Simple tool for prediction of parotid gland sparing in intensity-modulated radiation therapy
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Washington Medical Center, Seattle, WA (United States)
- Department of Radiation Oncology, VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA (United States)
Sparing one or both parotid glands is a key goal when planning head and neck cancer radiation treatment. If the planning target volume (PTV) overlaps one or both parotid glands substantially, it may not be possible to achieve adequate gland sparing. This finding results in physicians revising their PTV contours after an intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) plan has been run and reduces workflow efficiency. We devised a simple formula for predicting mean parotid gland dose from the overlap of the parotid gland and isotropically expanded PTV contours. We tested the tool using 44 patients from 2 institutions and found agreement between predicted and actual parotid gland doses (mean absolute error = 5.3 Gy). This simple method could increase treatment planning efficiency by improving the chance that the first plan presented to the physician will have optimal parotid gland sparing.
- OSTI ID:
- 22462445
- Journal Information:
- Medical Dosimetry, Vol. 40, Issue 3; Other Information: Copyright (c) 2015 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved.; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0958-3947
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Intensity-Modulated vs. Conformal Radiotherapy of Parotid Gland Tumors: Potential Impact on Hearing Loss
Incorporating single-side sparing in models for predicting parotid dose sparing in head and neck IMRT