• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제16권4호
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• pp.1633-1636
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• 2015

Background: The advantages of Rapid Arc plans versus Intensity modulated radiotherapy plans for Carcinoma left breast were analyzed. Materials and Methods: In this study 20 Post mastectomy carcinoma left breast patients were analyzed. Both Intensity modulated Radiotherapy and Rapid Arc plans were generated for these patients. IMRT plans with 7 beams in an arc fashion and VMAT plans with two semi arcs were made to achieve 95% dose coverage to 100% volume. The plans were evaluated using Dose volume Histograms. Results: The mean Conformity and Homogeneity index in VMAT is found to be 1.05 and 0.065 respectively whereas in IMRT it was 1.07 and 0.069. The 20% volume of Heart received a mean dose of 960cGy in VMAT and 1300cGy in IMRT. The mean dose was 1236cGy in VMAT and 1870cGy in IMRT. The ipsilateral Lung received 3395cGy to 5% volume and 1840cGy to 20% volume on an average and the mean dose was 1205cGy in VMAT, while the same were found to be 3525cGy, 2012cGy and 1435cGy respectively in IMRT. The Contralateral Lung received a mean dose of 505cGy in VMAT and 553cGy in IMRT. The mean Monitor units in VMAT were 512MU and 1170MU in IMRT. The NTID in VMAT is $108.8{\times}10^5Gycm^3$ and $110.1{\times}10^5Gycm^3$ in IMRT. Conclusions: The target coverage, homogeneity and Conformity index were better in VMAT plans. The Ipsilateral Lung and heart dose were very less in VMAT plans. The Contralateral Lung dose and the Normal Tissue Integral Dose were also lesser in VMAT plans however the difference is not very appreciable. The MU in VMAT plans is almost 50% that of the IMRT plans which results in the reduction of treatment time. On the whole VMAT proves to be a better modality for treating Ca. Left Breast Patients.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제13권7호
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• pp.3287-3292
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• 2012

Purpose: To study the overall treatment time (OTT) and acute toxicity of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) treatment for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Methods: This retrospective study covered all NPC patients who underwent radical IMRT treatment at the Penang General Hospital from June 2011 to February 2012. Patients of any age and stage of disease with histologically proven diagnosis were included. Information was collected on patient demographics, clinical stage, treatment received, including any neoadjuvant and/or concurrent chemotherapy, acute toxity and completion of IMRT within the OTT. Results: A total of 26 NPC patients were treated with IMRT during the study period; 88.5% had stage III/IV disease. 45.2% received neo-adjuvant chemotherapy while 50.0% were given concurrent chemo-irradiation. All patients completed the treatment and 92.3% within the 7 weeks OTT. Xerostomia was present in all patients with 92.3% having grade 2. Severe grade III/IV acute toxicity occurred in 73.1% of patients, the commonest of which was oral mucositis (57.6%). This was followed by dysphagia which occurred in 53.8%, skin reactions in 42.3% and weight loss in 19.2%. However, haematological toxicity was mild with only one patient having leucopaenia. Conclusion: IMRT treatment for NPC is feasible in our center. More importantly, it can be delivered within the 7 weeks OTT in the majority of patients. Severe grade 3/4 toxicity is very common (73.1%) and thus maximal nutritional and analgesic support is required throughout the treatment.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• 제39권2호
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• pp.108-115
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• 2022

Background: This study was aimed at comparing and analyzing the results of FractionLab (Varian/Mobius Medical System) with those of portal dosimetry that uses an electronic portal imaging device. Portal dosimetry is extensively used for patient-specific quality assurance (QA) in intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). Methods: The study includes 29 patients who underwent IMRT on a Novalis-Tx linear accelerator (Varian Medical System and Brain-LAB) between June 2019 and March 2021. We analyzed the multileaf collimator DynaLog files generated after portal dosimetry to evaluate the same condition using FractionLab. The results of the recently launched FractionLab at various gamma indices (0.1%/0.1 mm-1%/1 mm) are analyzed and compared with those of portal dosimetry (3%/3 mm). Results: The average gamma passing rates of portal dosimetry (3%/3 mm) and FractionLab are 98.1% (95.5%-100%) and 97.5% (92.3%-99.7%) at 0.6%/0.6 mm, respectively. The results of portal dosimetry (3%/3 mm) are statistically comparable with the QA results of FractionLab (0.6%/0.6 mm-0.9%/0.9 mm). Conclusion: This paper presents the clinical performance of FractionLab by the comparison of the QA results of FractionLab using portal dosimetry with various gamma indexes when performing patient-specific QA in IMRT treatment. Further, the appropriate gamma index when performing patient-specific QA with FractionLab is provided.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• 제35권1호
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• pp.90-100
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• 2017

Purpose: To Study the dosimetric advantage of the Jaw tracking technique in intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) for Head and Neck Cancers. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively selected 10 previously treated head and neck cancer patients stage (T1/T2, N1, M0) in this study. All the patients were planned for IMRT and VMAT with simultaneous integrated boost technique. IMRT and VMAT plans were performed with jaw tracking (JT) and with static jaw (SJ) technique by keeping the same constraints and priorities for a particular patient. Target conformity, dose to the critical structures and low dose volumes were recorded and analyzed for IMRT and VMAT plans with and without JT for all the patients. Results: The conformity index average of all patients followed by standard deviation (${\bar{x}}{\pm}{\sigma}_{\bar{x}}$) of the JT-IMRT, SJ-IMRT, JT-VMAT, and SJ-VMAT were $1.72{\pm}0.56$, $1.67{\pm}0.57$, $1.83{\pm}0.65$, and $1.85{\pm}0.64$, and homogeneity index were $0.059{\pm}0.05$, $0.064{\pm}0.05$, $0.064{\pm}0.04$, and $0.064{\pm}0.05$. JT-IMRT shows significant mean reduction in right parotid and left parotid shows of 7.64% (p < 0.001) and 7.45% (p < 0.001) compare to SJ-IMRT. JT-IMRT plans also shows considerable dose reduction to thyroid, inferior constrictors, spinal cord and brainstem compared to the SJ-IMRT plans. Conclusion: Significant dose reductions were observed for critical structure in the JT-IMRT compared to SJ-IMRT technique. In JT-VMAT plans dose reduction to the critical structure were not significant compared to the SJ-IMRT due to relatively lesser monitor units.

• 한국의학물리학회지:의학물리
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• 제32권4호
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• pp.107-115
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• 2021

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the clinical quality assurance results of portal dosimetry using an electronic portal imaging device, a method that is extensively used for patient-specific quality assurance, and the newly released Mobius3D for intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT). Methods: This retrospective study includes data from 122 patients who underwent IMRT and VMAT on the Novalis Tx and VitalBeam linear accelerators between April and June 2020. We used a paired t-test to compare portal dosimetry using an electronic portal imaging device and the average gamma passing rates of MobiusFX using log files regenerated after patient treatment. Results: The average gamma passing rates of portal dosimetry (3%/3 mm) and MobiusFX (5%/3 mm) were 99.43%±1.02% and 99.32%±1.87% in VitalBeam and 97.53%±3.34% and 96.45%±13.94% in Novalis Tx, respectively. Comparison of the gamma passing rate results of portal dosimetry (3%/3 mm) and MobiusFX (5%/3 mm as per the manufacturer's manual) does not show any statistically significant difference. Conclusions: Log file-based patient-specific quality assurance, including independent dose calculation, can be appropriately used in clinical practice as a second-check dosimetry, and it is considered comparable with primary quality assurance such as portal dosimetry.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• 제34권2호
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• pp.145-155
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• 2016

Purpose: Radiation therapy targeting axilla and groin lymph nodes improves regional disease control in locally advanced and high-risk skin cancers. However, trials generally used conventional two-dimensional radiotherapy (2D-RT), contributing towards relatively high rates of side effects from treatment. The goal of this study is to determine if three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT), intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), or volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) may improve radiation delivery to the target while avoiding organs at risk in the clinical context of skin cancer regional nodal irradiation. Materials and Methods: Twenty patients with locally advanced/high-risk skin cancers underwent computed tomography simulation. The relevant axilla or groin planning target volumes and organs at risk were delineated using standard definitions. Paired t-tests were used to compare the mean values of several dose-volumetric parameters for each of the 4 techniques. Results: In the axilla, the largest improvement for 3D-CRT compared to 2D-RT was for homogeneity index (13.9 vs. 54.3), at the expense of higher lung $V_{20}$ (28.0% vs. 12.6%). In the groin, the largest improvements for 3D-CRT compared to 2D-RT were for anorectum $D_{max}$ (13.6 vs. 38.9 Gy), bowel $D_{200cc}$ (7.3 vs. 23.1 Gy), femur $D_{50}$ (34.6 vs. 57.2 Gy), and genitalia $D_{max}$ (37.6 vs. 51.1 Gy). IMRT had further improvements compared to 3D-CRT for humerus $D_{mean}$ (16.9 vs. 22.4 Gy), brachial plexus $D_5$ (57.4 vs. 61.3 Gy), bladder $D_5$ (26.8 vs. 36.5 Gy), and femur $D_{50}$ (18.7 vs. 34.6 Gy). Fewer differences were observed between IMRT and VMAT. Conclusion: Compared to 2D-RT and 3D-CRT, IMRT and VMAT had dosimetric advantages in the treatment of nodal regions of skin cancer patients.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• 제38권2호
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• pp.138-147
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• 2020

Purpose: To evaluate the dosimetric variations in patients of head and neck cancer treated with definitive or adjuvant radiotherapy using optimized non-coplanar (ncVMAT) beams with coplanar (cVMAT) beams using volumetric arc therapy. Materials and Methods: Twenty-two patients of head and neck cancer that had received radiotherapy using VMAT in our department were retrospectively analyzed. Each of the patients was planned using coplanar and non-coplanar orientations using an optimized couch angle and fluences. We analyzed the Conformity Index (C_IRTOG), Dose Homogeneity Index (DHI), Heterogeneity Index (HI_RTOG), low dose volume, target and organs-at-risk coverage in both the plans without changing planning optimization parameters. Results: The prescription dose ranged from 60 Gy to 70 Gy. Using ncVMAT, C_IRTOG, DHI and HI_RTOG, and tumor coverage (ID_95%) had improved, low dose spillage volume in the body V_5Gy was increased and V_10Gy was reduced. Integral dose and intensity-modulated radiation therapy factor had increased in ncVMAT. In the case of non-coplanar beam arrangements, maximum dose (D_max) of right and left humeral head were reduced significantly whereas apex of the right and left lung mean dose were increased. Conclusion: The use of ncVMAT produced better target coverage and sparing of the shoulder and soft tissue of the neck as well as the critical organ compared with the cVMAT in patients of head and neck malignancy.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• 제53권4호
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• pp.184-190
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• 2020

Radiation therapy (RT) has improved patient outcomes, but treatment-related complication rates remain high. In the conventional 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional conformal RT (3D-CRT) era, there was little room for toxicity reduction because of the need to balance the estimated toxicity to organs at risk (OARs), derived from dose-volume histogram data for organs including the lung, heart, spinal cord, and liver, with the planning target volume (PTV) dose. Intensity-modulated RT (IMRT) is an advanced form of conformal RT that utilizes computer-controlled linear accelerators to deliver precise radiation doses to the PTV. The dosimetric advantages of IMRT enable better sparing of normal tissues and OARs than is possible with 3D-CRT. A major breakthrough in the treatment of esophageal cancer (EC), whether early or locally advanced, is the use of proton beam therapy (PBT). Protons deposit their highest dose of radiation at the tumor, while leaving none behind; the resulting effective dose reduction to healthy tissues and OARs considerably reduces acute and delayed RT-related toxicity. In recent studies, PBT has been found to alleviate severe lymphopenia resulting from combined chemo-radiation, opening up the possibility of reducing immune suppression, which might be associated with a poor prognosis in cases of locally advanced EC.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• 제37권4호
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• pp.271-278
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• 2019

Purpose: To investigate the differences in treatment outcomes between two radiation techniques, intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT). Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 160 (IMRT = 23, 3DCRT = 137) patients with stage I glottic cancer treated from January 2005 through December 2016. The IMRT was performed with TomoTherapy (16 patients), volumetric-modulated arc therapy (6 patients), and step-and-shoot technique (1 patient), respectively. The 3DCRT was performed with bilateral parallel opposing fields. The median follow-up duration was 30 months (range, 31 to 42 months) in the IMRT group and 65 months (range, 20 to 143 months) in the 3DCRT group. Results: The 5-year overall survival and 3-year local control rates of the 160 patients were 95.7% and 91.4%, respectively. There was no significant difference in 3-year local control rates between the IMRT and 3DCRT groups (94.4% vs. 91.0%; p = 0.587). Thirteen of 137 patients in the 3DCRT group had recurrences. In the IMRT group, one patient had a recurrence at the true vocal cord. Patients treated with IMRT had less grade 2 skin reaction than the 3DCRT group, but this had no statistical significance (4.3% vs. 21.2%; p = 0.080). Conclusion: IMRT had comparable outcomes with 3DCRT, and a trend of less acute skin reaction in stage I glottic cancer patients.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• 제19권1호
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• pp.53-65
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• 2001

목적 : 비인강암 환자의 국소제어율을 향상시키기 위한 목적으로 보상 여과판을 이용한 전방위 강도변조 방사선치료방법(intensity modulated radiation therapy : IMRT)을 계획하고 기존 3차원 입체조형치료방법과 비교하여 최적의 방사선치료방법을 모색하고자 한다. 대상 및 방법 : 3-차원 입체조형치료계획으로 치료받았던 비강암환자(T4N0M0) 1예를 선택하여 치료면의 굴곡과 뼈, 공동 등 불균질 조직으로 인하여 발생되는 표적체적의 선량분포를 균일하게 만들고 주변 정상장기의 손상을 최소화하기 위한 일차 입사선량의 강도 조절을 보상여과판으로 시행 하였다. 환자는 열변성 plastic mask로 고정시킨 후 치료조준용 CT Scan (PQ5000)을 이용하여 3 mm 간격으로 scan 하고 가상조준장치(virtual simulator)와 3차원 방사선치료계획 컴퓨터$(ADAC-Pinnacle^3)$를 이용하여 보상여과판을 제작하였다. 각 조사면을 세분한 소조사선(beamlet)의 강도 가중치(weighting)를 계산하고 가중치에 따른 선량 감약을 보상여과판의 두께로 환산하여 판별이 쉽도록 도표화하였다. 방사선 치료성과의 기준은 정량적으로 평가할 수 있는 선량체적표(dose volume histogram : DVH)와 종양억제확율(tumor control probability : TCP)및 정상조직 손상확율(normal tissue complication probability : NTCP)의 수학적 관계식을 이용하여 치료효과를 평가하였다. 결과 : 전방위 IMRT에서 계획용표적체적(planning target volume: PTV)내의 최소선량과 최대선량의 차이가 입체조형치료계획보다 약간 증가하였으며 평균선량은 강도조절치료계획에서 약 $10\%$, 더 높았고 전체 방사선량의 $95\%$가 포함되는 체적(V95)은 비교적 양쪽 설계방법에서 비슷한 양상을 보이고 있었다. 주위 건강장기들의 DVH에서 방사선에 민감한 장기인 시신경, 측두엽, 이하선, 뇌간, 척수, 측두하악골관절 등은 강도조절치료계획에서 많이 보호되었다. PTV의 종양제어확율은 입체조형치료계획과 강도변조치료계획에서 모두 비교적 균일하였으며 계획선량이 50 Gy에서 80 Gy로 증가함에 따라 TCP가 0.45에서 0.56으로 완만하게 증가하였다. 척수, 측두하악골 관절, 뇌간, 측두엽, 이하선, 시신경교차, 시신경 등 정상장기의 손상확율은 입체조형치료계획보다 강도조절치료계획에서 월등히 감소되었으며 특히 뇌간(brain stem)의 NTCP는 입체조형치료계획에서 보다 강도조절치료계획에서 훨씬 적은 값(0.3에서 0.15)으로 감소되었다. 계획선량의 증가에 따른 TCP와 NTCP를 입체조형치료계획과 강도조절치료계획에서 TCP는 공히 완만한 증가를 보였으나 NTCP값은 선량증가에 비례적으로 증가하였고 입체조형치료계획이 강도조절치료계획보다 월등히 증가하였다. 결론 : 보상여과판을 이용한 전방위 강도변조 방사선치료에서 PTV내의 선량 균일도의 개선은 없었지만 뇌간, 척수강 등 정상장기의 피폭을 줄일 수 있었다. 특히 인체표면의 굴곡이 심하거나 뼈, 동공 등으로 종양에 도달하는 방사선량분포가 균일하지 않을 경우 매우 유리한 치료방법이였다. 방사선치료성적을 평가함에 있어 DVH와 TCP, NTCP 등 수학적 척도를 이용함으로서 치료성과의 예측, 종양선량의 증가(dose escalation), 방사선수술의 지표 및 방사선치료의 질적 상황을 정량적 수치로 평가할 수 있어 방사선치료성과 향상에 기여할 수 있다고 생각한다.