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Title: Intensity-modulated radiation therapy to bilateral lower limb extremities concurrently: a planning case study

Journal Article · · Journal of Medical Radiation Sciences (Print)
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/JMRS.57· OSTI ID:22402353
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  1. Radiation Oncology, Epworth HealthCare, Victoria (Australia)

Non-melanomatous skin cancers represent 80% of all newly diagnosed cancers in Australia with basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) being the most common. A previously healthy 71-year-old woman presented with widespread and tender superficial skin cancers on the lower bilateral limbs. External beam radiation therapy through the use of intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) was employed as the treatment modality of choice as this technique provides conformal dose distribution to a three-dimensional treatment volume while reducing toxicity to surrounding tissues. The patient was prescribed a dose of 60 Gy to the planning target volume (PTV) with 1.0 cm bolus over the ventral surface of each limb. The beam arrangement consisted of six treatment fields that avoided entry and exit through the contralateral limb. The treatment plans met the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements (ICRU) guidelines and produced highly conformal dosimetric results. Skin toxicity was measured against the National Cancer Institute: Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (NCI: CTCAE) version 3. A well-tolerated treatment was delivered with excellent results given the initial extent of the disease. This case study has demonstrated the feasibility and effectiveness of IMRT for skin cancers as an alternative to surgery and traditional superficial radiation therapy, utilising a complex PTV of the extremities for patients with similar presentations.

OSTI ID:
22402353
Journal Information:
Journal of Medical Radiation Sciences (Print), Vol. 61, Issue 3; Other Information: PMCID: PMC4175847; PMID: 26229657; OAI: oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:4175847; Copyright (c) 2014 The Authors. Journal of Medical Radiation Sciences published by Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd on behalf of Australian Institute of Radiography and New Zealand Institute of Medical Radiation Technology; This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 2051-3895
Country of Publication:
Australia
Language:
English