Inter-Observer Variation in Delineating the Pharyngeal Constrictor Muscle as Organ at Risk in Radiotherapy for Head and Neck Cancer.

ABSTRACT:

Background and purpose

To evaluate the inter-observer variation (IOV) in pharyngeal constrictor muscle (PCM) contouring, and resultant impact on dosimetry and estimated toxicity, as part of the pre-trial radiotherapy trial quality assurance (RTQA) within DARS, a multicenter phase III randomized controlled trial investigating the functional benefits of dysphagia-optimized intensity-modulated radiotherapy (Do-IMRT) in pharyngeal cancers.

Methods and materials

Outlining accuracy of 15 clinicians' superior and middle PCM (SMPCM) and inferior PCM (IPCM) were retrospectively assessed against gold standards (GS) using volume, location, and conformity indices (CIs) on a pre-trial benchmark case of oropharyngeal cancer. The influence of delineation variability on dose delivered to th

SUBMITTER: Petkar I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7985335 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature