ABSTRACT
Objective To analyze setup errors for irradiation of pelvic carcinoma by online conebeam CT (CBCT) scanning and to calculate the external margins from clinical target volume (CTV) to planning target volume (PTV) in treatment planning. Methods Twelve patients with rectal or prostate cancer were enrolled in this study. Translational errors (x,y,z) and rotational errors (u,v,w) were obtained by using CBCT in radiotherapy. Results The set-up errors were gathered from 229 sets of CBCT in 12patients. The systemic ± random errors on x,y,z, u,v and w axes were (0.49 ± 1.18) mm, (-0. 11 ±3.45) mm, (-2. 00 ± 1.59) mm, 1.14°±0. 67°, 0. 42°±O. 94°and -0. 32°±±0. 68°, respectively. Setup errors in the left-right, anterior-posterior, and superior-inferior directions were 4. 6 mm, 12. 5 mm, and 6. 2 mm, respectively. Conclusions Set-up errors were unavoidable in pelvic carcinoma irradiation. To minimize the influence of set-up errors, we suggest a PTV margin of 5 mm, 15 mm and 10 mm in the leftright, anterior-posterior and superior-inferior directions, respectively.