Conventional High-Dose-Rate Brachytherapy With Concomitant Complementary IMRT Boost: A Novel Approach for Improving Cervical Tumor Dose Coverage
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL (United States)
- Medical Statistics Section of the Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL (United States)
Purpose: To investigate the feasibility of combining conventional high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy with a concomitant complementary intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) boost for improved target coverage in cervical cancers. Methods and Materials: Six patients with cervical cancer underwent conventional HDR (C-HDR) treatment. Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were acquired with a CT/MRI-compatible applicator in place. The clinical target volumes (CTVs), defined as the gross target volume with a 3-mm margin and the uterus, were delineated on the CT scans, along with the organs at risk (OARs). The IMRT plans were optimized to generate dose distributions complementing those of C-HDR to cover the CTV while maintaining low doses to the OARs (IMRT-HDR). For comparison, dwell-weight optimized HDR (O-HDR) plans were also generated to cover the CTV and spare the OARs. The three treatment techniques (C-HDR, O-HDR, and IMRT-HDR) were compared. The percentage of volume receiving 95% of the prescription dose (V{sub 95}) was used to evaluate dose coverage to the CTV, and the minimal doses in the 2.0-cm{sup 3} volume receiving the greatest dose were calculated to compare the doses to the OARs. Results: The C-HDR technique provided very poor CTV coverage in 5 cases (V{sub 95} <62%). Although O-HDR provided excellent gross tumor volume coverage (V{sub 95} {>=}96.9%), it resulted in unacceptably high doses to the OARs in all 6 cases and unsatisfactory coverage to the whole CTV in 3 cases. IMRT-HDR not only yielded substantially improved CTV coverage (average V{sub 95} = 95.3%), but also kept the doses to the bladder and rectum reasonably low. Conclusion: Compared with C-HDR and O-HDR, concomitant IMRT boost complementary to C-HDR not only provided excellent CTV coverage, but also maintained reasonably low doses to the OARs.
- OSTI ID:
- 21124315
- Journal Information:
- International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology and Physics, Vol. 71, Issue 3; Other Information: DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2007.10.064; PII: S0360-3016(07)04474-4; Copyright (c) 2008 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0360-3016
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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