的发展和其他心脏并发症。     

乳腺癌保乳术后三种瘤床同期加量放疗技术的剂量学比较

目的：比较乳腺癌保乳术后放疗中不同的瘤床同期加量（SimuRaneous Integrated Boost,SIB）技术剂量学特点,探讨其对靶区和正常组织受照剂量的影响。方法：选择12例接受保乳术的乳腺癌患者．为每例患者设计三种瘤床同期加量的放疗计划：适形野中野x射线瘤床加量计划（FIFx）、适形野中野电子线瘤床加量计划（FIFE）以及适形野加调强野的混合调强（HybridIMRT）计划,靶区PTV1、PTV2的处方剂量分别为50Gy和60Gy。比较各计划中靶区剂量特点和患侧肺、对侧乳腺及心脏受照剂量以及机器跳数的差异。结果：当瘤床深度大于4．5cm时,FIFE计划中PTV：的最小剂量显著降低,剂量均匀性明显变差;HybridIMRT的靶区适形指数明显高于其他两种计划（P〈O．05）,患侧肺及心脏受到的高剂量照射体积明显减少（P〈0．05）,低剂量受照体积在各计划中并无统计学差异;HybridIMRT的机器跳数较FIF_X和FIF_E分别减少43．8％（P〈0．05）和21．8％（P〈O．05）。结论：在乳腺癌保乳术后放疗中,当瘤床深度大于4．5cm时采用电子线进行加量容易造成瘤床深部的剂量不足。采用混合调强的瘤床同期加量技术能提高靶区剂量适形度,并能在不增加患侧肺和心脏低剂量受照体积的条件下显著降低其高剂量受照体积。     

剂量体积优化算法与光子优化算法在儿童全中枢调强放射治疗计划的剂量学比较

目的:分析剂量体积优化（DVO）算法与光子优化（PO）算法在儿童全中枢调强放射治疗（IMRT）中的剂量学比较。方法:选择2018年7月~2020年1月于广东三九脑科医院行全中枢IMRT计划的15例儿童肿瘤患者作为研究对象,分别采用DVO算法和PO算法设计计划,比较两组计划的剂量学参数、优化效率及机器跳数。结果:与PO算法相比,DVO算法计划的靶区[D50%]和适形度指数更佳,差异有统计学意义（P<0.05）,且颈段计划靶区（PTV）低于95%处方剂量的体积更低（P<0.05）,但在靶区[D2%、D98%]、均匀性指数和梯度跌落指数差异无统计学意义（P>0.05）。与PO算法相比,DVO算法计划在双肺、右肾和心脏的受照剂量偏低,差异有统计学意义（P<0.05）,而在其它危及器官剂量学参数差异无统计学意义（P>0.05）。与PO算法相比,DVO算法计划增加了较少的机器跳数（约63 MU）,但算法优化时间翻倍,约224 s。结论:儿童全中枢IMRT计划采用DVO算法可提高靶区适形性,降低颈段PTV低于处方剂量的体积,有可能减少颈段靶区肿瘤复发率,因此建议在儿童全中枢IMRT计划中采用DVO算法优化。     

简化调强技术应用于直肠癌术后放疗的剂量学比较

目的：探讨简化调强放疗技术（sIMRT）在直肠癌术后放疗中的应用价值,为临床治疗的技术选择提供依据。方法：对5例接受腹前切除术（Dixon手术1后同步放化疗的Ⅱ—Ⅲ期直肠癌患者分别设计3野3DCRT计划、5野IMRT计划、5野slMRT计划。处方剂量为50Gy,2Gy／次。利用剂量体积直方图评价三种计划的靶区平均剂量、适形度指数和危及器官：膀胱、小肠、股骨头的最大剂量,V40,V50。通过测量治疗实施时间比较不同照射技术的治疗时间。结果：三种计划的靶区平均剂量相差不大。靶区的适形程度IMRT〉sIMRT〉3DCRT;危及器官：对于膀胱,最大剂量差异不大。V40：IMRT〈slMRT〈3DCRT。V50：sIMRT计划明显优于3DCRT计划,且与IMRT计划相似;对于小肠,最大剂量无明显差异。V40：三者相差不大。V50：sIMRT与IMRT计划均优于3DCRT计划;对于左、右股骨头,最大剂量的P值〉0．05,无统计学意义。V40：sIMRT计划优于3DCRT计划,稍逊于IMRT计划。V50三个计划无差异。机器跳数：sIMRT〈3DCRT〈IMRT;子野个数：slMRT计划小于IMRT计划．约只为IMRT计划的三分之一：治疗时间：sIMRT计划大约只有IMRT计划的二分之一,与3DCRT计划相差很小。结论：sIMRT技术为直肠癌术后放疗提供了一个性价比高的治疗方案,值得在临床实际应用中推广。     

颈段及胸上段食管癌调强放射治疗计划的比较

目的：射野数目的多少在调强放射计划中直接影响着靶区的适形性（conformity）,均匀度（uniformity）以及对周围危及器官（organs at risk,OAR）的保护。本文就颈段及胸上段食管癌,对不同射野数目进行调强放射治疗计划的比较。方法：回顾继往颈段及胸上段食管癌病例,从中挑选5位患者,运用5,7,9个射野的调强放射治疗计划,同时对IMRT的靶区运用200 cGy/fx,30fx总共60 Gy剂量,比较在这个给定相同的剂量的条件下,通过剂量体积直方图（dose volumehistograms,DVH）,等剂量曲线分布（iso-dose distributions）以及靶区的适形指数（conformity index,CI）等来比较各个计划中计划靶区（planning target volume,PTV）,以及危及器官（OARs）的剂量学差异。结果：随着射野数目的增加靶区适形度以及等剂量线分布越来越好。7、9个射野对肺的损伤也不像想象中那么大。甚至7、9野的IMRT在肺的V20更低。结论：相比5个射野的IMRT计划,7个射野能提供更好的适形度和均匀性,以及对肺组织的保护;而相比9野计划,7个射野能运用更短的治疗时间和更少的加速器跳数（monitor unite,MU）,减少器官运动对靶区剂量的影响。     

IMRT planning and delivery incorporating daily dose from mega-voltage cone-beam computed tomography imaging

The technology of online mega-voltage cone-beam (CB) computed tomography (MV-CBCT) imaging is currently used in many institutions to generate a 3D anatomical dataset of a patient in treatment position. It utilizes an accelerator therapy beam, delivered with 200 degrees gantry rotation, and captured by an electronic portal imager to account for organ motion and setup variations. Although the patient dose exposure from a single volumetric MV-CBCT imaging procedure is comparable to that from standard double-exposure orthogonal portal images, daily image localization procedures can result in a significant dose increase to healthy tissue. A technique to incorporate the daily dose, from a MV-CBCT imaging procedure, in the IMRT treatment planning optimization process was developed. A composite IMRT plan incorporating the total dose from the CB was optimized with the objective of ensuring uniform target coverage while sparing the surrounding normal tissue. One head and neck cancer patient and four prostate cancer patients were planned and treated using this technique. Dosimetric results from the prostate IMRT plans optimized with or without CB showed similar target coverage and comparable sparing of bladder and rectum volumes. Average mean doses were higher by 1.6 +/- 1.0 Gy for the bladder and comparable for the rectum (-0.3 +/- 1.4 Gy). In addition, an average mean dose increase of 1.9 +/- 0.8 Gy in the femoral heads and 1.7 +/- 0.6 Gy in irradiated tissue was observed. However, the V65 and V70 values for bladder and rectum were lower by 2.3 +/- 1.5% and 2.4 +/- 2.1% indicating better volume sparing at high doses with the optimized plans incorporating CB. For the head and neck case, identical target coverage was achieved, while a comparable sparing of the brain stem, optic chiasm, and optic nerves was observed. The technique of optimized planning incorporating doses from daily online MV-CBCT procedures provides an alternative method for imaging IMRT patients. It allows for daily treatment modifications where other volumetric tomographic imaging techniques may not be feasible and/or available and where accurate patient localization with a high degree of precision is required.     

Direct aperture optimization of breast IMRT and the dosimetric impact of respiration motion

We have studied the application of direct aperture optimization (DAO) as an inverse planning tool for breast IMRT. Additionally, we have analysed the impact of respiratory motion on the quality of the delivered dose distribution. From this analysis, we have developed guidelines for balancing the desire for a high-quality optimized plan with the need to create a plan that will not degrade significantly in the presence of respiratory motion. For a DAO optimized breast IMRT plan, the tangential fields incorporate a flash field to cover the range of respiratory motion. The inverse planning algorithm then optimizes the shapes and weights of additional segments that are delivered in combination with the open fields. IMRT plans were generated using DAO with the relative weights of the open segments varied from 0% to 95%. To assess the impact of breathing motion, the dose distribution for the optimized IMRT plan was recalculated with the isocentre sampled from a predefined distribution in a Monte Carlo convolution/superposition dose engine with the breast simulated as a rigid object. The motion amplitudes applied in this study ranged from 0.5 to 2.0 cm. For a range of weighting levels assigned to the open field, comparisons were made between the static plans and the plans recalculated with motion. For the static plans, we found that uniform dose distributions could be generated with relative weights for the open segments equal to and below 80% and unacceptable levels of underdosage were observed with the weights larger than 80%. When simulated breathing motion was incorporated into the dose calculation, we observed a loss in dose uniformity as the weight of the open field was decreased to below 65%. More quantitatively, for each 1% decrease in the weight, the per cent volume of the target covered by at least 95% of the prescribed dose decreased by approximately 0.10% and 0.16% for motion amplitudes equal to 1.5 cm and 2.0 cm, respectively. When taking into account the motion effects, the most uniform and conformal dose distributions were achieved when the open segment weights were in the range of 65-80%. Within this range, high-quality IMRT plans were produced for each case. The study demonstrates that DAO with tangential fields provides a robust and efficient technique for breast IMRT planning and delivery when the open segment weight is selected between 65% and 80%.     

Planning evaluation of radiotherapy for complex lung cancer cases using helical tomotherapy

Lung cancer treatment is one of the most challenging fields in radiotherapy. The aim of the present study was to investigate what role helical tomotherapy (HT), a novel approach to the delivery of highly conformal dose distributions using intensity-modulated radiation fan beams, can play in difficult cases with large target volumes typical for many of these patients. Tomotherapy plans were developed for 15 patients with stage III inoperable non-small-cell lung cancer. While not necessarily clinically indicated, elective nodal irradiation was included for all cases to create the most challenging scenarios with large target volumes. A 2 cm margin was used around the gross tumour volume (GTV) to generate primary planning target volume (PTV2) and 1 cm margin around elective nodes for secondary planning target volume (PTV1) resulting in PTV1 volumes larger than 1000 cm3 in 13 of the 15 patients. Tomotherapy plans were created using an inverse treatment planning system (TomoTherapy Inc.) based on superposition/convolution dose calculation for a fan beam thickness of 25 mm and a pitch factor between 0.3 and 0.8. For comparison, plans were created using an intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) approach planned on a commercial treatment planning system (TheraplanPlus, Nucletron). Tomotherapy delivery times for the large target volumes were estimated to be between 4 and 19 min. Using a prescribed dose of 60 Gy to PTV2 and 46 Gy to PTV1, the mean lung dose was 23.8+/-4.6 Gy. A 'dose quality factor' was introduced to correlate the plan outcome with patient specific parameters. A good correlation was found between the quality of the HT plans and the IMRT plans with HT being slightly better in most cases. The overlap between lung and PTV was found to be a good indicator of plan quality for HT. The mean lung dose was found to increase by approximately 0.9 Gy per percent overlap volume. Helical tomotherapy planning resulted in highly conformal dose distributions. It allowed easy achievement of two different dose levels in the target simultaneously. As the overlap between PTV and lung volume is a major predictor of mean lung dose, future work will be directed to control of margins. Work is underway to investigate the possibility of breath-hold techniques for tomotherapy delivery to facilitate this aim.     

固定铅门模式下容积旋转调强放疗与动态调强放疗在乳腺癌根治术后放疗中的比较

目的:探讨固定铅门模式下乳腺癌根治术后放疗中容积旋转调强放疗（VMAT）与动态调强放疗（dIMRT）的剂量学差异及技术特点。 方法:选取左、右侧根治术后乳腺癌患者各10例,使用Raystation 4.7.5治疗计划系统制定VMAT计划和Eclipse 11.0治疗计划系统制定7野dIMRT计划,两种计划均采用合适的固定铅门技术,靶区处方剂量为50 Gy/25 F。比较两种计划的剂量学差异、机器跳数、治疗出束时间以及剂量验证γ通过率。 结果:VMAT计划的靶区最大剂量、平均剂量、均匀性指数均优于dIMRT计划,前者剂量均匀性显著提升,且靶区内无剂量热点;两种计划的最小剂量、适形指数、靶区覆盖率基本相近（P>0.05）。主要危及器官双肺、心脏等的整体受照剂量VMAT计划明显低于dIMRT,尤其患侧肺的低剂量照射体积V5、V20及心脏的V30显著降低;正常组织的整体受量VMAT计划偏高。VMAT计划单次照射的机器跳数比dIMRT平均减少了59%,治疗出束时间平均减少了60%。两种计划的γ通过率均满足治疗要求（>95%）。 结论:两种技术均能满足临床处方要求,但VMAT技术具有更大的优势,其靶区剂量均匀性更好,可明显降低主要危及器官的整体受照剂量,尤其降低肺的低剂量照射体积,且显著减少机器跳数,缩短治疗时间。