Four-dimensional computed tomography based assessment and analysis of lung tumor motion during free-breathing respiration / 中华放射肿瘤学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To quantify the amplitudes of lung tumor motion during free-breathing using four dimensional computed tomography (4DCT), and seek the characteristics of tumors with large motion. Methods Respiratory-induced tumor motion was analyzed for 44 tumors from 43 patients. All patients un-derwent 4DCT during free-breathing before treatment. Gross tumor volumes (GTV) on ten respiratory phases were contoured by the same doctor. The eentroids of GTVs were autoplaeed with treatment software (ADAC Pinnacle 7.4f), then the amplitudes of tumor motion were assessed. The various clinical and anatomic fac-tors associated with GTV motion were analyzed. The characteristics of tumors with motion greater than 5 mm in any direction were explored. Results The tumor motion was found to be associated with T stage, GTV size, the superior-inferior (SI) tumor location in the lung, and the attachment to rigid structures such as the chest wall, vertebrae or mediastinum. The motion over 5 mm was observed in ten tumors, which were all lo-cated in the lower or posterior half of the lung, with the greatest motion of 14.4 mm. For 95% of the tumors, the magnitude of motion was less than I 1.8 mm, 4.6 mm and 2.7 mm along the SI, anterior-poste-rior (AP) and lateral directions, respectively. Conclusions Tumor motion due to breathing is associated with tumor location, volume, and T stage. The greatest motion was in the SI direction for unfixed tumor in lower-lobe, followed by tumor in upper-lobe posterior-segment.