Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School / 김지훈, Brian Winey*
Abstract
PURPOSE:
To investigate angular sensitivity of proton range variation due to anatomic change in patients and patient setup error via water equivalent path length (WEPL) calculations.
METHODS:
Proton range was estimated by calculating WEPL to the distal edge of target volume using planning CT (pCT) and weekly scatter-corrected cone-beam CT (CBCT) images of 11 head and neck patients. Range variation was estimated as the difference between the distal WEPLs calculated on pCT and scatter-corrected CBCT (cCBCT). This WEPL analysis was performed every five degrees ipsilaterally to the target. Statistics of the distal WEPL difference were calculated over the distal area to compare between different beam angles. Physician-defined contours were used for the WEPL calculation on both pCT and cCBCT, not considering local deformation of target volume. It was also tested if a couch kick (10°) can mitigate the range variation due to anatomic change and patient setup error.
RESULTS:
For most of the patients considered, median, 75% quantile, and 95% quantile of the distal WEPL difference were largest for posterior oblique angles, indicating a higher chance of overdosing normal tissues at distal edge with these angles. Using a couch kick resulted in decrease in the WEPL difference for some posterior oblique angles.
CONCLUSIONS:
It was demonstrated that the WEPL change has angular dependency for the cohort of head and neck cancer patients. Selecting beam configuration robust to anatomic change in patient and patient setup error may improve the treatment outcome of head and neck proton therapy.
Author information
Kim J1, Park YK2, Sharp G3, Busse P3, Winey B4.
1
Department of Radiation Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Department of Radiation Oncology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
2
Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA.
3
Department of Radiation Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
4
Department of Radiation Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA. Electronic address: winey.brian@mgh.harvard.edu.
편집위원
방사선치료에서 영상유도치료가 이제는 일반치료로 점점 자리잡아가고 있고, 이에 따라 적응방사선치료에 대한 적용도 증가하고 있다. 양성자치료에서도 이를 위해서 적응방사선치료의 적응증이 정해지는 날이 올 것인데 본 연구가 많은 도움이 될 것으로 생각된다.
2020-03-02 16:48:37