Comparison of dose metrics between automated and manual radiotherapy planning for advanced stage non-small cell lung cancer with volumetric modulated arc therapy.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Creemers IHP
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7807870 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Comparison of dose metrics between automated and manual radiotherapy planning for advanced stage non-small cell lung cancer with volumetric modulated arc therapy.
Creemers Iris H P IHP Kusters Johannes M A M JMAM van Kollenburg Peter G M PGM Bouwmans Liza C W LCW Schinagl Dominic A X DAX Bussink Johan J
Physics and imaging in radiation oncology 20190101
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Project description:BackgroundFor several tumor entities, automated treatment planning has improved plan quality and planning efficiency, and may enable adaptive treatment approaches. Whole-pelvic prostate radiotherapy (WPRT) involves large concave target volumes, which present a challenge for volumetric arc therapy (VMAT) optimization. This study evaluates automated VMAT planning for WPRT-VMAT and compares the results with manual expert planning.MethodsA system for fully automated multi-criterial plan generation was configured for each step of sequential-boost WPRT-VMAT, with final "autoVMAT" plans being automatically calculated by the Monaco treatment planning system (TPS; Elekta AB, Stockholm, Sweden). Configuration was based on manually generated VMAT plans (manualVMAT) of 5 test patients, the planning protocol, and discussions with the treating physician on wishes for plan improvements. AutoVMAT plans were then generated for another 30 evaluation patients and compared to manualVMAT plans. For all 35 patients, manualVMAT plans were optimized by expert planners using the Monaco TPS.ResultsAutoVMAT plans exhibited strongly improved organ sparing and higher conformity compared to manualVMAT. On average, mean doses (Dmean) of bladder and rectum were reduced by 10.7 and 4.5 Gy, respectively, by autoVMAT. Prostate target coverage (V95%) was slightly higher (+0.6%) with manualVMAT. In a blinded scoring session, the radiation oncologist preferred autoVMAT plans to manualVMAT plans for 27/30 patients. All treatment plans were considered clinically acceptable. The workload per patient was reduced by > 70 min.ConclusionAutomated VMAT planning for complex WPRT dose distributions is feasible and creates treatment plans that are generally dosimetrically superior to manually optimized plans.
| S-EPMC5869893 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Background and purposePlanning complex radiotherapy treatments can be inefficient, with large variation in plan quality. In this study we evaluated plan quality and planning efficiency using real-time interactive planning (RTIP) for head and neck (HN) volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT).Materials and methodsRTIP allows manipulation of dose volume histograms (DVHs) in real-time to assess achievable planning target volume (PTV) coverage and organ at risk (OAR) sparing. For 20 HN patients previously treated with VMAT, RTIP was used to minimize OAR dose while maintaining PTV coverage. RTIP DVHs were used to guide VMAT optimization. Dosimetric differences between RTIP-assisted plans and original clinical plans were assessed. Five blinded radiation oncologists indicated their preference for each PTV, OAR and overall plan. To assess efficiency, ten patients were planned de novo by experienced and novice planners and a RTIP user.ResultsThe average planning time with RTIP was <20 min, and most plans required only one optimization. All 20 RTIP plans were preferred by a majority of oncologists due to improvements in OAR sparing. The average maximum dose to the spinal cord was reduced by 10.5 Gy (from 49.5 to 39.0 Gy), and the average mean doses for the oral cavity, laryngopharynx, contralateral parotid and submandibular glands were reduced by 3.5 Gy (39.1-35.7 Gy), 6.8 Gy (42.5-35.7 Gy), 1.7 Gy (17.0-15.3 Gy) and 3.3 Gy (22.9-19.5 Gy), respectively.ConclusionsIncorporating RTIP into clinical workflows may increase both planning efficiency and OAR sparing.
| S-EPMC7807618 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Background and purposeRadiotherapy treatment planning of radical doses for concurrent chemoradiation in Stage III non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) presents many challenges. This dosimetric study aimed to analyse the impact of spatial location of tumour and nodal burden in limiting the achievement of normal organ constraints and the use of appropriate radiotherapy technique to address it.Materials and methodsFifteen Stage III NSCLC patients underwent 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET)/computed tomography (CT) based treatment planning. VMAT (Volumetric Modulated Arc Radiotherapy) plans were made for all patients treated by 3D-CRT (3-Dimensional Conformal Radiotherapy). A binomial logistic regression was performed to ascertain the tumour and nodal characteristics that decreased the likelihood of being planned to 60 Gy.ResultsInability to achieve normal tissue constraints, particularly spinal cord dose to less than 50 Gy, during initial planning by the assigned treatment technique was the primary dose limiting factor in four patients (p = 0.02). Alternate VMAT plans could achieve the dose constraints where 3D-CRT was unsuccessful in patients with bulky central disease in two patients. This technique fell short when there was gross vertebral body erosion.ConclusionsFor tumours with bulky central disease, VMAT should be preferred. With gross vertebral body erosion, even VMAT falls short if the planning target volume includes the spinal cord. In a subset of Stage III NSCLC upfront chemoradiation to radical doses may not be feasible.
| S-EPMC7807667 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Advanced image-guided stereotatic body lung radiotherapy techniques using volumetric-modulated arc radiotherapy (VMAT) with four-dimensional cone-beam computed tomography (4D CBCT) and CyberKnife with real-time target tracking have been clinically implemented by different authors. However, dosimetric comparisons between these techniques are lacking. In this study, 4D CT scans of 14 patients were used to create VMAT and CyberKnife treatment plans using 4D dose calculations. The GTV and the organs at risk (OARs) were defined on the end-exhale images for CyberKnife planning and were then deformed to the midventilation images (MidV) for VMAT optimization. Direct 4D Monte Carlo dose optimizations were performed for CyberKnife (4D(CK)). Four-dimensional dose calculations were also applied to VMAT plans to generate the 4D dose distributions (4D(VMAT)) on the exhale images for direct comparisons with the 4D(CK) plans. 4D(CK) and 4D(VMAT) showed comparable target conformity (1.31 ± 0.13 vs. 1.39 ± 0.24, p = 0.05). GTV mean doses were significantly higher with 4D(CK). Statistical differences of dose volume metrics were not observed in the majority of OARs studied, except for esophagus, with 4D(VMAT) yielding marginally higher D1% than 4D(CK). The normal tissue volumes receiving 80%, 50%, and 30% of the prescription dose (V80%, V50%, and V30%) were higher with 4D(VMAT), whereas 4D(CK) yielded slightly higher V10% in posterior lesions than 4D(VMAT). VMAT resulted in much less monitor units and therefore greater delivery efficiency than CyberKnife. In general, it was possible to produce dosimetrically acceptable plans with both techniques. The selection of treatment modality should consider the dosimetric results as well as the patient's tolerance of the treatment process specific to the SBRT technique.
| S-EPMC5714543 | biostudies-literature
Project description:To optimize the collimator angles in dual-arc volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) plans for whole-brain radiotherapy with hippocampus and inner ear sparing (HIS-WBRT). Two sets of dual-arc VMAT plans were generated for 13 small-cell lung cancer patients: (1) The collimator angles of arcs 1 and 2 (θ1/θ2) were 350°/10°, 350°/30°, 350°/45°, 350°/60°, and 350°/80°, i.e., the intersection angle of θ1 and θ2 (Δθ) increased. (2) θ1/θ2 were 280°/10°, 300°/30°, 315°/45°, 330°/60°, and 350°/80°, i.e., Δθ = 90°. The conformity index (CI), homogeneity index (HI), monitor units (MUs), and dosimetric parameters of organs-at-risk were analyzed. Quality assurance for Δθ = 90° plans was performed. With Δθ increasing towards 90°, a significant improvement was observed for most parameters. In 350°/80° plans compared with 350°/10° ones, CI and HI were improved by 1.1% and 25.2%, respectively; MUs were reduced by 16.2%; minimum, maximum, and mean doses (D100%, Dmax, and Dmean, respectively) to the hippocampus were reduced by 5.5%, 6.3%, and 5.4%, respectively; Dmean to the inner ear and eye were reduced by 0.7% and 5.1%, respectively. With Δθ kept at 90°, the plan quality was not significantly affected by θ1/θ2 combinations. The gamma-index passing rates in 280°/10° and 350°/80° plans were relatively lower compared with the other Δθ = 90° plans. Δθ showed a significant effect on dual-arc VMAT plans for HIS-WBRT. With Δθ approaching 90°, the plan quality exhibited a nearly continuous improvement, whereas with Δθ = 90°, the effect of θ1/θ2 combination was insignificant.
| S-EPMC8463591 | biostudies-literature
Project description:PurposeTo create and to validate knowledge-based volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) models for breast cancer treatments without lymph node irradiation.Materials and methodsOne hundred VMAT-based breast plans (manual plans [MP]) were selected to create two knowledge-based VMAT models (breast left and breast right) using RapidPlan™. The plans were generated on Eclipse v15.5 (Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, CA) with 6 MV of a Novalis Tx equipped with a high-resolution multileaf collimator. The models were verified based on goodness-of-fit statistics using the coefficients of determination (R 2) and Chi-square (χ2), and the goodness-of-estimation statistics through the mean square error (MSE). Geometrical and dosimetrical constraints were identified and removed from the RP models using statistical evaluation metrics and plots. For validation, 20 plans that integrate the models and 20 plans that do not were reoptimized with RP (closed and opened validation). Dosimetrical parameters of interest were used to compare MP versus RP plans for the Heart, Homolateral_Lung, Contralateral_Lung, and Contralateral_Breast. Optimization planning time and user independency were also analyzed.ResultsThe most unfavorable results of R2 in both models for the organs at risk were as follows: for Contralateral_Lung 0.51 in RP right breast (RP_RB) and for Heart 0.60 in RP left breast (RP_LB). The most unfavorable results of χ2 test were: for Contralateral_Breast 1.02 in RP_RB and for Heart 1.03 in RP_LB. These goodness-of-fit results show that no overfitting occurred in either of the models. There were no unfavorable results of mean square error (MSE, all < 0.05) in any of the two models. These goodness-of-estimation results show that the models have good estimation power. For closed validation, significant differences were found in RP_RB for Homolateral_Lung (all P ≤ 0.001), and in the RP_LB differences were found for the heart (all P ≤ 0.04) and for Homolateral_Lung (all P ≤ 0.022). For open validation, no statistically significant differences were obtained in either of the models. RP models had little impact on reducing optimization planning times for expert planners; nevertheless, the result showed a 30% reduction time for beginner planners. The use of RP models generates high-quality plans, without differences from the planner experience.ConclusionTwo RP models for breast cancer treatment using VMAT were successfully implemented. The use of RP models for breast cancer reduces the optimization planning time and improves the efficiency of the treatment planning process while ensuring high-quality plans.
| S-EPMC8853452 | biostudies-literature
Project description:To develop a 4D volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) inverse planning framework.4D VMAT inverse planning aims to derive an aperture and weight modulated arc therapy treatment plan that optimizes the accumulated dose distribution from all gantry angles and breathing phases. Under an assumption that the gantry rotation and patient breathing are synchronized (i.e., there is a functional relationship between the phase of the patient breathing cycle and the beam angle), the authors compute the contribution from different respiration phases through the registration of the phased CT images. The accumulative dose distribution is optimized by iteratively adjusting the aperture shape and weight of each beam through the minimization of the planning objective function. For comparison, traditional 3D VMAT plans are also performed for the two cases and the performance of the proposed technique is demonstrated.A framework for 4D VMAT inverse planning has been proposed. With the consideration of the extra dimension of time in VMAT, a tighter target margin can be achieved with a full duty cycle, which is otherwise not achievable simultaneously by either 3D VMAT optimization or gated VMAT.The 4D VMAT planning formulism proposed here provides useful insight on how the "time" dimension can be exploited in rotational arc therapy to maximally compensate for the intrafraction organ motion.
| S-EPMC2967715 | biostudies-other
Project description:BackgroundThe effects of oral contrast agents (OCAs) on dosimetry have not been studied in detail. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the influence of OCAs on dose calculation in volumetric-modulated arc therapy plans for rectal cancer.MethodsFrom 2008 to 2016, computed tomography (CT) images were obtained from 33 rectal cancer patients administered OCA with or without intravenous contrast agent (ICA) and 14 patients who received no contrast agent. CT numbers of organs at risk were recorded and converted to electronic densities. Volumetric-modulated arc therapy plans were designed before and after the original densities were replaced with non-enhanced densities. Doses to the planned target volume (PTV) and organs at risk were compared between the plans.ResultsOCA significantly increased the mean and maximum densities of the bowels, while the effects of ICA on these parameters depended on the blood supply of the organs. With OCA, the actual doses for PTV were significantly higher than planned and doses to the bowel increased significantly although moderately. However, the increase in the volume receiving a high-range doses was substantial (the absolute change of intestine volume receiving ≥52 Gy: 1.46 [0.05-3.99, cubic centimeter range: -6.74 to 128.12], the absolute change of colon volume receiving ≥50 Gy: 0.34 [0.01-1.53 cc, range: -0.08 to 3.80 cc]. Dose changes due to ICA were insignificant. Pearson correlation showed that dose changes were significantly correlated with a high intestinal volume within or near the PTV (ρ > 0.5, P < 0.05) and with the density of enhanced intestine (ρ > 0.3, P < 0.05).ConclusionsContrast agents applied in simulation cause underestimation of doses in actual treatment. The overdose due to ICA was slight, while that due to OCA was moderate. The bowel volume receiving ≥50Gy was dramatically increased when OCA within the bowel was absent. Physicians should be aware of these issues if the original plan is barely within clinical tolerance or if a considerable volume of enhanced intestine is within or near the PTV.
| S-EPMC7478501 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectivesThis study aimed to examine the effectiveness of the automated RapidPlan in assessing plan quality and to explore how beam complexity affects the mechanical performance of volumetric modulated arc therapy for head and neck cancers.Materials and methodsThe plans were first generated using automated RapidPlan with scripting application programming interface (API) and then further refined through manual optimization (RP+MP) to improve plan quality. The quality of 20 plans was assessed, taking into account dose statistics and clinical plan acceptability. The impact of beam complexity on mechanical performance was analyzed using parameters such as leaf speed (LS), leaf acceleration (LA), mean-field area (MFA), cross-axis score (CAS), closed leaf score (CLS), small aperture score (SAS), and monitor units per control point (MU/CP). Patient-specific quality assurance (PSQA) was conducted to determine differences between the RP+MP and original plans.ResultsNo differences in the heterogeneity index and conformity number were observed between the RP+MP and original plans. The RP+MP plan was superior to the original plan for sparing the left cochlea, left and right internal auditory canals, chiasm, and left optic nerve. Significant differences (p < 0.05) were identified in CAS, SAS1 mm, SAS2 mm, and SAS10mm. However, there was no significant difference in PSQA between the RP+MP and original plans. The RP+MP plan without any modifications was clinically acceptable in 45% of cases.ConclusionThe automated RP with scripting API followed by MP (RP+MP) yielded a high-quality plan in terms of dose statistics and clinical acceptability. The RP+MP plan yielded a higher CAS and SAS compared with the original plan. Nevertheless, there was no significant difference in PSQA between the RP+MP and original plans.
| S-EPMC11799909 | biostudies-literature
Project description:In radiotherapy treatment planning, optimization is essential for achieving the most favorable plan by adjusting optimization criteria. This study introduced an innovative approach to automatically fine-tune optimization parameters for volumetric modulated arc therapy prostate planning, ensuring all constraints were met. A knowledge-based planning model was invoked, and the fine-tuning process was applied through an in-house developed script. Among 25 prostate plans, this fine-tuning increased the number of plans meeting all constraints from 10/25 to 22/25, with a reduction in mean monitor units per gray without increasing plan's complexity. This automation improved efficiency by saving time and resources in treatment planning.
| S-EPMC11363496 | biostudies-literature