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Objective:To evaluate the volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) dose verification of cervical cancer based on γ rule and dose volume histogram (DVH) and to perform correlation analysis between the evaluation results and the dose differences.Methods:Twenty cervical cancer VMAT plans were selected and performed on TrueBeam Linac. The delivered point and surface dose was measured by FC-65 G and ArcCheck and the results were compared to those calculated by Eclipse. The dose of patients was reconstructed by 3DVH. Then, differences between the reconstructed and plan value of D mean, D 95%, D 98% and D 2% of PTV, V 20Gy of left and right femoral head, V 40Gy of rectum, D 1cm 3 of cord, D 98%, D 2% and D 50% of the 50% prescription iso-dose volume (IDV), were evaluated and 3-dimensional (3D) γ was assessed for each organ. Lastly, Pearson’s correlation coefficient was used to analyze the relationship between point dose difference, 2D γ pass-rate (γ%), γ mean and 3D γ% of each organ and the dose difference. Results:Small differences were found between the point dose measured, reconstructed and the plan value. Differences between D mean of PTV, all dose parameters of IDV and plan values were all within 3% and V 40Gy of rectum showed the largest difference. As for the 3D γ%, the maximum pass rate was found for the left and right femoral head and the maximum variance for cord D 1cm 3. There was a moderate correlation between measured and reconstructed point dose deviation and dose difference of each organ, while no significant correlation was found for 2D γ%. Strong correlation was found between 3D γ% of target and D 50% of PTV/IDV and no correlation was found for other organs. Conclusion:The performance of both γ-and DVH-based evaluation can reveal dose error for dose verification, but both of them have some limitations and should be combined in clinical practice.
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Objective:To perform testing and clinical application of a volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) dosimetry verification system based on three-dimensional dose reconstruction of patient anatomical structures.Methods:ArcCheck array calibration was performed. Then, 200 MU was delivered with a 10 cm×10 cm field when the source to center of ArcCheck was 100 cm to calibrate the absolute dose and the dose was simultaneously measured by a FC65-G detector in the center of the ArcCheck. The absolute dose calibration value or the CT value of ArcCheck was adjusted to minimize the differences between the planning and measurement values of FC65-G, reconstructed value by 3DVH and reconstructed percent depth dose by 3DVH. 10 lung and 10 cervical cancer VMAT cases were selected and measured by ArcCheck and FC65-G under the delivery of a TrueBeam LINAC. The three-dimensional doses of all cases were reconstructed by 3DVH and compared with the planning and measurement values.Results:Different array calibration files of ArcCheck exerted different effect upon the two-dimensional dose measured by ArcCheck and three-dimensional dose reconstructed by 3DVH. The optimal reconstructed dose was obtained when self-calibration file was adopted and 249.96 cGy was regarded as the absolute dose calibration value. The deviations of the mean dose (D mean) and D 95% of the target were within ±4.2% and parameters of some organs at risk significantly differed compared with the reconstructed and planning dose for all cases. A negative mean point dose difference was obtained and the reconstructed dose was closer to the measured value. The γ-passing rate of the target for some cases was low, the proportion of regions irradiated by 50% prescription dose was slightly higher and the proportion of other organs was relatively high. Conclusion:The 3DVH model can be accurately established and tested with the acceptance test method in the present study, which can provide detailed information for dose verification.
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Cutaneous T-cell lymphomas are a relatively rare group of mature T-cell lymphomas mainly manifesting in the skin, and its common subtype is mycosis fungoides. Total skin electron irradiation is one of the important conventional treatment methods, but there are many disadvantages, such as uneven dose distribution, poor position repetition, and long treatment time, which affect the clinical efficacy and patient prognosis. With the emergence and gradual popularization of helical tomotherapy in recent years, more and more medical institutions are gradually expanding their applications in total skin irradiation due to their ability to treat ultra-long targets and achieve dose-sculpted distribution, aiming to further explore its good or bad, and confirm whether it can replace the traditional total skin electron irradiation. In this article, research progress on total skin irradiation using helical tomotherapy was reviewed, the development of treatment technology, clinical efficacy and current concerns and controversies were illustrated.
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Objective:To explore the difference in the complexity of different treatment planning systems, multi-leaf collimator (MLC) types and treatment sites of volume-modulated arc therapy (VMAT), and propose a complexity score for plan quality control.Methods:Statistical analysis of 12 complexity metrics including Monaco and Eclipse, Agility, Millennium and High-definition MLC, nasopharyngeal, lung and cervical cancer was performed. Spearman correlation coefficient between complexity metrics was calculated. Principal component analysis was conducted to reduce the dimensionality of the original data set to the first two principal components and explain its physical meaning. Complexity score based on the principal components was calculated to establish warning and action thresholds for plan quality control. The correlation between complexity metrics and γ pass rate was analyzed.Results:Except cervical cancer aperture sub-regions metric, other metrics had significant differences between Monaco and Eclipse. Monaco MLC had a more regular field but higher MU, smaller leaf gap, and longer leaf travel distance. High-definition MLC with smaller leaf width significantly added MLC aperture-related metrics. The first two principal components explained over 80% of the total variance of the original dataset, complexity score was weighted average of first two principal components. The distribution of complexity score for different equipment and sites was different. The warning threshold was expressed as the average plus standard deviation, and the action threshold was expressed as the average plus 2 standard deviations. Complexity metrics and complexity scores had small correlation with γ pass rate, showing weak or irrelevant but statistically significant. Conclusions:Different planning systems, MLC types, and treatment site complexity metrics are significantly different. The complexity score is a useful tool for plan quality control.
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Objective:To evaluate the combined effect of an trajectory log field based(LBF)and two commercial dose reconstruction systems on volume-modulated arc therapy(VMAT)dose verification of lung cancer.Methods:An in-house program was developed to introduce errors in trajectory log of TrueBeam to the origin plan and recalculate the dose of the error plan in treatment planning system(TPS). A total of 18 lung cancer cases treated by two-arc VMAT were selected to perform on LINAC and measured by ArcCheck simultaneously. Then, the reconstructed doses were obtained by 3DVH. The mode of reconstruction was calculated by LFB and Compass. Five of the 18 cases were performed on LINAC two times in four hours and measured by ArcCheck to evaluate the stability of the TrueBeam performance. The 18 plans were recalculated and performed on LINAC with a solid water phantom with 5 cm build-up, 4 cm back scattering thickness and a FC65-G detector in the center. The measured dose by detector was compared with the reconstructed dose by three systems.Results:TheTruebeam performance was stable. For all of the 18 cases, the point dose measured by FC65-G and reconstructed by three systems had a deviation of less than 2% to the TPS calculated. For all of the organs reconstructed by LBF and most organs reconstructed by 3DVH and Compass, the γ pass rate between them and TPS all exceeded 90% under all criteria, as well as the ArcCheck measured results. For all the organ dose difference between reconstructed and TPS, LBF system had the smallest difference, followed by the Compass system except the lung, and the 3DVH had the highest difference.Conclusions:LBF, 3DVH and Compass can reflect the VMAT dose verification results of lung cancer from different perspectives. The combined application of three systems can demonstrate the verification results in an intuitive manner, which is beneficial for subsequent analysis.
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Objective:To study the changing characteristics and impact factors of helical tomotherapy (HT)for longitudinal dose fall-off outside the target, in order to guide the plan junction or pretreatment target and implementation efficiency in clinical.Methods:Eight patients with head and neck tumors admitted to the Department of Oncology Radiotherapy of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University in December 2019 were retrospectively selected as the research objects. The planning target area and dose drop structure were outlined in the head and neck images with a thickness of 1 mm obtained by Siemens SOMATOM Definition AS positioning computerized tomography (CT). Different field widths (FW, 5.0 cm/2.5 cm/1.0 cm) and pitches (0.430/0.287/0.215) were assembled for planning with the same modulation factor (1.8), finest does calculation grid (0.195 cm ×0.195 cm) and other planning parameters were consistent. The plans were designed by different parameters, and the result was analyzed by univariate analysis.Results:The that different pitch curves coincided under the same field width by comparative analyzing, so pitchs had no effect on dose drop. The different field width curves were independent of each other, indicating that the field width had an effect on dose drop in the head and foot direction. The relationship between the longitudinal dose drop speed outside the target and the change of the field width was inversely correlated: the larger field widths meant the slower dose fall-off and the larger penumbra, while the smaller field widths meant the faster fall-off and the smaller penumbra. When the dose fall-off to 50% of the prescribed dose, the distance from the target was approximately equal to half the field widths, and the pitchs had not affect the rate of dose-drop, while the dose at different distances from the target boundary could be calculated by the fitting formulas. The field widths and pitchs had little effect on the CI and HI index of the target, relatively, the target area was best when the field width was 2.5 cm. The total beam-on time gradually decreased with the increase of the field widths and pitches.Conclusions:When segment target therapy needs to consider planning junction, execution efficiency, and controlling longitudinal dose fall-off and considered the execution, the optimal planned parameters such as field widths and pitches could be selected or the target at the junction regions could be adducted according to the longitudinal dose drop formula, so as to achieve the ideal dose distribution.
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Objective:To evaluate the multi-leaf collimator (MLC) performance of TrueBeam accelerator using trajectory log files.Methods:All tests were performed 5 times under different gantry-collimator angle combination. The 1 mm picket fences were constructed by static or dynamic MLC. The control ability for small-field accuracy of accelerator was evaluated. Repeatability was assessed by MLC repeat motion. The movement performance of difference velocities along one direction and the opposite direction were evaluated via a 1 cm picket fences which slipped from -7 cm to 7 cm with a uniform velocity and stopped or immediately back at 7 cm. The MLC performance in a complex program was evaluated by a cross movement test.Results:Both the static and the dynamic picket fences yielded high accuracy. The deviation spectrums of MLC in different gantry angle were consistent, however, an absolute difference of 0.001 1 mm was found. For uniform velocity movement tests with 0°gantry, the RMSE of MLC was increased from 0.015 0 mm to 0.059 8 mm when the speed was accelerated from 5 mm/s to 25 mm/s. Similar results were obtained in non-zero gantry angle. The "overspeed" effect caused by the direction change movement of MLC was less obvious than that caused by speed changed from zero to a uniform velocity movement state. There was no significant change in speed before and after the MLC crossing. The MLC speed fluctuated around the set value, which was independent of the gantry angle.Conclusion:A method for evaluating the performance of MLC using trajectory log files is established, which can evaluate the MLC performance of TrueBeam accelerator and be used for MLC rapid quality control in clinical practice.
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Objective@#To achieve quantitative analysis of image quality parameters and establish warning and action thresholds for the on-board imaging (OBI) system of linear accelerator.@*Methods@#The Catphan604 phantom was repeatedly scanned in the Full-Fan and Half-Fan CBCT scanning modes on a Varian EDGE linear accelerator, and the software based on Python language development in-house was utilized to analyze image quality parameters, such as CT number linearity, geometric consistency, slice thickness, spatial resolution, uniformity and low-contrast resolution. The quantitative analysis results of each image quality parameter obtained from 16 times of scanning within 16 months were normalized to the mean and the standard deviations were recorded. A run chart analysis was created to determine the warnings and action thresholds.@*Results@#The software built in-house can quantitatively analyze the image parameters of the two scanning modes of OBI system. The low-contrast resolution of Half-Fan was better than that of Full-Fan, whereas the spatial resolution of Full-Fan was superior to that of Half-Fan. One standard deviation (1σ) was set as the warning threshold and 2 standard deviations (2σ) as the action threshold, respectively. The tolerance level of Half-Fan was smaller than that of Full-Fan.@*Conclusion@#Self-developed software enables quantitative analysis of accelerator image quality parameters, establishes warning and action tolerance of quality assurance and provides guidance for image quality assurance under image-guided radiotherapy specification.
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Objective@#To investigate the dosimetric differences between TomoDirect (TD) and Helical Tomotherapy (HT) in total body irradiation (TBI), as well to evaluate the plan quality and delivery efficiency of TD.@*Methods@#Eight patients with acute leukemia at an average height of about 120 cm who had undergone TBI in the first affiliated hospital of Zhengzhou university were retrospectively reviewed and replanned with the TD and HT techniques for dosimetric comparison. Identical planning parameters were configured for both techniques except that TD plans were designed with 2-12 equally spaced odd number fields and with an initial angle of 180 or 0 degree. Dosimetric differences in mean dose of plan target volume (PTVDmean), homogeneity index (HI), dose of organs at risk (OARs), as well as delivery time were compared between the TD and HT plans.@*Results@#The TD plans with 9 fields or more had similar PTVDmeanand HI compared with HT plans, while TD plans with less than 9 fields had a significant different PTVDmean(t=-3.12, -5.41, -20.33, -4.56, -7.22, -11.27, P<0.05) and HI (t=-2.94, -5.18, -15.66, -4.31, -5.51, - 9.13, P<0.05) compared with those of HT. In terms of OARs, the TD plans with 7 fields or more had no significant dosimetric differences in the mean dose of left and right lung compared with the HT plans. The TD plans with 3 fields had significant different maximum dose in the left lens plan risk volume(PRV) (2.14±0.60) Gy and the right lens PRV (3.05±0.10) Gy (t=0.77, 0.63, P<0.05) compared with the HT plans. No significant difference in delivery time was observed. The initial angle of the TD plans had no effects on PTVDmean, HI, OAR dosimetry and delivery time.@*Conclusions@#The TD plans with 9 fields or more can achieve similar plan quality in terms of target coverage, OAR sparing and delivery time, but have an advantage in the maximum dose to lens PRV compared with the HT plans.
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Objective To establish and evaluate a morning check system for linac based on electronic portal image device (EPID).Methods Delivered fluence maps of open and wedge fields at 10 cm×10 cm field size of Synergy Linac were measured by EPID.Figure features from these two images were extracted with matlab codes and analyzed to realize a quick morning check.The repeatability of dose response and mechanical setup,relationship between gray value and machine unit (MU),accuracy of output and field size test were investigated with both EPID and DailyQA3.The status of Synergy linac was monitored both by DailyQA3 and EPID for two months.Results EPID was able to test the linac consistently with a testing error of 0.50 mm,1.00 mm for field size and center,respectively.Both of the test accuracy for flatness and symmetry was 0.17％.The mechanical accuracy test and dosimetric repeatability test were also consistent.The dose response of EPID was linearly related to the linac output (R2＞0.999).EPID was highly sensitive to the change of output and radiation field size.The measurement deviations between EPID and DailyQA3 were consistent and within clinical acceptable tolerance.Conclusions EPID showed great accuracy and stability on monitoring the performance of linac.The established daily check tool based-on EPID is accurate and reliable for clinical usage.
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Objective To investigate the dosimetric differences between TomoDirect ( TD) and Helical Tomotherapy ( HT ) in total body irradiation ( TBI ) , as well to evaluate the plan quality and delivery efficiency of TD. Methods Eight patients with acute leukemia at an average height of about 120 cm who had undergone TBI in the first affiliated hospital of Zhengzhou university were retrospectively reviewed and replanned with the TD and HT techniques for dosimetric comparison. Identical planning parameters were configured for both techniques except that TD plans were designed with 2-12 equally spaced odd number fields and with an initial angle of 180 or 0 degree. Dosimetric differences in mean dose of plan target volume ( PTVDmean ) , homogeneity index ( HI) , dose of organs at risk ( OARs) , as well as delivery time were compared between the TD and HT plans. Results The TD plans with 9 fields or more had similar PTVDmean and HI compared with HT plans, while TD plans with less than 9 fields had a significant different PTVDmean(t=-3. 12, -5. 41, -20. 33, -4. 56, -7. 22, -11. 27, P<0. 05) and HI ( t=-2. 94, -5. 18,-15. 66,-4. 31,-5. 51,- 9. 13, P<0. 05) compared with those of HT. In terms of OARs, the TD plans with 7 fields or more had no significant dosimetric differences in the mean dose of left and right lung compared with the HT plans. The TD plans with 3 fields had significant different maximum dose in the left lens plan risk volume(PRV) (2.14±0.60) Gy and the right lens PRV (3.05±0.10) Gy (t=0.77, 0.63, P<0.05) compared with the HT plans. No significant difference in delivery time was observed. The initial angle of the TD plans had no effects on PTVDmean , HI, OAR dosimetry and delivery time. Conclusions The TD plans with 9 fields or more can achieve similar plan quality in terms of target coverage, OAR sparing and delivery time, but have an advantage in the maximum dose to lens PRV compared with the HT plans.
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Objective To investigate the commissioning and testing of the Eclipse model of an Edge accelerator with high-definition muhi-leaf collimator (HD-MLC).Methods The percentage depth dose (PDD),profile,output factor measured by Razor and CC13 were statistically compared with the standard data.Penumbra,transmission factor (TF),leakage,concave-convex groove,accuracy of movement and dosimetry leaf gap (DLG) were measured with EBT3,electronic portal image device (EPID) and PTW SRS1000&SRS1500.The optimal DLG/TF was acquired when the γ pass rate of test cases was the highest.The point dose of regular fields,intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and volume-modulated radiation therapy (VMAT) was verified with FC65-G.The planar dose of these case was verified with Octavius 4D and EBT3.Results The measured PDD data were consistent with the standard data.The measured penumbra of 3 cm and 4 cm square fields was smaller,whereas that of 6 cm square field was larger than the standard values.The left and right edge,field size,center of the field were distributed within the range of-1.0-0.4 mm、0.2-1.7 mm,-0.3-1.9 mm and-0.1-0.8 mm,respectively.The mean penumbra of the left and right MLC in different positions were (2.5±0.042) mm and (2.7±0.005) mm.The leakage of MLC was 0.009-0.016.The measured DLG/TF was 0.1861 cm/0.0116 and the optimal DLG/TF was 0.015 cm/0.014.The differences of point dose of all the test cases except the one which was in the low-dose area were within ±3％.Local and global γ pass rates of all IMRT were 79.81％-100％ and 96.3％-100％ (3％/3 mm),71.3％-98.9％ and 94.3％-99.8％ for VMAT cases.Conclusions This method can accurately test and commission the Eclipse treatment planning model of Edge Linac equipped with HD-MLC.
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Objective To evaluate the feasibility of total marrow and lymphatic irradiation (TMLI)with helical tomotherapy as a conditioning regimen before hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT).Methods Seven children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and aplastic anemia were recruited as study subjects.The median age was 7 years old.The prescribed dose was 12 Gy/6 fractions twice daily.The exposure dose of the target and the organs at risk between helical helical tomotherapy-based TMLI regimen and total body irradiation (TBI) regimen were statistically compared,and acute toxicity grading was performed for all patients.Results Compared with the TBI regimen,the average exposure dose reduction for organs at risk after the TMLI regimen was ranged from 4.2％ to 40.6％.The average exposure dose reduction for the kidney was the largest among all organs.The acute toxicities experienced by all patients were graded and recorded including 2 cases of nausea,5 cases of vomiting,1 case of anorexia,1 case of eryhema,3 cases of diarrhea,and 1 case of oral mucositis.Only grade 1-2 toxicities were observed,and no grade 3-4 toxicities occurred.Conclusions The findings in this study confirm the feasibility of helical helical tomotherapy-based TMLI regimen.Compared with the TBI regimen,the mean duration of treatment for the TMLI regimen with an equivalent dose is not increased.The exposure dose experienced by organs at risk is reduced and the predicted incidence rate is decreased when the TMLI regimen is employed,which provides a myeloablative pretreatment strategy.However,the long-term toxicity of TMLI regime remains to be evaluated by clinical trials.
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Objective To investigate the optimal distance between upper and lower target volumes and their correlated planning parameters by analyzing the dose distribution in the abutment regions during total body irradiation ( TBI) using helical tomotherapy. Methods A total of 10 patients with acute leukemia and with a height around 120 cm were enrolled. All patients were scanned by a Siemens simulation computerized tomography (CT) at a slice thickness of 5 mm. A lead wire was placed 10. 0 cm above the patella as a marker of the separation boundary for the upper and lower target volumes. The delineations of target volumes and organs at risk ( OARs ) were performed in the Varian Eclipse 13. 5 workstation with targets shrunk beyond the separation boundary at different distances. After contours and CT images were transferred to HT workstation, treatment plans were designed with different field width (FW, 5. 0 cm/2. 5 cm/1. 0 cm) and pitch values (0. 430/0. 287) at a modulation factor of 1. 8. All the plans were optimized with a dose calculation grid of 0. 195 cm × 0. 195 cm and identical planning parameters. The correlation between treatment planning parameters and targets shrunk distances were investigated by analyzing the dose distributions in the abutment area. Results The study demonstrated that the dose distributions in the abutment area were influenced only by the field width parameters: when the gap distance between the upper and lower targets was 5. 0 cm, the optimal FW is 5. 0 cm;Similarly when the gap distances were 2. 0 cm and 1. 0 cm, and the optimal FW 2. 5 cm and 1. 0 cm, respectively. In another words, the dose distribution of the abutment region was optimal when the target gap distance was equal to FW. Pitch values did not affect the quality of dose distribution in the abutment region and the overall treatment time ratio. Overall treatment time was inversely related to the FW. Conclusions Consistent target distance and FW is helpful to improve the dose homogeneity in the abutment area during TBI with HT. Appropriate planning parameters is critical to balance the treatment efficacy and efficiency.
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Objective To explore the dosimetric difference between different radiotherapy technologies in the treatment of early peripheral stage non?small ?cell lung cancer ( NSCLC ) . Methods Four?dimensional computed tomography scans and delineation of target volumes and organs at risk ( OARs) were performed in 5 patients pathologically diagnosed with stage T1/T2 peripheral NSCLC who were admitted from 2014 to 2015. Target volumes contained gross tumor volume (GTV), internal target volume (ITV), and planning target volume (PTV). ITV was contoured on the maximum intensity projection images. PTV was defined as ITV plus a 5 mm margin. OARs contained the heart, lung, esophagus, and spinal cord. The Monaco 5. 0 treatment planning system was used to design three plans. The three?dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT) plan had 11 fields in the diseased lung covering the PTV plus a 0. 2 cm margin. The sliding window intensity?modulated radiotherapy ( SW?IMRT ) plan had 9 fields in the same areas as the 3DCRT plan. The volumetric modulated arc therapy ( VMAT) plan had the gantry rotating 180° around the diseased lung. The evaluation criteria referred to the RTOG 0618 trial. Comparison was made by paired t test. Results The SW?IMRT plan had a significantly better homogeneity index than the 3DCRT plan ( 1. 03 vs. 1. 24,P= 0. 017 ) . Compared with the VMAT plan, the mean monitor units in the 3DCRT plan was significantly reduced by 24. 5%( P=0. 022) . The V30 and V40 of the 3DCRT plan were significantly reduced by 29. 4% and 28. 4%, respectively, compared with the SW?IMRT plan ( P=0. 003,0. 006) and 56. 7%and 59. 7%, respectively, compared with the VMAT plan ( P=0. 041,0. 019) . Conclusions 3DCRT may be an appropriate radiotherapy method for early stage NSCLC.
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Objective To compare the dosimetric verification results of Varian Portal Dosimetry and Matrixx,and to assess the reliability of the clinical application of electronic portal imaging device (EPID) verification.Methods Varian TrueBeam linear accelerator,which was equipped with a 120-leaf multileaf collimator and an amorphous silicon EPID,as well as portal dose prediction software.IBA I′mRT Matrixx ion chamber array was used.EPID algorithm configuration,dose calibration,and testing before use were performed.The sliding-window protocol was used.There were 77 patients with tumors involving the head and neck (mainly nasopharyngeal carcinoma),mediastinum,abdomen,and pelvic cavity were selected.The verification plan of the portal dose was created with a source-detector distance of 100 cm,and the gantry angle was kept the same as the treatment plan.The verification plan was carried out in the TrueBeam machine,and the data were collected at the same time by EPID.Comparison between the measured and calculated dose images was performed,and the evaluation standard was gamma index (3%/3 mm).The paired t-test was used for difference analysis.Results For the 77 patients,the Gamma passing rates of both methods were above 97%.Except for head and neck carcinoma were a significant difference between the results of dosimetric results using EPID and Matrixx in intensity-modulated radiotherapy (P=0.018) other remaining all P> 0.05.Conclusions The dosimetric verification results of EPID are consistent with those of Matrixx.EPID can be used for dosimetric verification,and Matrixx ion chamber array can be used only in case of a low Gamma passing rate.
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Objective To investigate the optimal distance between the upper and lower targets in the subsection total body irradiation(TBI)using helical tomotherapy,and to analyze the dose distribution of abutment regions. Methods A total of 8 patients with acute leukemia with a height of about 120 cm were involved in the study. All patients were scanned from the calvarium to the toe by computerized tomography (CT,Siemens)with a thickness of 5 mm,and a lead wire was placed at a point 10 cm above the patella as a marker of the boundary between the upper and lower targets. The delineation of target volumes and organs at risk(OAR)was performed in the Varian Eclipse 10.0 doctor workstation. The different distances between the lead wires and the boundary of the two targets were delineated, and images were transferred to the HT workstation to design the radiotherapy planning,including Jaw width(5 cm),modulation factor(1.8),and pitch(0.43). The plans were superimposed together, and then the dose distribution in abutment regions with different target gaps was analyzed to find the optimal distance. Results When the target gap was 5 cm, the dose distribution in abutment regions was satisfactory. However,the dose was obviously insufficient when the gap was more than 5 cm;the doses in abutment regions significantly exceeded the prescribed doses when the gap was less than 5 cm. Conclusions In the subsection TBI using HT, different parameters were designed,including Jaw width(5 cm), modulation factor(1.8), pitch(0.43), and slice thickness(5 mm). The upper and lower borders of the targets should be 2.5 cm away from the lead wire,that is,a gap of 5 cm,thus avoiding the dose-related hot or cold spots in the target convergence and ensuring a safer and more accurate radiotherapy.
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Objective To compare the dosimetric effects of systematic MLC leaf position errors on flattening filter (FF) and flattening filter-free (FFF) IMRT for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).Methods In totaly of ten patients with NPC were enrolled in the current study.FF IMRT and FFF IMRT plans were designed for each patient, and in-house software was developed to modify the corresponding MLC files.Briefly, three kinds of systematic MLC error presented with 0.5 and 1 mm magnitudes error were simulated.The modified MLC files were re-imported into IMRT plans for dose recalculation, and differences in the dosimetry trends between FF-IMRT and FFF-IMRT plans were analyzed using a dosevolume histogram.Results Upon closed MLC, the average changes in D95％ of PTV and D of parotid glands in FFF-IMRT plans were more sensitive than in FF-IMRT plans (t =3.298-4.793, P ＜ 0.05).Otherwise, when MLC are shifted in the same direction, changes in D95％of PTV, D of PGTV, PTV as well as D of left parotid gland in FFF-IMRT plans were also more sensitive (t =2.372-6.844, P ＜ 0.05), whereas average changes in D of right parotid gland presented with less sensitivity (t =-4.049,-3.378, P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions For out-of-field or large organs, FFF-IMRT plans are more sensitive to leaf position error than FF-IMRT plans.
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Objective To investigate the expressions of Livin ? and Livin ? in marrow mononuclear cells(MMNCs)of childhood acute leukemia(CAL)and explore the clinical significance.Methods Real-time quantitative PCR and Western blot were used to detect the mRNA and protein expressions of Livin ? and Livin ? in MMNCs of CAL,respectively.Results Both Livin? and Livin? expression rates and expression levels were higher in preliminary diagnosis group(n=51)of CAL,including acute lymphoblastic leukemia(n=39)and acute myeloid leukemia(n=12),compared with the control group(P5%)to induction chemotherapy of ALL than in the patients without chemotherapy(P