scholarly journals Automatic Radiotherapy Planning for Glioblastoma Radiotherapy With Sparing of the Hippocampus and nTMS-Defined Motor Cortex

2022 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michaela Schuermann ◽  
Yvonne Dzierma ◽  
Frank Nuesken ◽  
Joachim Oertel ◽  
Christian Rübe ◽  
...  

BackgroundNavigated transcranial magnetic stimulation (nTMS) of the motor cortex has been successfully implemented into radiotherapy planning by a number of studies. Furthermore, the hippocampus has been identified as a radiation-sensitive structure meriting particular sparing in radiotherapy. This study assesses the joint protection of these two eloquent brain regions for the treatment of glioblastoma (GBM), with particular emphasis on the use of automatic planning.Patients and MethodsPatients with motor-eloquent brain glioblastoma who underwent surgical resection after nTMS mapping of the motor cortex and adjuvant radiotherapy were retrospectively evaluated. The radiotherapy treatment plans were retrieved, and the nTMS-defined motor cortex and hippocampus contours were added. Four additional treatment plans were created for each patient: two manual plans aimed to reduce the dose to the motor cortex and hippocampus by manual inverse planning. The second pair of re-optimized plans was created by the Auto-Planning algorithm. The optimized plans were compared with the “Original” plan regarding plan quality, planning target volume (PTV) coverage, and sparing of organs at risk (OAR).ResultsA total of 50 plans were analyzed. All plans were clinically acceptable with no differences in the PTV coverage and plan quality metrics. The OARs were preserved in all plans; however, overall the sparing was significantly improved by Auto-Planning. Motor cortex protection was feasible and significant, amounting to a reduction in the mean dose by >6 Gy. The dose to the motor cortex outside the PTV was reduced by >12 Gy (mean dose) and >5 Gy (maximum dose). The hippocampi were significantly improved (reduction in mean dose: ipsilateral >6 Gy, contralateral >4.6 Gy; reduction in maximum dose: ipsilateral >5 Gy, contralateral >5 Gy). While the dose reduction using Auto-Planning was generally better than by manual optimization, the radiated total monitor units were significantly increased.ConclusionConsiderable dose sparing of the nTMS-motor cortex and hippocampus could be achieved with no disadvantages in plan quality. Auto-Planning could further contribute to better protection of OAR. Whether the improved dosimetric protection of functional areas can translate into improved quality of life and motor or cognitive performance of the patients can only be decided by future studies.

Author(s):  
Loyce M. H. Chua ◽  
Eric P. P. Pang ◽  
Zubin Master ◽  
Rehena Sultana ◽  
Jeffrey K. L. Tuan ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether RapidPlan (RP) could generate clinically acceptable prostate volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) plans. Methods: The in-house RP model was used to generate VMAT plans for 50 previously treated prostate cancer patients, with no additional optimisation being performed. The VMAT plans that were generated using the RP model were compared with the patients’ previous, manually optimised clinical plans (MP), none of which had been used for the development of the in-house RP prostate model. Differences between RP and MP in planning target volume (PTV) doses, organs at risk (OAR) sparing, monitor units (MU) and planning time required to produce treatment plans were analysed. Assessment of PTV doses was based on the conformation number (CN), homogeneity index (HI), D2%, D99% and the mean dose of the PTV. The OAR doses evaluated were the rectal V50 Gy, V65 Gy, V70 Gy and the mean dose, the bladder V65 Gy, V70 Gy and the mean dose, and the mean dose to both femurs. Results: D99% and mean dose of the PTV were lower for RP than for MP (p = 0·006 and p = 0·040, respectively).V50 Gy, V65 Gy and the mean dose to rectum were lower in RP than in MP (p < 0·001). V65 Gy, V70 Gy and the mean dose to bladder were lower in RP than in MP (p < 0·001). RP had enhanced the sparing of both femurs (p < 0·001) and significantly reduced the planning time to less than 5% of the time taken with MP. MU in RP was significantly higher than MP by an average of 52·5 MU (p < 0·001) and 46 out of the 50 RP plans were approved by the radiation oncologist. Conclusion: This study has demonstrated that VMAT plans generated using an in-house RP prostate model in a single optimisation for prostate patients were clinically acceptable with comparable or better plan quality compared to MP. RP can add value and improve treatment planning efficiency in a high-throughput radiotherapy department through reduced plan optimisation time while maintaining consistency in the plan quality.


Author(s):  
Anil Gupta ◽  
Rambha Pandey ◽  
Seema Sharma ◽  
Vivek Ghosh ◽  
Ekta Dhamija ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction: Paratesticular sarcoma are extremely rare malignant tumours. Unlike other sites, they tend to be lower grade and have higher propensity of lymphatic spread. They tend to fail locally and occasionally in the regional lymph nodes. In the absence of target volume delineation guidelines and technical illustration of conformal planning, we have made an attempt to illustrate conformal planning methodology and define target volume based on current evidence in a case of paratesticular sarcoma. Methods: We are presenting a case of 62-year-old male who presented with 15-cm scrotal swelling and underwent high inguinal orchidectomy with ligation of spermatic cord. Histopathology presented a well-differentiated leiomyosarcoma of epididymis. Post-operative radiotherapy target volume included the tumour bed, ipsilateral inguinal nodes and lower pelvic nodes as the clinical target volume. Conclusion: Adjuvant radiotherapy using advanced delivery technique such as volumetric arc technique can provide good dose distribution with good sparing of organs at risk. The downside of conformal radiation delivery is that it is a resource-intensive and has no established target volume delineation guidelines.


2021 ◽  
pp. 77-77
Author(s):  
Borislava Petrovic ◽  
Olivera Ivanov ◽  
Milana Marjanovic ◽  
Jelena Licina ◽  
Ivan Gencel ◽  
...  

Background/ Aim. Transition from standard to highly conformal radiation therapy techniques, requires implementation of complex advanced dosimetry. The aim of the work was comparison of dosimetric parameters of 3DCRT and VMAT plan, as well as complications after treatment in relation to dosimetric parameters at gynecological cancer patients. Methods. Forty-nine gynecological cancer patients were included in the study. All patients were planned for 3D CRT, but due to unacceptable doses to organs at risk, treatment plans for IMRT or VMAT were generated for 21 patients. The patients were prescribed 50.4 Gy/28 fractions (4) and 45 Gy/25 fractions (45 patients). The coverage of PTV and doses to organs at risk were recorded. PTV margins were evaluated for both techniques according to the Van Herk formula. Results. ICRU 83 criteria were fulfilled in all 3DCRT /VMAT/IMRT plans providing optimal coverage of PTV. Doses to OARS: in average, the V45Gy in small bowel in IMRT/VMAT plans was four times smaller than the same of 3DCRT plans. The V45Gy of small bowels was in average 49.4cm3 in IMRT/VMAT plans, while in 3DCRT plans it was 211.6 cm3. In case of femoral head, significant reduction in V30Gy (10.8 % vs. 33.1%) and mean dose in case of IMRT/VMAT plans was recorded (30.4 Gy in 3DCRT vs 23.6 Gy). Rectum was planned with significantly lower dose in terms of V30Gy (79.5% vs 95.2%) in IMRT/VMAT plans. Bladder was better spared in VMAT plans in terms of V40Gy (51% vs. 91%), but maximum dose was higher in VMAT plans than in 3DCRT (50.1 Gy to 48.1 Gy in average). For all OARs there is statistically significant difference registered at p>0.05. Toxicities recorded in VMAT and 3DCRT patients include mainly radiation induced cystitis and enteritis. Patients treated with 3DCRT generally have longer recovery time. Homogeneity index was 0.11 for VMAT plans and 0.09 for 3DCRT plans. Conclusions. Analysis of dosimetric parameters revealed significant differences in normal tissue doses for same 3DCRT and VMAT patient, which confirmed necessity for implementation of advanced techniques for as many patients as possible.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gustavo R. Sarria ◽  
Zuzanna Smalec ◽  
Thomas Muedder ◽  
Jasmin A. Holz ◽  
Davide Scafa ◽  
...  

PurposeTo simulate and analyze the dosimetric differences of intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT) or pre-operative single-fraction stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) in addition to post-operative external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) in Glioblastoma (GB).MethodsImaging series of previously treated patients with adjuvant radiochemotherapy were analyzed. For SRS target definition, pre-operative MRIs were co-registered to planning CT scans and a pre-operative T1-weighted gross target volume (GTV) plus a 2-mm planning target volume (PTV) were created. For IORT, a modified (m)GTV was expanded from the pre-operative volume, in order to mimic a round cavity as during IORT. Dose prescription was 20 Gy, homogeneously planned for SRS and calculated at the surface for IORT, to cover 99% and 90% of the volumes, respectively. For tumors &gt; 2cm in maximum diameter, a 15 Gy dose was prescribed. Plan assessment was performed after calculating the 2-Gy equivalent doses (EQD2) for both boost modalities and including them into the EBRT plan. Main points of interest encompass differences in target coverage, brain volume receiving 12 Gy or more (V12), and doses to various organs-at-risk (OARs).ResultsSeventeen pre-delivered treatment plans were included in the study. The mean GTV was 21.72 cm3 (SD ± 19.36) and mGTV 29.64 cm3 (SD ± 25.64). The mean EBRT and SRS PTV were 254.09 (SD ± 80.0) and 36.20 cm3 (SD ± 31.48), respectively. Eight SRS plans were calculated to 15 Gy according to larger tumor sizes, while all IORT plans to 20 Gy. The mean EBRT D95 was 97.13% (SD ± 3.48) the SRS D99 99.91% (SD ± 0.35) and IORT D90 83.59% (SD ± 3.55). Accounting for only-boost approaches, the brain V12 was 49.68 cm3 (SD ± 26.70) and 16.94 cm3 (SD ± 13.33) (p&lt;0.001) for SRS and IORT, respectively. After adding EBRT results respectively to SRS and IORT doses, significant lower doses were found in the latter for mean Dmax of chiasma (p=0.01), left optic nerve (p=0.023), right (p=0.008) and left retina (p&lt;0.001). No significant differences were obtained for brainstem and cochleae.ConclusionDose escalation for Glioblastoma using IORT results in lower OAR exposure as conventional SRS.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wan-jia Zheng ◽  
Ming-li Wang ◽  
Jun Zhang ◽  
Yi-mei Liu ◽  
Li Chen ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose: To identify planning systems and techniques suitable for different sites tumors by analyzing dosimetric differences using three commercial radiotherapy planning systems: Tomotherapy, Monaco and Eclipse.Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 20 lung cancer and 8 nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), and each patient plans were designed using the three systems. The dose distribution of the target and organs at risk (OARs) were compared, and monitor unit (MU) and treatment time were also evaluated.Results: For lung cancer, mean dose of PGTV, PTV1 and PTV2 in Monaco and Tomo plans were lower than Eclipse plan. PTV2 CI in Monaco and Eclipse plans were better than Tomo plans (p=0.002, p=0.022). Monaco and Tomo plans were better than Eclipse plan regarding to mean dose and V15Gy of lungs; the lowest lungs V20Gy and V30Gy were provided by Tomo plan. The esophagus, heart and SpinalCord_03 dose were lowest in Monaco plan, and the maximum dose and V45Gy of SpinalCord_03 were 592.1cGy and 1.37% lower than Eclipse plan, respectively. For NPC, mean dose of PGTV, PTV1 and PTV2 in Eclipse plan were superior to Tomo plan (p=0.008, p=0.000, p=0.003); PTV2 V95% in Tomo plan was increased by 1.64% than Eclipse plan. There was no significant difference between Monaco and Eclipse plans. Tomo plan showed better spinal cord and brainstem protection, with spinal cord max dose 249.38cGy lower than Eclipse plan and 555cGy lower than Monaco plan, respectively.Conclusion: Although the three plans reflected their respective advantages in different aspects, in general, the Monaco plan (VMAT) was the best choice for lung cancer, and for the more advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma, the Tomo plan (HT) was superior to the other two plans.


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Shen ◽  
Yinjie TAO ◽  
Hui GUAN ◽  
Hongnan ZHEN ◽  
Lei HE ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose Clinical target volumes (CTV) and organs at risk (OAR) could be auto-contoured to save workload. The goal of this study was to assess a convolutional neural network (CNN) for totally automatic and accurate CTV and OAR in prostate cancer, while also comparing anticipated treatment plans based on auto-contouring CTV to clinical plans. Methods From January 2013 to January 2019, 217 computed tomography (CT) scans of patients with locally advanced prostate cancer treated at our hospital were collected and analyzed. CTV and OAR were delineated with a deep learning based method, which named CUNet. The performance of this strategy was evaluated using the mean Dice similarity coefficient (DSC), 95th percentile Hausdorff distance (95HD), and subjective evaluation. Treatment plans were graded using predetermined evaluation criteria, and % errors for clinical doses to the planned target volume (PTV) and organs at risk(OARs) were calculated. Results The defined CTVs had mean DSC and 95HD values of 0.84 and 5.04 mm, respectively. For one patient's CT scans, the average delineation time was less than 15 seconds. When CTV outlines from CUNetwere blindly chosen and compared to GT, the overall positive rate in clinicians A and B was 53.15% vs 46.85%, and 54.05% vs 45.95%, respectively (P>0.05), demonstrating that our deep machine learning model performed as good as or better than human demarcation Furthermore, 8 testing patients were chosen at random to design the predicted plan based on the auto-courtoring CTV and OAR, demonstrating acceptable agreement with the clinical plan: average absolute dose differences of D2, D50, D98, Dmean for PTV are within 0.74%, and average absolute volume differences of V45, V50 for OARs are within 3.4%. Without statistical significance (p>0.05), the projected findings are comparable to clinical truth. Conclusion The experimental results show that the CTV and OARs defined by CUNet for prostate cancer were quite close to the ground reality.CUNet has the potential to cut radiation oncologists' contouring time in half. When compared to clinical plans, the differences between estimated doses to CTV and OAR based on auto-courtoring were small, with no statistical significance, indicating that treatment planning for prostate cancer based on auto-courtoring has potential.


2019 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 153303381985775 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiang Zhang ◽  
Q. Jackie Wu ◽  
Yaorong Ge ◽  
Chunhao Wang ◽  
Yang Sheng ◽  
...  

Aim: The aim of the study is to develop a geometrically adaptive and statistically robust plan quality inference method. Methods and Materials: We propose a knowledge-based plan quality inference method that references to similar plans in the historical database for patient-specific plan quality evaluation. First, a novel plan similarity metric with high-dimension geometrical difference quantification is utilized to retrieve similar plans. Subsequently, dosimetric statistical inferences are obtained from the selected similar plans. Two plan quality metrics—dosimetric result probability and dose deviation index—are proposed to quantify plan quality among prior similar plans. To evaluate the performance of the proposed method, we exported 927 clinically approved head and neck treatment plans. Eight organs at risk, including brain stem, cord, larynx, mandible, pharynx, oral cavity, left parotid and right parotid, were analyzed. Twelve suboptimal plans identified by dosimetric result probability were replanned to validate the capability of the proposed methods in identifying inferior plans. Results: After replanning, left and right parotid median doses are reduced by 31.7% and 18.2%, respectively; 83% of these cases would not be identified as suboptimal without the proposed similarity plan selection. Analysis of population plan quality reveals that average parotid sparing has been improving significantly over time (21.7% dosimetric result probability reduction from year 2006-2007 to year 2016-2017). Notably, the increasing dose sparing over time in retrospective plan quality analysis is strongly correlated with the increasing dose prescription ratios to the 2 planning targets, revealing the collective trend in planning conventions. Conclusions: The proposed similar plan retrieval and analysis methodology has been proven to be predictive of the current plan quality. Therefore, the proposed workflow can potentially be applied in the clinics as a real-time plan quality assurance tool. The proposed metrics can also serve the purpose of plan quality analytics in finding connections and historical trends in the clinical treatment planning workflow.


2019 ◽  
pp. 20181037 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon L Giles ◽  
Georgios Imseeh ◽  
Ian Rivens ◽  
Gail R ter Haar ◽  
Alexandra Taylor ◽  
...  

Objective: To assess the feasibility of targeting recurrent gynaecological tumours with MR guided high intensity focused ultrasound (MRgHIFU). Methods: 20 patients with recurrent gynaecological tumours were prospectively scanned on a Philips/Profound 3 T Achieva MR/ Sonalleve HIFU system. Gross tumour volume (GTV) and planning target volume (PTV) were delineated on T 2W and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). Achievable treatment volumes that (i) assumed bowel and/or urogenital tract preparation could be used to reduce risk of damage to organs-at-risk (TVoptimal), or (ii) assumed no preparations were possible (TVno-prep) were compared with PTV on virtual treatment plans. Patients were considered treatable if TVoptimal ≥ 50 % PTV. Results: 11/20 patients (55%) were treatable if preparation strategies were used: nine had central pelvic recurrences, two had tumours in metastatic locations. Treatable volume ranged from 3.4 to 90.3 ml, representing 70 ± 17 % of PTVs. Without preparation, 6/20 (30%) patients were treatable (four central recurrences, two metastatic lesions). Limiting factors were disease beyond reach of the HIFU transducer, and bone obstructing tumour access. DWI assisted tumour outlining, but differences from T 2W imaging in GTV size (16.9 ± 23.0%) and PTV location (3.8 ± 2.8 mm in phase-encode direction) limited its use for treatment planning. Conclusions: Despite variation in size and location within the pelvis, ≥ 50 % of tumour volumes were considered targetable in 55 % patients while avoiding adjacent critical structures. A prospective treatment study will assess safety and symptom relief in a second patient cohort. Advances in knowledge: Target size, location and access make MRgHIFU a viable treatment modality for treating symptomatic recurrent gynaecological tumours within the pelvis.


Author(s):  
Ernest Osei ◽  
Johnson Darko ◽  
Steph Swanson ◽  
Katrina Fleming ◽  
Ronald Snelgrove ◽  
...  

Abstract Objectives: Lung cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in Canada and the leading cause of cancer-related mortality in both men and women in North America. Surgery is usually the primary treatment option for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, for patients who may not be suitable candidates for surgery, stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is an alternative method of treatment. SBRT has proven to be an effective technique for treating NSCLC patients by focally administering high radiation dose to the tumour with acceptable risk of toxicity to surrounding healthy tissues. The goal of this comprehensive retrospective dosimetric study is to compare the dosimetric parameters between three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3DCRT) and volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) lung SBRT treatment plans for two prescription doses. Methods: We retrospectively analysed and compared lung SBRT treatment plans of 263 patients treated with either a 3DCRT non-coplanar or with 2–3 VMAT arcs technique at 48 Gy in 4 fractions (48 Gy/4) or 50 Gy in 5 fractions (50 Gy/5) prescribed to the planning target volume (PTV), typically encompassing the 80% isodose volume. All patients were treated on either a Varian 21EX or TrueBeam linear accelerator using 6-MV or 10-MV photon beams. Results: The mean PTV V95% and V100% for treatment plans at 48 Gy/4 are 99·4 ± 0·6% and 96·0 ± 1·0%, respectively, for 3DCRT and 99·7 ± 0·4% and 96·4 ± 3·4%, respectively, for VMAT. The corresponding mean PTV V95% and V100% at 50 Gy/5 are 99·0 ± 1·4% and 95·5 ± 2·5% for 3DCRT and 99·5 ± 0·8% and 96·1 ± 1·6% for VMAT. The CIRI and HI5/95 for the PTV at 48 Gy/4 are 1·1 ± 0·1 and 1·2 ± 0·0 for 3DCRT and 1·0 ± 0·1 and 1·2 ± 0·0 for VMAT. The corresponding CIRI and HI5/95 at 50 Gy/5 are 1·1 ± 0·1 and 1·3 ± 0·1 for 3DCRT and 1·0 ± 0·1 and 1·2 ± 0·0 for VMAT. The mean R50% and D2cm at 48 Gy/4 are 5·0 ± 0·8 and 61·2 ± 7·0% for 3DCRT and 4·9 ± 0·8 and 57·8 ± 7·9% for VMAT. The corresponding R50% and D2cm at 50 Gy/5 are 4·7 ± 0·5 and 65·5 ± 9·4% for 3DCRT and 4·7 ± 0·7 and 60·0 ± 7·2% for VMAT. Conclusion: The use of 3DCRT or VMAT technique for lung SBRT is an efficient and reliable method for achieving dose conformity, rapid dose fall-off and minimising doses to the organs at risk. The VMAT technique resulted in improved dose conformity, rapid dose fall-off from the PTV compared to 3DCRT, although the magnitude may not be clinically significant.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 153303382110279
Author(s):  
So Hyun Park ◽  
Jinhyun Choi

Purpose: To evaluate geometric and dosimetric effects of bra application during radiotherapy planning for breast cancer patients with large and pendulous breasts. Materials and Methods: Twenty patients with chest sizes >38 inches between April 2019 and July 2019 underwent radiotherapy planning with and without a radiation bra (Chabner XRT®). Geometric and dosimetric parameters included the breast volume, superior-inferior (SI) distance, separation (S) as the distance of the longest diameter of the clinical target volume (CTV), conformity number (CN), and homogeneity index (HI) of CTV. The organs at risk (OARs) were defined as the lungs, heart, and liver. Results: The use of the radiation bra provided mean changes of −0.51 cm for S, −1.45 cm for SI, and −61.18 cc for breast volume (all P < 0.05). Breast volume was correlated with bra-related changes in cross diameter (r = 0.641, P = 0.002) and volume (r = 0.680, P = 0.001). Significant dose reductions were observed for the lungs (mean V10: 19.58 cc, V20: 17.13 cc, Dmean: 86.24 cGy) and heart (Dmean: 170.23 cGy). No significant differences were observed for CN (0.62-0.67) and HI (0.19-0.20) of the CTV. Conclusion: The application of a radiation bra was associated with better geometric and dosimetric planning parameters, with a smaller CTV and lower doses to the OARs (lungs and heart) in the radiotherapy field. In addition, we expect that bra use during radiotherapy would provide emotional benefits.


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