BEDVH--A method for evaluating biologically effective dose volume histograms: Application to eye plaque brachytherapy implants
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02111 (United States)
Purpose: A method is introduced to examine the influence of implant duration T, radionuclide, and radiobiological parameters on the biologically effective dose (BED) throughout the entire volume of regions of interest for episcleral brachytherapy using available radionuclides. This method is employed to evaluate a particular eye plaque brachytherapy implant in a radiobiological context. Methods: A reference eye geometry and 16 mm COMS eye plaque loaded with {sup 103}Pd, {sup 125}I, or {sup 131}Cs sources were examined with dose distributions accounting for plaque heterogeneities. For a standardized 7 day implant, doses to 90% of the tumor volume ( {sub TUMOR}D{sub 90}) and 10% of the organ at risk volumes ( {sub OAR}D{sub 10}) were calculated. The BED equation from Dale and Jones and published {alpha}/{beta} and {mu} parameters were incorporated with dose volume histograms (DVHs) for various T values such as T = 7 days (i.e., {sub TUMOR} {sup 7}BED{sub 10} and {sub OAR} {sup 7}BED{sub 10}). By calculating BED throughout the volumes, biologically effective dose volume histograms (BEDVHs) were developed for tumor and OARs. Influence of T, radionuclide choice, and radiobiological parameters on {sub TUMOR}BEDVH and {sub OAR}BEDVH were examined. The nominal dose was scaled for shorter implants to achieve biological equivalence. Results: {sub TUMOR}D{sub 90} values were 102, 112, and 110 Gy for {sup 103}Pd, {sup 125}I, and {sup 131}Cs, respectively. Corresponding {sub TUMOR} {sup 7}BED{sub 10} values were 124, 140, and 138 Gy, respectively. As T decreased from 7 to 0.01 days, the isobiologically effective prescription dose decreased by a factor of three. As expected, {sub TUMOR} {sup 7}BEDVH did not significantly change as a function of radionuclide half-life but varied by 10% due to radionuclide dose distribution. Variations in reported radiobiological parameters caused {sub TUMOR} {sup 7}BED{sub 10} to deviate by up to 46%. Over the range of {sub OAR}{alpha}/{beta} values, {sub OAR} {sup 7}BED{sub 10} varied by up to 41%, 3.1%, and 1.4% for the lens, optic nerve, and lacrimal gland, respectively. Conclusions: BEDVH permits evaluation of the relative biological effectiveness for brachytherapy implants. For eye plaques, {sub TUMOR}BEDVH and {sub OAR}BEDVH were sensitive to implant duration, which may be manipulated to affect outcomes.
- OSTI ID:
- 22100625
- Journal Information:
- Medical Physics, Vol. 39, Issue 2; Other Information: (c) 2012 American Association of Physicists in Medicine; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0094-2405
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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