Geometric accuracy of field alignment in fractionated stereotactic conformal radiotherapy of brain tumors

PURPOSE: To assess the accuracy of field alignment in patients undergoing three-dimensional (3D) conformal radiotherapy of brain tumors, and to evaluate the impact on the definition of planning target volume and control procedures. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Geometric accuracy was analyzed in 20 patients undergoing fractionated stereotactic conformal radiotherapy for brain tumors. Rigid head fixation was achieved by using cast material. Transfer of stereotactic coordinates was performed by an external positioning device. The accuracy during treatment planning was quantitatively assessed by using repeated computed tomography (CT) examinations in treatment position (reproducibility of isocenter). Linear discrepancies were measured between treatment plan and CT examination. In addition, for each patient, a series of 20 verifications were taken in orthogonal projections. Linear discrepancies were measured between first and all subsequent verifications (accuracy during treatment delivery). RESULTS: For the total group of patients, the distribution of deviations during treatment setup showed mean values between -0.3-1.2 mm, with standard deviations (SD) of 1.3-2.0 mm. During treatment delivery, the distribution of deviations revealed mean values between 0.7-0.8 mm, with SDs of 0.5-0.6 mm, respectively. For all patients, deviations for the transition to the treatment machine were similar to deviations during subsequent treatment delivery, with 95% of all absolute deviations between less than 2.8 and 4.6 mm. CONCLUSION: Random fluctuations of field displacements during treatment planning and delivery prevail. Therefore, our quantitative data should be considered when prescribing the safety margins of the planning target volume. Repeated CT examination are useful to detect operator errors and large random or systematic deviations before start of treatment. Control procedures during treatment delivery appear to be of limited importance. In addition, our findings should help to determine "cut-off points" for corrective actions in stereotactic conformal radiotherapy of brain tumors.