Experimental assessments of intrafractional prostate motion on sequential and simultaneous boost to a dominant intraprostatic lesion.

PURPOSE: To investigate experimentally the impact of intrafractional prostate motion on the delivered dose to a dominant intraprostatic lesion (DIL) using volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) and intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) with sequential and simultaneous boost. METHODS: A series of six IMRT and VMAT treatment plans were generated, evaluated, and compared for two patient CT scans with dissimilar anatomies. Plans were generated for the prostate with and without the DIL. Plans were delivered using a Varian CLINAC and 2D dose distributions were measured using mapcheck(TM)-mapphan(TM) system. The effect of the prostate intrafractional motion on the delivery of the plans was studied by delivering the plans to the mapcheck(TM)-mapphan(TM) system on a programmable motion platform. Prostate intrafractional motion was simulated based on six different motion patterns from the literature obtained on Calypso system (Calypso System, Calypso Medical, Seattle, WA, USA) in a clinical study that provided continuous, real-time localization, and monitoring of the prostate. Absolute dose differences and Gamma analysis were used to assess the quality of a total of 42 plans with motion and without motion. RESULTS: Dose escalation to the whole prostate from 76 to 86 Gy caused the rectum and bladder to exceed normal tissue tolerances in both patients. All the DIL boost plans satisfied the planning criteria and delivery quality assurance when motion was not present. For a single fraction, the motion pattern with large constant shift caused the largest dose delivery discrepancy with mean Gamma value (1.14-1.44) and the lowest plan passing percentage (18.9%-35.7%), while the motion pattern with continuous random changes during treatment had the least impact on dose delivery with mean Gamma value (0.33-0.55) and the highest passing percentage (81.9%-100%) for all the investigated plans. For dose escalation to DIL in the presence of intrafractional prostate motion, a significant difference was observed between the different motion patterns (p < 0.05), but no significant difference in the sensitivity to motion between the various plans was observed (p = 0.30). Based on Gamma analysis, treatment courses in which 15% of the fractions are dominated by severe motion proved to be significantly different from those dominated by random motion (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The impact of intrafractional prostate motion on dose delivery is sensitive to different motion patterns but not to different delivery techniques. Dose escalation to DIL using either sequential or simultaneous boost plans with 7 mm PTV margin is achievable in the presence of intrafractional prostate motion, even if the severe motion comprised 8.6% (3 out of the 35) treatment fractions.

The use of intensity-modulated radiation therapy photon beams for improving the dose uniformity of electron beams shaped with MLC.

Electrons are ideal for treating shallow tumors and sparing adjacent normal tissue. Conventionally, electron beams are collimated by cut-outs that are time-consuming to make and difficult to adapt to tumor shape throughout the course of treatment. We propose that electron cut-outs can be replaced using photon multileaf collimator (MLC). Two major problems of this approach are that the scattering of electrons causes penumbra widening because of a large air gap, and available commercial treatment planning systems (TPSs) do not support MLC-collimated electron beams. In this study, these difficulties were overcome by (1) modeling electron beams collimated by photon MLC for a commercial TPS, and (2) developing a technique to reduce electron beam penumbra by adding low-energy intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) photons (4 MV). We used blocks to simulate MLC shielding in the TPS. Inverse planning was used to optimize boost photon beams. This technique was applied to a parotid and a central nervous system (CNS) clinical case. Combined photon and electron plans were compared with conventional plans and verified using ion chamber, film, and a 2D diode array. Our studies showed that the beam penumbra for mixed beams with 90 cm source to surface distance (SSD) is comparable with electron applicators and cut-outs at 100 cm SSD. Our mixed-beam technique yielded more uniform dose to the planning target volume and lower doses to various organs at risk for both parotid and CNS clinical cases. The plans were verified with measurements, with more than 95% points passing the gamma criteria of 5% in dose difference and 5 mm for distance to agreement. In conclusion, the study has demonstrated the feasibility and potential advantage of using photon MLC to collimate electron beams with boost photon IMRT fields.

Surface dose measurement for helical tomotherapy.

PURPOSE: To compare the surface dose measurements made by different dosimeters for the helical tomotherapy (HT) plan in the case of the target close to the surface. METHODS: Surface dose measurements in different points for the HT plan to deliver 2 Gy to the planning target volume (PTV) at 5 mm below the surface of the cylindrical phantom were performed by radiochromic films, single use metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) dosimeters, silicon IVD QED diode, and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dosimeters. RESULTS: The measured doses by all dosimeters were within 12 +/- 8% difference of each other. CONCLUSIONS: Radiochromic films, EBT, and EBT2, provide high spatial resolution, although it is difficult to get accurate measurements of dose. Both the OSL and QED measured similar dose to that of the MOSFET detectors. The QED dosimeter is promising as a reusable on-line wireless dosimeter, while the OSL dosimeters are easier to use, require minimum setup time and are very precise.