Impact of Manual and Automated Interpretation of Fused PET/CT Data on Esophageal Target Definitions in Radiation Planning

Journal Article · Mon Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 2008 · International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology and Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrobp.2008.07.061· OSTI ID:21172527

Killoran, Joseph H ^[1]; Mamede, Marcelo; Mamon, Harvey J ^[1]

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1. Department of Radiation Oncology, Brigham and Womens' Hospital, Boston, MA (United States)

Purpose: We compare CT-only based esophageal tumor definition with two PET/CT based methods: (1) manual contouring and (2) a semiautomated method based on specific thresholds. Methods and Materials: Patients with esophageal cancer treated at Brigham and Women's Hospital from 2003 to 2006 were identified. CT-based tumor volumes were compared with manual PET/CT-based volumes and semiautomated PET-based tumor volumes. Differences were scored as (1) minor if the superior or inferior extent of the primary tumor (or both) differed by 1-2 cm and (2) major if the difference was > 2 cm or if different noncontiguous nodal regions were identified as being grossly involved. Results: Comparing CT-based gross tumor volumes (GTVs) to manually defined PET/CT-based GTVs, use of PET changed volumes for 21 of 25 (84%) patients: 12 patients (48%) exhibited minor differences, whereas for 9 patients (36%), the differences were major. For 4 (16%) patients, the major difference was due to discrepancy in celiac or distant mediastinal lymph node involvement. Use of automated PET volumes changed the manual PET length in 14 patients (56%): 8 minor and 6 major. Conclusions: The use of PET/CT in treatment planning for esophageal cancer can affect target definition. Two PET-based techniques can also produce significantly different tumor volumes in a large percentage of patients. Further investigations to clarify the optimal use of PET/CT data in treatment planning are warranted.

• OSTI ID: 21172527
• Journal Information: International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology and Physics, Journal Name: International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology and Physics Journal Issue: 5 Vol. 72; ISSN IOBPD3; ISSN 0360-3016
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE
CARCINOMAS
HOSPITALS
LYMPH NODES
MANUALS
PATIENTS
PLANNING
RADIOTHERAPY