A treatment planning study using non-coplanar static fields and coplanar arcs for whole breast radiotherapy of patients with concave geometry

PurposeA treatment planning study was performed to evaluate the performance of new radiotherapy techniques based on non-coplanar multiple fields or on dynamic conformal arcs for early stage breast treatments.Methods and materialsCT datasets of 7 different patients that were deemed unsuitable for tangential beam treatment due to a large volume of lung in the treatment fields were used as input for the study. Standard tangential field plans and inversely modulated IMRT plans were used as benchmark to evaluate performances of conformal plans with 3 non-coplanar fields (3F-NC), with 2 short dynamic conformal arcs (2-Arc) or hybrid plans with one static conformal field and one dynamic conformal arc (P-Arc). All plans were designed to achieve the higher target coverage and minimum ipsilateral lung involvement depending on the planning technique with a key objective to avoid involvement of the contralateral breast. The following planning objectives were selected. For PTV: D_1% (maximum significant dose) lower than 110% and D_99% (minimum significant dose) higher than 90%. For the ipsilateral lung a mean dose lower than 15 Gy and/or a volume receiving more than 20 Gy lower than 22%. For contralateral breast, all techniques but IMRT were set to have no beam impinging this organ at risk, while for IMRT plans were further designed to keep the mean dose lower than 5 Gy and to minimise the volume receiving a dose higher than 70% of the prescribed dose.ResultsP-Arc resulted to be on average a better technique, as it provides a PTV dose distribution highly conformal (Conformity index 1.45), homogeneous (D_5% − D_95% = 15.6%), with adequate coverage (V_90% = 96.4%) and a limited involvement of the ipsilateral lung (MLD ∼ 9 Gy, V_5Gy ∼ 36%, NTCP < 2%) when compared to four other treatment techniques. 3F-NC presented similar but slightly worse performances on target: Conformity index 1.57, D_5% − D_95% = 18.1%, V_90% = 95.7%). 3F-NC on ipsilateral lung resulted as the P-Arc. The tangential approach, the 2-Arc or the IMRT techniques, resulted to be inferior to the previous in either conformality (tangentials), ipsilateral lung sparing (tangentials, 2-Arc and IMRT) and in contralateral or healthy tissue involvement (IMRT).ConclusionFor early stage breast cancer when high sparing of lung tissues is required and no involvement of contralateral breast is allowed, the P-Arc or the 3F-NC techniques might be recommended in terms of dosimetric expectations.     

Critical appraisal of a non-coplanar technique for radiotherapy of breast minimising lung involvement.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: To appraise the potential benefit of a conformal technique with non-coplanar fields to minimise lung irradiation in the radiation treatment of breast. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A comparative study was carried out at planning level for six patients selected for their inadequate sparing of healthy lung tissue with the reference tangential technique. Plans were designed for the conventional tangential technique, for an alternative conformal approach with three beams and for the newly proposed technique with two non-coplanar beams. RESULTS: In average for the new technique compared to the reference, mean lung dose dropped from approximately 16 to 10.5 Gy, V(20 Gy) from 29.5 to 18.2% and the dose delivered to 1/3 (1/4) of the lung volume dropped from 28.5% (67.3%) to 8.7% (13.4%). For PTV, the volume receiving at least 90% of the prescribed dose resulted 97.4% for the new and 97.3% for the reference. Conformity index improved significantly from 2.58 for the reference to 1.84 for the new technique. CONCLUSIONS: For a subgroup population of breast cancer patients, where conventional techniques failed to achieve high conformal avoidance, a treatment modality with non-coplanar beams was developed and clinically tested for six patients. It resulted dosimetrically adequate, particularly when the risk of toxicity is relevant.     

乳腺癌保乳术后调强放疗与常规放疗的剂量学比较

 目的　探讨早期乳腺癌保乳术后全乳适形调强放射治疗（IMRT）的剂量学优势。方法　选择10例接受保乳手术的Tis~2N0M0早期乳腺癌病例,其中左侧乳腺癌6例,右侧乳腺癌4例,应用三维治疗计划系统（3D-TPS）为每位患者设计两种全乳放射治疗计划,即切线野常规计划与IMRT计划,处方剂量均为50 Gy／25次。用剂量体积直方图（DVH）来比较两种计划中计划靶体积（PTV）、危及器官（OARS）的剂量学差异。结果　靶区覆盖率在两种计划中相似,分别为97.83 %、97.61 %,与常规计划相比IMRT计划的PTV接受＜95 %处方剂量与＞103 %处方剂量的体积百分比之和（IHI） 从25.42 %减少到2.71 %,PTV接受至少105 %处方剂量照射的体积百分比（V105 %）从25.79 %减少到1.08 %,IMRT计划改善IHI和减少V105 %的平均值,在PTV较大的患者中更明显。左侧乳腺癌患者心脏的平均剂量（Dmean）从6.72 Gy减少到4.95 Gy、心脏接受30 Gy照射的体积百分比（V30）从7.23 %减少到1.04 %。所有患者同侧肺的Dmean从9.19 Gy减少到7.65 Gy、至少接受20 Gy 照射的体积百分比（V20）从22.34 %减少到20.18 %。对侧乳腺Dmean从5.12 Gy减少到3.52 Gy,对侧肺Dmean从2.76 Gy减少到1.79 Gy。右侧患者肝脏Dmean从7.23 Gy减少到1.04 Gy。结论　全乳IMRT的剂量学优势主要是在保证靶区覆盖率的前提下,显著改善了靶区剂量分布的均匀性,并在一定程度上降低OARS的受照剂量与容积,乳房体积大的病例可以通过IMRT获得更好的剂量学结果。     

乳腺癌调强放射治疗和常规切线野治疗的三维剂量学研究

背景与目的:乳房保留治疗已在早期乳腺癌患者中逐渐推广应用,其中全乳根治性放疗的标准技术通常采用常规切线野技术。调强放射治疗(intensity-modulatedradiotherapy,IMRT)技术有望在保障相同疗效的同时进一步减少放疗并发症,提高生活质量。本研究利用三维计划系统评价全乳IMRT的剂量学优势与适应证。方法:选择10例接受保乳手术的Tis～2N0M0早期乳腺癌病例,利用三维治疗计划系统为每例患者设计两种全乳放射治疗计划,切线野常规计划与IMRT计划,处方剂量均为5000cGy。用剂量体积直方图(dosevolumehistograms,DVH)来比较各种计划中计划靶体积(planningtargetvolume,PTV)、危及器官(organsatrisks,OARs)的剂量学差异。结果:靶区覆盖率在两种计划中相似,分别为98.3%和97.7%。与常规计划比较,IMRT计划的PTV接受<95%处方剂量与>103%处方剂量的体积百分比之和(inhomogeneityindex,IHI)从29.9%减少到2.9%,PTV接受至少105%处方剂量照射的体积百分比(V105%)从28.2%减少到0.6%;IMRT计划改善IHI和减少V105%的平均值在PTV较大的患者中优势更明显。左侧患者中冠状动脉的最大剂量(Dmax)以及心脏的平均剂量(Dmean)分别从5057.1cGy减少到4832.9cGy和从629.8cGy到450.7cGy;右侧患者肝脏的Dmean从283.9cGy减少到172.0cGy;所有患者中同侧肺的Dmean、至少接受20Gy照射的体积百分比(V20)分别从925.2cGy减少到765.9cGy,从16.0%到15.3%,Dmean与V20的平均值在IMRT计划中减少的百分比在不同射野中心肺厚度(centrallungdistance,CLD)亚组中分别是14.7%与20.9%,7.0%与12.9%;对侧乳腺和对侧肺的Dmean也分别从75.4cGy减少到20.3cGy和从30.9cGy到16.1cGy。结论:全乳IMRT的剂量学优势主要在于保证靶区覆盖率的前提下,显著改善靶区的剂量分布均匀性并一定程度上降低OARs的受照剂量与容积。乳房体积和CLD较大的病例可以通过IMRT技术获得更好的剂量学结果。     

IMRT for breast. a planning study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: To evaluate the performance of ten different treatment-planning systems when intensity modulated (IMRT) plans are designed for breast treatments that include the irradiation of the internal mammary chain. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A dataset of five patients (CT images and volumes of interest) was distributed to design IMRT plans on the ten systems. To minimise biases, the same geometry and clinical planning aims were imposed on the individual plans. Results were analysed in terms of dose distributions and dose volume histograms. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: For target coverage, the volume receiving more than 95% of the prescribed dose ranged from 77% (OTP) to 91% (Eclipse and Pinnacle), the volume receiving more than 107% ranged from 3.3% (Hyperion) to 23.2% (OTP). The mean dose to ipsilateral lung ranged from 13 Gy (Eclipse) to 18 Gy (OTP). The volume of the contralateral breast receiving more than 10 Gy ranged from 3% (Pinnacle) to 26% (Precise). The volume of heart receiving more than 20 Gy ranged from 7% (Eclipse) to 47% (Precise), the maximum significant dose to heart ranged from approximately 27 Gy (XiO) to approximately 49 Gy (Precise). The maximum significant dose to healthy tissue ranged from approximately 51 Gy (Eclipse) to approximately 62 Gy (OTP). It was also possible to show that the treatment geometry proposed here enables to minimise contralateral breast irradiation while keeping minimal ipsilateral lung (or heart) involvement and satisfactory target coverage.     

Potential gains for irradiation of chest wall and regional nodes with intensity modulated radiotherapy

PURPOSE: To develop an intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) technique for postmastectomy RT that improves target coverage while sparing all appropriate normal tissues. MATERIALS AND METHODS: IMRT plans were generated using an in-house optimization system. Priority was given to matching the heart doses achieved with partially wide tangent fields (PWTFs) while maintaining 50 Gy +/- 5% to the chest wall, internal mammary nodes, and supraclavicular nodes. Other normal tissue doses were then minimized. Metrics for plan comparisons included minimal, maximal, and mean doses and normal tissue complication probability. RESULTS: IMRT resulted in more uniform chest wall coverage than did PWTFs. The average chest wall minimal dose was 43.7 +/- 1.1 Gy for IMRT and 31.2 +/- 16.5 Gy for PWTFs (p = 0.04). The average internal mammary node minimal dose was 42.8 +/- 2.1 Gy for IMRT and 21.8 +/- 13.2 Gy for PWTFs (p = 0.001). IMRT matched the <1% heart normal tissue complication probability achieved using PWTFs. The average contralateral breast mean dose was 2.8 +/- 1.7 Gy for IMRT, but a greater breast volume was exposed compared with PWTFs. The mean ipsilateral lung normal tissue complication probability was lower for IMRT (0.0) than for PWTFs (0.07 +/- 0.07; p = 0.02). The mean contralateral lung dose was greater for IMRT (5.8 +/- 1.8 Gy) than for PWTFs (1.6 +/- 0.1 Gy; p = <0.0001). CONCLUSION: A new IMRT technique achieves full target coverage while maintaining similar doses to heart and ipsilateral lung as conventional techniques. However, contralateral lung and breast volumes exposed to low doses were increased with IMRT and will need to be reduced in future studies.     

Intensity-modulated tangential beam irradiation of the intact breast

Purpose: To evaluate the potential benefits of intensity modulated tangential beams in the irradiation of the intact breast.

Methods and Materials: Three-dimensional treatment planning was performed on five left and five right breasts using standard wedged and intensity modulated (IM) tangential beams. Optimal beam parameters were chosen using beams-eye-view display. For the standard plans, the optimal wedge angles were chosen based on dose distributions in the central plane calculated without inhomogeneity corrections, according to our standard protocol. Intensity-modulated plans were generated using an inverse planning algorithm and a standard set of target and critical structure optimization criteria. Plans were compared using multiple dose distributions and dose volume histograms for the planning target volume (PTV), ipsilateral lung, coronary arteries, and contralateral breast.

Results: Significant improvements in the doses to critical structures were achieved using intensity modulation. Compared with a standard-wedged plan prescribed to 46 Gy, the dose from the IM plan encompassing 20% of the coronary artery region decreased by 25% (from 36 to 27 Gy) for patients treated to the left breast; the mean dose to the contralateral breast decreased by 42% (from 1.2 to 0.7 Gy); the ipsilateral lung volume receiving more than 46 Gy decreased by 30% (from 10% to 7%); the volume of surrounding soft tissue receiving more than 46 Gy decreased by 31% (from 48% to 33%). Dose homogeneity within the target volume improved greatest in the superior and inferior regions of the breast (approximately 8%), although some decrease in the medial and lateral high-dose regions (approximately 4%) was also observed.

Conclusion: Intensity modulation with a standard tangential beam arrangement significantly reduces the dose to the coronary arteries, ipsilateral lung, contralateral breast, and surrounding soft tissues. Improvements in dose homogeneity throughout the target volume can also be achieved, particularly in the superior and inferior regions of the breast. It remains to be seen whether the dosimetric improvements achievable with IMRT will lead to significant clinical outcome improvements.     

Reduction of cardiac and lung complication probabilities after breast irradiation using conformal radiotherapy with or without intensity modulation.

PURPOSE: The main purpose of this work is to reduce the cardiac and lung dose by applying conformal tangential beam irradiation of the intact left breast with and without intensity modulation, instead of rectangular tangential treatment fields. The extension of the applicability of the maximum heart distance (MHD) to conformal tangential fields as a simple patient selection criterion, identifying patients for which rectangular and conformal tangential fields without intensity modulation will result in unacceptable normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) values for late cardiac mortality (e.g. >2%), was also investigated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Three-dimensional treatment planning was performed for 17 left-sided breast cancer patients. Three different tangential beam techniques were compared: (1) optimized wedges without blocks, (2) optimized wedges with conformal blocks and (3) intensity modulation. Plans were evaluated using dose-volume histograms (DVHs) for the planning target volume (PTV), the heart and the lungs. NTCPs for radiation pneumonitis and late cardiac mortality were calculated using the DVH data. The MHD was measured for all rectangular (MHD(rectangular)) and conformal (MHD(conformal)) treatment plans. RESULTS: For all patients, on average, part of the PTV receiving a dose between 95 and 107% of the prescribed dose of 50Gy in 25 fractions of 2Gy was 90.8% (standard deviation (SD): 5.0%), 92.8% (SD: 3.5%) and 92.8% (SD: 3.6%) for the intensity modulation radiation therapy (IMRT), conformal and rectangular field treatment techniques, respectively. The NTCP for radiation pneumonitis was 0.3% (SD: 0.1%), 0.4% (SD: 0.4%) and 0.5% (SD: 0.6%) for the IMRT, conformal and rectangular field techniques, respectively. The NTCP for late cardiac mortality was 5.9% (SD: 2.2%) for the rectangular field technique. This value was reduced to 4.0% (SD: 2.3%) with the conformal technique. A further reduction to 2.0% (SD: 1.1%) could be accomplished with the IMRT technique. The NTCP for late cardiac mortality could be described as a second order polynomial function of the MHD. This function could be described with a high accuracy and was independent of the technique for which the MHD was determined (r(2)=0.88). In order to achieve a NTCP value for late cardiac mortality below 1, 2 or 3%, the MHD should be equal to or smaller than 11, 17 or 23 mm, respectively. If such a maximum complication probability cannot be accomplished, a treatment using the IMRT technique should be considered. CONCLUSIONS: The use of conformal tangential fields decreases the NTCP for late cardiac toxicity on average by 30% compared to using rectangular fields, while the tangential IMRT technique can further reduce this value by an additional 50%. The MHD can be used to estimate the NTCP for late cardiac mortality if rectangular or conformal tangential treatment fields are used.     

早期乳腺癌保乳术后4种放疗技术的剂量参数比较

目的：比较早期乳腺癌保乳术后常规切线野（TW）、野中野调强（FIF - IMRT）、切线逆向调强（T -IMRT）和容积调强（VMAT）4种放射治疗技术的靶区和危及器官的剂量参数。方法：15例左侧早期（pT1-2 N0 M0）乳腺癌患者保乳术后接受放疗。CT 模拟定位扫描后勾画靶区和危及器官,在同一患者 CT 影像上分别做 TW、FIF - IMRT、T - IMRT 和 VMAT 4种治疗计划设计。PTV 剂量为50Gy,V47.5≥95%。4种计划的剂量限制相同。在剂量-体积直方图中读取4种计划靶区剂量的分布参数,心脏、双侧肺脏及对侧乳腺受照剂量和体积,对各参数的均数进行比较,并比较4组平均机器跳数差异。结果：4种计划都满足 V47.5≥95%。VMAT 与 T - IMRT、FIF - IMRT 和 TW 计划相比,明显提高了靶区适行指数（CI,P ﹤0.05）。VMAT、T - IMRT和 FIF - IMRT 与 TW 相比,明显改善了靶区均匀性指数（HI,P ﹤0.05）。VMAT 增加了危及器官（心脏和同侧肺脏）V 5、V10和 V20的受照射体积,但是没有增加﹥ V30的照射体积。VMAT 明显增加了右侧乳腺和右侧肺脏照射剂量（P ﹤0.05）,T - IMRT 和 FIF - IMRT 明显降低了右侧乳腺和右侧肺脏照射剂量（P ﹤0.05）。VMAT 与T - IMRT、FIF - IMRT 和 TW 相比,明显增加了机器跳数（P ﹤0.05）。结论：早期乳腺癌保乳术后放射治疗4种计划比较,VMAT 明显提高了靶区的适行性和均匀性,增加了正常组织的受照射剂量和机器跳数,延长了治疗时间。T - IMRT 和 FIF - IMRT 也提高了靶区的适行性和均匀性,降低了正常组织的受照射剂量。     

Hybrid IMRT for treatment of cancers of the lung and esophagus

PURPOSE: To report on a hybrid intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT; static plus IMRT beams treated concurrently) technique for lung and esophageal patients to reduce the volume of lung treated to low doses while delivering a conformal dose distribution. METHODS: Treatment plans were analyzed for 18 patients (12 lung and 6 esophageal). Patients were treated with a hybrid technique that concurrently combines static (approximately two-thirds dose) and IMRT (approximately one-third dose) beams. These plans were compared with conventional three-dimensional (3D; non-IMRT) plans and all IMRT plans using custom four- and five-field arrangements and nine equally spaced coplanar beams. Plans were optimized to reduce V13 and V5 values. Dose-volume histograms were calculated for the planning target volume, heart, and the ipsilateral, contralateral, and total lung. Lung volumes V5, V13, V20, V30; mean lung dose (MLD); and the generalized equivalent uniform dose (gEUD) were calculated for each plan. RESULTS: Hybrid plans treated significantly smaller total and contralateral lung volumes with low doses than nine-field IMRT plans. Largest reductions were for contralateral lung V5, V13, and V20 values for lung (-11%, -15%, -7%) and esophageal (-16%, -20%, -7%) patients. Smaller reductions were found also for 3D and four- and five-field IMRT plans. MLD and gEUDs were similar for all plan types. The 3D plans treated much larger extra planning target volumes to prescribed dose levels. CONCLUSIONS: Hybrid IMRT demonstrated advantages for reduction of low-dose lung volumes in the thorax for reducing low dose to lung while also reducing the potential magnitude of dose deviations due to intrafraction motion and small field calculation accuracy.     

Is multibeam IMRT better than standard treatment for patients with left-sided breast cancer?

PURPOSE: When treatment intent is to include breast and internal mammary lymph nodes (IMNs) in the clinical target volume (CTV), a significant volume of the heart may receive radiation, which may result in late morbidity. The value of conformal intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) to avoid heart dose was studied. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Breast, IMNs, and normal tissues were contoured for 30 consecutive patients previously treated with RT after lumpectomy for left-sided breast cancer. Eleven-beam, conformal, inverse-planned IMRT plans were developed and compared with best standard plans. Conformity Index (CI), Homogeneity Index (HI), and doses to normal tissues were compared. RESULTS: Intensity-modulated RT significantly improved (two-sided paired t test) HI (0.95 vs. 0.74), CI (0.91 vs. 0.48), volume of the heart receiving more than 30 Gy (V30-heart) (1.7% vs. 12.5%), and volume of lung receiving more than 20-Gy (V20-left lung) (17.1% vs. 26.6%), all p < 0.001. The mean Healthy Tissue Volume (HTV = CT set - PTV) dose was similar between IMRT and best standard plans (6.0 and 6.9 Gy, respectively), but IMRT increased the volume of normal tissues receiving low-dose RT: V5-right lung (13.7% vs. 2.0%), V5-right breast (29.2% vs. 7.9%), and V5-HTV (31.7% vs. 23.6%), all p < 0.001. IMRT plans were generated in less than 60 min and treatment delivered in approximately 20 min, suggesting that this technique is clinically applicable. CONCLUSIONS: IMRT significantly improved conformity and homogeneity for plans when the breast + IMNs were in the CTV. Heart and lung volume receiving high doses were decreased, but more healthy tissue received low doses. A simple algorithm based on amount of heart included in the standard plan showed limited ability to predict the benefit from IMRT.     

非共面野在早期非小细胞肺癌立体定向放射治疗方面的剂量学优势

目的 探讨非共面野调强放疗(IMRT)在早期非小细胞肺癌(NSCLC)立体定向放射治疗(SBRT)方面的剂量学特点和优势。方法 选取10例早期NSCLC患者,分别制定9野共面IMRT计划和9野非共面IMRT计划,其中非共面计划包括5个共面野和4个非共面野。比较两个计划的全肺V_2.5、V₅、V₂₀、V_25、全肺平均照射剂量D_mean、健侧肺平均照射剂量D_mean,其他危及器官的比较包括:脊髓、心脏、食道、气管、胸壁的最大照射剂量和胸壁V₃₀照射体积。同时比较两个计划的靶区适型性指数(CI)和均匀性指数(HI)。结果 非共面野技术降低了全肺V₂₀的照射体积(P=0.001),并降低了健侧肺的平均照射剂量D_mean(P=0.001),但在全肺V₅的照射体积方面非共面野高于共面野(P=0.002)。非共面技术降低了脊髓、食道、气管、胸壁最大照射剂量和胸壁V₃₀的照射体积(P=0.026,0.001,0.026,0.008,0.016),只有心脏的最大照射剂量非共面野高于共面野但差异无统计学意义(P=0.296)。靶区的适型性指数非共面野技术更好(P=0.036),均匀性指数两者差异无统计学意义(P=0.254)。结论 在早期NSCLC立体定向放射治疗中,非共面野技术能有效降低肺组织和其他大部分危及器官的照射剂量并提高了靶区适型性指数,有降低相应并发症发生的可能性,相比于共面野有一定的剂量学优势。     

Intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) with simultaneous integrated boost (SIB) in a patient with left breast cancer and pectus excavatum

Introduction

Pectus excavatum is a frequent anomaly. It represents a challenge for adjuvant radiotherapy in the conservative treatment of breast cancer. Primary objective of this study is to compare dosimetric outcomes, normal tissue complication probability (NTCP), and integral dose using four radiation techniques. Secondary objective is to describe acute toxicity and setup errors.

Methods and materials

A 57-year-old female patient with an inner quadrant, left breast, ductal carcinoma in situ, was identified. Whole breast was prescribed with 50?Gy in 25 fractions. Boost planning target volume (PTV) was prescribed with 60?Gy in 30 fractions for sequential boost (SB) plans or 57.5?Gy in 25 fractions in the simultaneous integrated boost (SIB) plan. All plans were normalized to deliver 47.5?Gy to 95?% of the breast PTV. Daily image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) was performed. Setup deviations were described.

Results

Constraints were not accomplished for heart when using intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT)?+?SB or conformal radiotherapy with three photon fields and SB. Left lung constraint was not achieved by any of the techniques in comparison. IMRT?+?SIB and conformal photons and electrons?+?SB plan were closer to the objective. Integral doses were lower with IMRT for heart and ipsilateral lung; however, it were higher for contralateral breast and lung. Coverage and tumoral conformity indexes were similar for all techniques in comparison. Greater inhomogeneity was observed with the photons and electrons?+?SB. IMRT?+?SIB treatment was administered daily with grade I skin toxicity. The highest setup error was observed in Y direction.

Conclusion

Planning target volume coverage was similar with the four techniques. Homogeneity was superior with both IMRT plans. A good balance between dose constraints for organs at risk, PTV coverage, homogeneity, and NTCP was observed with IMRT?+?SIB. The documented daily setup error justifies the use of online IGRT.     

Combined photon and electron three-dimensional conformal versus intensity-modulated radiotherapy with integrated boost for adjuvant treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma after pleuropneumonectomy

PURPOSE: The optimal technique for postoperative radiotherapy (RT) after extrapleural pleuropneumonectomy (EPP) of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) remains debated. METHODS AND MATERIALS: The data from 8 right-sided and 9 left-sided consecutive cases of MPM treated with RT after radical EPP were reviewed. Of the 17 patients, 8 had been treated with three-dimensional (3D) conformal RT (3D-CRT) and 9 with intensity-modulated RT (IMRT) with 6-MV photons. The clinical outcome and adverse events were assessed. For comparative planning, each case was replanned with 3D-CRT using photons and electrons or with IMRT. Homogeneity, doses to the organs at risk, and target volume coverage were analyzed. RESULTS: Both techniques yielded acceptable plans. The dose coverage and homogeneity of IMRT increased by 7.7% for the first planning target volume and 9.7% for the second planning target volume, ensuring >or=95% of the prescribed dose compared with 3D-CRT (p < 0.01). Compared with 3D-CRT, IMRT increased the dose to the contralateral lung, with an increase in the mean lung dose of 7.8 Gy and an increase in the volume receiving 13 Gy and 20 Gy by 20.5% and 7.2%, respectively (p < 0.01). A negligible dose increase to the contralateral kidney and liver was observed. No differences were seen for the spinal cord and ipsilateral kidney. Two adverse events of clinical relevant lung toxicity were observed with IMRT. CONCLUSION: Intensity-modulated RT and 3D-CRT are both suitable for adjuvant RT. IMRT improves the planning target volume coverage but delivered greater doses to the organs at risk. Rigid dose constraints for the lung should be respected.     

Breast-conserving radiation therapy using combined electron and intensity-modulated radiotherapy technique.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: To explore the feasibility of a multi-modality breast-conserving radiation therapy treatment technique to reduce high dose to the ipsilateral lung and the heart when compared with the conventional treatment technique using two tangential fields. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An electron beam with appropriate energy was combined with four intensity modulated photon beams. The direction of the electron beam was chosen to be tilted 10-20 degrees laterally from the anteroposterior direction. Two of the intensity-modulated photon beams had the same gantry angles as the conventional tangential fields, whereas the other two beams were rotated 15-25 degrees toward the anteroposterior directions from the first two photon beams. An iterative algorithm was developed which optimizes the weight of the electron beam as well as the fluence profiles of the photon beams for a given patient. Two breast cancer patients with early-stage breast tumors were planned with the new technique and the results were compared with those from 3D planning using tangential fields as well as 9-field intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) techniques. RESULTS: The combined electron and IMRT plans showed better dose conformity to the target with significantly reduced dose to the ipsilateral lung and, in the case of the left-breast patient, reduced dose to the heart, than the tangential field plans. In both the right-sided and left-sided breast plans, the dose to other normal structures was similar to that from conventional plans and was much smaller than that from the 9-field IMRT plans. The optimized electron beam provided between 70 to 80% of the prescribed dose at the depth of maximum dose of the electron beam. CONCLUSIONS: The combined electron and IMRT technique showed improvement over the conventional treatment technique using tangential fields with reduced dose to the ipsilateral lung and the heart. The customized beam directions of the four IMRT fields also kept the dose to other critical structures to a minimum.     

早期乳腺癌保乳术后全乳调强放射治疗与常规切线野放疗的剂量学比较

目的探讨早期乳腺癌保乳术后全乳调强放射治疗(intensity-modulated radiotherapy,IMRT)的剂量学优势。方法选择6例接受保乳手术的T1N0M0早期乳腺癌病例,其中左侧乳腺癌4例,右侧乳腺癌2例,应用三维调强治疗计划系统为每例患者设计常规切线野与IMRT2种全乳放射治疗计划,处方剂量均为50Gy/25次。用剂量体积直方图(dose volume histograms,DVH)来比较2种计划中计划靶体积(planning target volume,PTV)、危及器官(organs at risks,OARs)的剂量学差异。结果在2种计划中,95%PTV均接受50Gy,99%PTV均接受95%的处方剂量;但在IMRT计划组V110%(接受大于110%处方剂量体积占PTV的百分比)下降了9.1%(46.3%比37.2%,P<0.05);同侧肺的V20(至少接受20Gy照射的肺体积占同侧肺体积的百分比)下降了7.2%(26.8%比18.0%,P<0.05);同侧肺的V30下降了12.0%(23.2%比11.2%,P<0.05);4例左侧乳腺癌患者的心脏V30下降了3.8%(7.0%比3.2%,P<0.05)。结论全乳IMRT在保证靶区覆盖率的前提下,改善了靶区内剂量的均匀性,降低了危及器官的受照剂量及缩小了危及器官的照射体积,尤其是同侧肺、心脏的照射体积,降低放射性肺炎及心血管事件发生的可能。     

乳腺癌保乳术后常规、三维适形及两种调强放疗技术剂量学评估(英文)

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the dose distribution and dose volume histogram (DVH) of the planning target volume (PTV) and organs at risk (OARs) among conventional radiation therapy (CR), three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3DCRT), two-step intensity-modulated radiation therapy (TS-IMRT) and direct machine parameter optimization intensity-modulated radiation therapy (DMPO-IMRT) after breast-conserving surgery. Methods: For each of 20 randomly chosen patients, 4 plans were designed using 4 irradiation techniques. The prescribed dose was 50 Gy/2 Gy/25 f, 95% of the planning target volume received this dose. The cumulated DVHs and 3D dose distributions of CR, 3DCRT, TS-IMRT and DMPO-IMRT plans were compared. Results: For the homogeneity indices, no statistically significant difference was observed among CR, 3DCRT, TS-IMRT and DMPO-IMRT while the difference of the conformality indices were statistically significant. With regard to the organs at risk, IMRT and 3DCRT showed a significantly fewer exposure dose to the ipsilateral lung than CR in the high-dose area while in the low-dose area, IMRT demonstrated a significant increase of exposure dose to ipsilateral lung, heart and contralateral breast compared with 3DCRT and CR. In addition, the monitor units (MUs) for DMPO-IMRT were approximately 26% more than those of TS-IMRT and the segments of the former were approximately 24% less than those of the latter. Conclusion: Compared with CR, 3DCRT and IMRT improved the homogeneity and conformity of PTV, reduced the irradiated volume of OARs in high dose area but IMRT increased the irradiated volume of OARs in low dose area. DMPO-IMRT plan has fewer delivery time but more MUs than TS-IMRT.     

乳腺癌保乳术后全乳野中野适形调强放射治疗技术

目的：探讨乳腺癌保乳术后全乳野中野适形调强照射技术方法,并与常规全乳切线野照射技术进行剂量学对比。方法：选取22例早期乳腺癌保乳术后患者在CT模拟机下对乳腺部位行薄层定位扫描,将定位图像传输至治疗计划系统进行全乳野中野计划设计：在全乳两切线适形野的基础上挡去高剂量区部分,另设计2—4个小跳数射野以降低靶区最高剂量和调整高剂量区的范围及所在位置。处方剂量50Gy／25次,要求95％的靶区接受处方剂量;然后利用其CT模拟定位资料按照常规切线野射野方法在治疗计划上模拟常规切线野治疗计划,对野中野计划和常规射野计划进行靶区适形性、靶区均匀性和危及器官受量的比较。结果：野中野适形调强放射治疗技术的适形度、均匀性优于常规切线野照射,靶区内超过110％处方剂量的体积明显小于常规切线野技术。减少了肺组织V20的体积,降低了心脏的平均剂量和受照体积。结论：乳腺癌保乳术后全乳野中野适形调强放射治疗技术是一种有益的全乳照射技术。