• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.14-24
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• 2016

Since the head and neck region is densely located with organs at risk (OAR), OAR-sparing is an important issue in the treatment of head and neck cancers. This study-in which different treatment plans were performed varying the head tilt angle on brain tumor patients-investigates the optimal head elevation angle for sparing normal organs (e.g. the hippocampus) and further compares the dosimetric characteristics of different types of radiation equipment. we performed 3D conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT), intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), and tomotherapy on 10 patients with brain tumors in the frontal lobe while varying the head tilt angle of patients to analyze the dosimetric characteristics of different therapy methods. In each treatment plan, 95% of the tumor volume was irradiated with a dose of 40 Gy in 10 fractions. The step and shoot technique with nine beams was used for IMRT, and the same prescription dose was delivered to the tumor volume for the 3D-CRT and tomotherapy plans. The homogeneity index, conformity index, and normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) were calculated. At a head elevation angle of $30^{\circ}$, conformity of the isodose curve to the target increased on average by 53%, 8%, and 5.4%. In 3D-CRT, the maximum dose received by the brain stem decreased at $15^{\circ}$, $30^{\circ}$, and $40^{\circ}$, compared to that observed at $0^{\circ}$. The NTCP value of the hippocampus observed in each modality was the highest at a head and neck angle of $0^{\circ}$ and the lowest at $30^{\circ}$. This study demonstrates that the elevation of the patients' head tilt angle in radiation therapy improves the target region's homogeneity of dose distribution by increasing the tumor control rate and conformity of the isodose curve to the target. Moreover, the study shows that the elevation of the head tilt angle lowers the NTCP by separating the tumor volume from the normal tissues, which helps spare OARs and reduce the delivered dose to the hippocampus.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.104-111
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• 2019

Purpose: Online magnetic resonance-guided adaptive radiotherapy (MRgART), an emerging technique, is used to address the change in anatomical structures, such as treatment target region, during the treatment period. However, the electron density map used for dose calculation differs from that for daily treatment, owing to the variation in organ location and, notably, air pockets. In this study, we evaluate the dosimetric effect of electron density override on air pockets during online ART for pancreatic cancer cases. Methods: Five pancreatic cancer patients, who were treated with MRgART at the Seoul National University Hospital, were enrolled in the study. Intensity modulated radiation therapy plans were generated for each patient with 60Co beams on a ViewrayTM system, with a 45 Gy prescription dose for stereotactic body radiation therapy. During the treatment, the electron density map was modified based on the daily MR image. We recalculated the dose distribution on the plan, and the dosimetric parameters were obtained from the dose volume histograms of the planning target volume (PTV) and organs at risk. Results: The average dose difference in the PTV was 0.86Gy, and the observed difference at the maximum dose was up to 2.07 Gy. The variation in air pockets during treatment resulted in an under- or overdose in the PTV. Conclusions: We recommend the re-contouring of the air pockets to deliver an accurate radiation dose to the target in MRgART, even though it is a time-consuming method.

• The Journal of Korean Society for Radiation Therapy
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• v.34
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• pp.43-50
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• 2022

Objective: The purpose of this study is to choose a treatment plan and equipment to maximize tangential irradiation to protect the normal brain tissues as much as possible during total scalp irradiation. Subjects and Methods: After zoning the total scalp of a phantom and selecting a target area for treatment, the study made a Helical TomoTherapy(HT) plan, a Helical TomoTherapy with a Complete Block(HTCB) plan, and a Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy(VMAT) plan. All of these plans made sure that the volume of a treatment plan with 95% of a prescription dose(40 Gy) would not exceed 95% of the entire volume and that Dmax would not be more than 110% of the prescription dose. The therapy plans compared doses among organs at risk of damage including the brain. Doses in the brain tissues were assessed based on the volumetric criteria for normal tissues in Emami et al. Results: HT, HTCB, and VMAT had a dose of 21.68 Gy, 13.75 Gy, and 20.89 Gy, respectively, in brain tissues at D_33%, a dose of 7.06 Gy, 3.21 Gy, and 7.84 Gy, respectively, at D_67%, and a dose of 3.14 Gy, 1.75 Gy, and 3.84 Gy, respectively, at D_100%. They recorded a Dmean of 16.64 Gy, 11.78 Gy, and 16.64 Gy, respectively. These results show that the overall dose was low in the HTCB plan. When the volume of a low dose was calculated based on 5 Gy, they recorded 87%, 49%, and 96%, respectively, in V_5Gy. In addition, the maximum dose in the remaining organ(brain stem, hippocampus, and both lenses) except for the optic pathway was the lowest in HTCB Conclusion: The findings demonstrate that TomoTherapy with a complete block minimized a dose in organs at risk of damage including the brain and hippocampus on both sides and accordingly reduced the probability of side effects such as radiation-induced brain injuries and a resulting decrease in neurocognitive functions. In addition to total scalp irradiation, if additional studies on ring targets treated in various areas are conducted to establish the benefits of tangential irradiation, it is believed that TomoTherapy using Complete Block can be used to maximize tangential irradiation in treatment planning.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.2573-2577
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• 2016

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine a method of dose prescription that minimizes normal tissue irradiation outside the planning target volume (PTV) during stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for patients with non-small cell lung cancer. Methods: Previous research and patients with typical T1 lung tumors with peripheral lesions in the lung were selected for analysis. A PTV and several organs at risk (OARs) were constructed for the dose calculated; six treatment plans employing intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) were produced, in which the dose was prescribed to encompass the PTV, with the prescription isodose level (PIL) set at 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 or 95% of the isocenter dose. Additionally, four OARs around the PTV were constructed to evaluate the dose received in adjacent tissues. Results: The use of higher PILs for SBRT resulted in improved sparing of OARs, with the exception of the volume of lung treated with a lower dose. Conclusions: The use of lower PILs is likely to create significant inhomogeneity of the dose delivered to the target, which may be beneficial for the control of tumors with poor conformity indices.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.343-354
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• 2018

Aluminum oxide nanoparticles ($Al_2O_3$ NPs) are among the most widely used nanomaterials; however, relatively little information about their risk identification and assessment is available. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the potential toxicity of $Al_2O_3$ NPs following repeated inhalation exposure in male Sprague-Dawley rats. Rats were exposed to $Al_2O_3$ NPs for 28 days (5 days/week) at doses of 0, 0.2, 1, and $5mg/m^3$ using a nose-only inhalation system. During the experimental period, we evaluated the clinical signs, body weight change, hematological and serum biochemical parameters, necropsy findings, organ weight, and histopathology findings. Additionally, we analyzed the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), including differential leukocyte counts, and aluminum contents in the major organs and blood. Aluminum contents were the highest in lung tissues and showed a dose-dependent relationship in the exposure group. Histopathology showed alveolar macrophage accumulation in the lungs of rats in the $5mg/m^3$ group during exposure and recovery. These changes tended to increase at the end of the recovery period. In the BALF analysis, total cell and neutrophil counts and lactate dehydrogenase, tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$, and interleukin-6 levels significantly increased in the 1 and $5mg/m^3$ groups during exposure. Under the present experimental conditions, we suggested that the no-observed-adverse-effect level of $Al_2O_3$ NPs in male rats was $1mg/m^3$, and the target organ was the lung.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.28-38
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• 2004

This study presents the result of uncertainty and sensitivity analysis of a pharmacokinetic model which describes the distribution and removal of benzene at each organ when an indivisual inhales indoor contaminated air with benzene originated from groundwater. The pharmacokinetic model simulates the distribution of benzene deposited in organs of human body through inhalation of contaminated indoor air as well as degradation-metabolism in liver. This study focused on the uncertainty problem induced from the use of the single values for blood flow, partition coefficient, degradation constant, volume, etc. of each organ which was due to a lack of knowledge about these parameters or their measurements. To solve this problem, uncertainty analysis on the pharmacokinetic model was conducted simultaneously which would help understanding the risk assessment associated with VOCs.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.27-35
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• 2012

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of common three photon energies (6-MV, 10-MV, and 15-MV) on intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) plans to treat prostate cancer patients. Materials and Methods: Twenty patients with prostate cancer treated locally to 81.0 Gy were retrospectively studied. 6-MV, 10-MV, and 15-MV IMRT plans for each patient were generated using suitable planning objectives, dose constraints, and 8-field setting. The plans were analyzed in terms of dose-volume histogram for the target coverage, dose conformity, organs at risk (OAR) sparing, and normal tissue integral dose. Results: Regardless of the energies chosen at the plans, the target coverage, conformity, and homogeneity of the plans were similar. However, there was a significant dose increase in rectal wall and femoral heads for 6-MV compared to those for 10-MV and 15-MV. The $V_{20Gy}$ of rectal wall with 6-MV, 10-MV, and 15-MV were 95.6%, 88.4%, and 89.4% while the mean dose to femoral heads were 31.7, 25.9, and 26.3 Gy, respectively. Integral doses to the normal tissues in higher energy (10-MV and 15-MV) plans were reduced by about 7%. Overall, integral doses in mid and low dose regions in 6-MV plans were increased by up to 13%. Conclusion: In this study, 10-MV prostate IMRT plans showed better OAR sparing and less integral doses than the 6-MV. The biological and clinical significance of this finding remains to be determined afterward, considering neutron dose contribution.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.60-65
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• 2019

Purpose: The quality assurance (QA) chart rounds are multidisciplinary meetings to review radiation therapy (RT) treatment plans. This study focus on describing the changes in RT management based on QA round reviews in a single institution. Materials and Methods: After 9 full years of implementation, a retrospective review of all patients whose charts passed through departmental QA chart rounds from 2007 to 2015. The reviewed cases were presented for RT plan review; subcategorized based on decision in QA rounds into: approved, minor modifications or major modifications. Major modification defined as any substantial change which required patient re-simulation or re-planning prior to commencement of RT. Minor modification included treatment plan changes which didn't necessarily require RT re-planning. Results: Overall 7,149 RT treatment plans for different anatomical sites were reviewed at QA rounds. From these treatment plans, 6,654 (93%) were approved, 144 (2%) required minor modifications, while 351 (5%) required major modifications. Major modification included changes in: selected RT dose (96/351, 27%), target volume definition (127/351, 36%), organs-at-risk contouring (10/351, 3%), dose volume objectives/constraints criteria (90/351, 26%), and intent of treatment (28/351, 8%). The RT plans which required major modification according to the tumor subtype were as follows: head and neck (104/904, 12%), thoracic (12/199, 6%), gastrointestinal (33/687,5%), skin (5/106, 5%), genitourinary (16/359, 4%), breast (104/2387, 4%), central nervous system (36/846, 4%), sarcoma (11/277, 4%), pediatric (7/251, 3%), lymphoma (10/423, 2%), gynecological tumors (2/359, 1%), and others (11/351, 3%). Conclusion: Multi-disciplinary standardized QA chart rounds provide a comprehensive and an influential method on RT plans and/or treatment decisions.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.106-114
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• 2018

This study aimed to compare the performance of previous optimization algorithms against new a photon optimizer (PO) algorithm for intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) plans for prostate cancer. Eighteen patients with prostate cancer were retrospectively selected and planned to receive 78 Gy in 39 fractions of the planning target volume (PTV). All plans for each patient optimized with the dose volume optimizer (DVO) and progressive resolution optimizer (PRO) algorithms for IMRT and VMAT were compared against plans optimized with the PO within Eclipse version 13.7. No interactive action was performed during optimization. Dosimetric and radiobiological indices for the PTV and organs at risk were analyzed. The monitor units (MU) per plan were recorded. Based on the plan quality for the target coverage, prostate IMRT and VMAT plans using the PO showed an improvement over DVO and PRO. In addition, the PO generally showed improvement in the tumor control probability for the PTV and normal tissue control probability for the rectum. From a technical perspective, the PO generated IMRT treatment plans with fewer MUs than DVO, whereas it produced slightly more MUs in the VMAT plan, compared with PRO. The PO showed over potentiality of DVO and PRO whenever available, although it led to more MUs in VMAT than PRO. Therefore, the PO has become the preferred choice for planning prostate IMRT and VMAT at our institution.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.111-123
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• 2020

Deep learning (DL) is a subset of machine learning and artificial intelligence that has a deep neural network with a structure similar to the human neural system and has been trained using big data. DL narrows the gap between data acquisition and meaningful interpretation without explicit programming. It has so far outperformed most classification and regression methods and can automatically learn data representations for specific tasks. The application areas of DL in radiation oncology include classification, semantic segmentation, object detection, image translation and generation, and image captioning. This article tries to understand what is the potential role of DL and what can be more achieved by utilizing it in radiation oncology. With the advances in DL, various studies contributing to the development of radiation oncology were investigated comprehensively. In this article, the radiation treatment process was divided into six consecutive stages as follows: patient assessment, simulation, target and organs-at-risk segmentation, treatment planning, quality assurance, and beam delivery in terms of workflow. Studies using DL were classified and organized according to each radiation treatment process. State-of-the-art studies were identified, and the clinical utilities of those researches were examined. The DL model could provide faster and more accurate solutions to problems faced by oncologists. While the effect of a data-driven approach on improving the quality of care for cancer patients is evidently clear, implementing these methods will require cultural changes at both the professional and institutional levels. We believe this paper will serve as a guide for both clinicians and medical physicists on issues that need to be addressed in time.