ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the clinical application of multi-criteria optimization (MCO) in radiotherapy for cervical cancer. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical data of 15 patients who received radiotherapy for cervical cancer in Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute. A fixed field intensity-modulated radiotherapy plan was re-optimized using 9 fields on the Halcyon platform, with the goal of achieving a target coverage of > 95% and the lowest dose to organs at risk. The plan was refined until it reached the goal (Plan I) and was calculated using MCO to reach the goal (Plan MI), and the quality assurance verification was performed. The Wilcoxon rank-sum test was used to compare design time, target coverage, radiation dose to organs at risk, and number of monitor units between the plans. Results Both plans met the clinical requirements. There were no significant differences in target dose indices between Plan I and Plan MI (P > 0.05). Plan MI reduced the maximum dose to the small intestine by 0.51 Gy (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in dose coverage between the bladder and the rectum (P > 0.05). Compared with Plan I, Plan MI saved 34.04 min in design time (P < 0.05). Conclusion MCO can improve the optimization and adjustment, significantly shorten the design time, and improve the efficiency of the plan.
ABSTRACT
@#A novel strain of coronavirus was first detected in Wuhan, China in December 2019. It is the causative agent of a respiratory disease known as the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). On 12th March 2020, it was declared as a global pandemic by the World Health Organization. The aim of the study was to study the impact of MCO in terms of the academic performance and finance on the student population and to measure the level of knowledge, attitude and practice towards prevention of coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) among a private university students in Malaysia. On 22nd April until 30th April 2020, a cross-sectional study using a convenient sampling method was conducted among 401 students using a self-administered online questionnaire survey. It was found that 272 (67.8%) of the respondents had a less negative impact of MCO while 129 (32.3%) of the respondent had a more negative impact of MCO. The findings show also 229 respondents (57.1%) have adequate knowledge. As for the attitude, about 237 respondents (59.1%) have an adequate attitude and only 191 respondents (47.6%) have adequate practice towards the prevention of COVID-19. There was a significant relationship between knowledge, attitude, and practice with family income, a significant relationship between knowledge and practice, a significant relationship between knowledge and attitude, a sig. relationship between knowledge, attitude, practice with university faculties, the relationship between knowledge and source of information. The MCO showed significant association with knowledge level and with practice, also MCO was less negatively impact on the medical faculty students with p-value 0.004. The MCO was more negatively impacting those with less family income. The study findings concluded that the majority of the participants had a fair level of knowledge, attitude, and a lesser level of good practice towards the prevention of COVID-19. However, the COVID-19 is still considered a global pandemic and has not resolved yet. Therefore, to minimize the risk of future COVID-19 cases current efforts to educate the public towards knowledge, attitude, and practice towards prevention of COVID-19 in public health should be done.