Tumor-Tracking Radiotherapy Without Considering Tumor Deformation
Author Information
Author(s): Kim Seonkyu Yoon, Myonggeun Shin, Dong Ho Kim, Dongwook Lee, Sangyeob Lee, Se Byeong Park, Sung Yong Song, Sang Hyuk
Primary Institution: Proton Therapy Center, National Cancer Center, Goyang, Korea
Hypothesis
Is it feasible to perform tumor-tracking radiotherapy without accounting for tumor deformation during respiration?
Conclusion
The study suggests that tumor deformation can be disregarded in tumor-tracking radiotherapy for lung and liver cancer patients.
Supporting Evidence
- Proton therapy is more sensitive to tumor movement than photon therapy.
- The average variation in equivalent uniform dose (EUD), homogeneity index (HI), and coverage index (COV) was low for both treatment types.
- Tumor size varied by up to 8% during respiration, indicating potential changes in treatment effectiveness.
Takeaway
Doctors can treat tumors without worrying about how they change shape when you breathe, which makes the treatment easier.
Methodology
Four-dimensional computed tomography (4D-CT) data were acquired from 4 lung cancer and 4 liver cancer patients, and treatment plans were simulated based on a constant tumor shape.
Limitations
The study only included a small number of patients and may not be generalizable to all cases.
Participant Demographics
4 patients with lung cancer and 4 patients with liver cancer, including both genders and varying ages.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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