Radiotherapy Dose Fractionation under Parameter Uncertainty

Journal Article · Wed Nov 30 00:00:00 EST 2011 · AIP Conference Proceedings

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3663489· OSTI ID:21608505

Davison, Matt ^[1]; Kim, Daero ^[1]; Keller, Harald ^[2]

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1. Department of Applied Mathematics, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario (Canada)
2. Department Radiation Oncology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario (Canada)

In radiotherapy, radiation is directed to damage a tumor while avoiding surrounding healthy tissue. Tradeoffs ensue because dose cannot be exactly shaped to the tumor. It is particularly important to ensure that sensitive biological structures near the tumor are not damaged more than a certain amount. Biological tissue is known to have a nonlinear response to incident radiation. The linear quadratic dose response model, which requires the specification of two clinically and experimentally observed response coefficients, is commonly used to model this effect. This model yields an optimization problem giving two different types of optimal dose sequences (fractionation schedules). Which fractionation schedule is preferred depends on the response coefficients. These coefficients are uncertainly known and may differ from patient to patient. Because of this not only the expected outcomes but also the uncertainty around these outcomes are important, and it might not be prudent to select the strategy with the best expected outcome.

• OSTI ID: 21608505
• Journal Information: AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 1368, Issue 1; Conference: Conference on advances in mathematical and computational methods: Addressing modern challenges of science, technology, and society, Waterloo (Canada), 25-29 Jul 2011; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.3663489; (c) 2011 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0094-243X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE
60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES
BIOLOGICAL RADIATION EFFECTS
DOSES
FRACTIONATED IRRADIATION
FRACTIONATION
NEOPLASMS
NONLINEAR PROBLEMS
OPTIMIZATION
PATIENTS
PROBABILITY
RADIOTHERAPY
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
DISEASES
IRRADIATION
MEDICINE
NUCLEAR MEDICINE
RADIATION EFFECTS
RADIOLOGY
SEPARATION PROCESSES
THERAPY