Testicular doses in image-guided radiotherapy of prostate cancer.

To investigate testicular doses contributed by kilovoltage cone-beam computed tomography (kVCBCT) during image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) of prostate cancer. An EGS4 Monte Carlo code was used to calculate three-dimensional dose distributions from kVCBCT on 3 prostate cancer patients. Absorbed doses to various organs were compared between intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) treatments and kVCBCT scans. The impact of CBCT scanning mode, kilovoltage peak energy (kVp), and CBCT field span on dose deposition to testes and other organs was investigated. In comparison with one 10-MV IMRT treatment, a 125-kV half-fan CBCT scan delivered 3.4, 3.8, 4.1, and 5.7 cGy to the prostate, rectum, bladder, and femoral heads, respectively, accounting for 1.7%, 3.2%, 3.2%, and 8.4% of megavoltage photon dose contributions. However, the testes received 2.9 cGy from the same CBCT scan, a threefold increase as compared with 0.7 cGy received during IMRT. With the same kVp, full-fan mode deposited much less dose to organs than half-fan mode, ranging from 9% less for prostate to 69% less for testes, except for rectum, where full-fan mode delivered 34% more dose. As photon beam energy increased from 60 to 125 kV, kVCBCT-contributed doses increased exponentially for all organs, irrespective of scanning mode. Reducing CBCT field span from 30 to 10 cm in the superior-inferior direction cut testicular doses from 5.7 to 0.2 cGy in half-fan mode and from 1.5 to 0.1 cGy in full-fan mode. Compared with IMRT, kVCBCT-contributed doses to the prostate, rectum, bladder, and femoral heads are clinically insignificant, whereas dose to the testes is threefold more. Full-fan CBCT usually deposits much less dose to organs (except for rectum) than half-fan mode in prostate patients. Kilovoltage CBCT-contributed doses increase exponentially with photon beam energy. Reducing CBCT field significantly cuts doses to testes and other organs.

Deng J ，Chen Z ，Yu JB ，Roberts KB ，Peschel RE ，Nath R ... -  《-》

Kilovoltage imaging doses in the radiotherapy of pediatric cancer patients.

To investigate doses induced by kilovoltage cone-beam computed tomography (kVCBCT) to pediatric cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy, as well as strategies for dose reduction. An EGS4 Monte Carlo code was used to calculate three-dimensional dose deposition due to kVCBCT on 4 pediatric cancer patients. Absorbed doses to various organs were analyzed for both half-fan and full-fan modes. Clinical conditions, such as distance from organ at risk (OAR) to CBCT field border, kV peak energy, and testicular shielding, were studied. The mean doses induced by one CBCT scan operated at 125 kV in half-fan mode to testes, liver, kidneys, femoral heads, spinal cord, brain, eyes, lens, and optical nerves were 2.9, 4.7, 7.7, 10.5, 8.8, 7.6, 7.7, 7.8, and 7.2 cGy, respectively. Increasing the distances from OARs to CBCT field border greatly reduced the doses to OARs, ranging from 33% reduction for spinal cord to 2300% reduction for testes. As photon beam energy increased from 60 to 125 kV, the dose increase due to kVCBCT ranged from 170% for lens to 460% for brain and spinal cord. A testicular shielding made of 1-cm cerrobend could reduce CBCT doses down to 31%, 51%, 68%, and 82%, respectively, for 60, 80, 100, and 125 kV when the testes lay within the CBCT field. Generally speaking, kVCBCT deposits much larger doses to critical structures in children than in adults, usually by a factor of 2 to 3. Increasing the distances from OARs to CBCT field border greatly reduces doses to OARs. Depending on OARs, kVCBCT-induced doses increase linearly or exponentially with photon beam energy. Testicular shielding works more efficiently at lower kV energies. On the basis of our study, it is essential to choose an appropriate scanning protocol when kVCBCT is applied to pediatric cancer patients routinely.

Deng J ，Chen Z ，Roberts KB ，Nath R ... -  《-》

Megavoltage cone beam computed tomography dose and the necessity of reoptimization for imaging dose-integrated intensity-modulated radiotherapy for prostate cancer.

Megavoltage cone beam computed tomography (MV-CBCT) dose can be integrated with the patient's prescription. Here, we investigated the effects of imaging dose and the necessity for additional optimization when using intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) to treat prostate cancer. An arc beam mimicking MV-CBCT was generated using XiO (version 4.50; Elekta, Stockholm, Sweden). The monitor units (MU) for dose calculation were determined by conforming the calculated dose to the dose measured using an ionization chamber. IMRT treatment plans of 22 patients with prostate cancer were retrospectively analyzed. Arc beams of 3, 5, 8, and 15 MU were added to the IMRT plans, and the dose covering 95% of the planning target volume (PTV) was normalized to the prescribed dose with (reoptimization) or without optimization (compensation). PTV homogeneity and conformality changed negligibly with MV-CBCT integration. For critical organs, an imaging dose-dependent increase was observed for the mean rectal/bladder dose (D(mean)), and reoptimization effectively suppressed the D(mean) elevations. The bladder generalized equivalent uniform dose (gEUD) increased with imaging dose, and reoptimization suppressed the gEUD elevation when 5- to 15-MU CBCT were added, although rectal gEUD changed negligibly with any imaging dose. Whereas the dose elevation from the simple addition of the imaging dose uniformly increased rectal and bladder dose, the rectal D(mean) increase of compensation plans was due mainly to low-dose volumes. In contrast, bladder high-dose volumes were increased by integrating the CBCT dose, and reoptimization reduced them when 5- to 15-MU CBCT were added. Reoptimization is clearly beneficial for reducing dose to critical organs, elevated by addition of high-MU CBCT, especially for the bladder. For low-MU CBCT aimed at bony structure visualization, compensation is sufficient.

Akino Y ，Koizumi M ，Sumida I ，Takahashi Y ，Ogata T ，Ota S ，Isohashi F ，Konishi K ，Yoshioka Y ... -  《-》

Patient-specific three-dimensional concomitant dose from cone beam computed tomography exposure in image-guided radiotherapy.

The purpose of the present study was to quantify the concomitant dose received by patients undergoing cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scanning in different clinical scenarios as a part of image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) procedures. We calculated the three-dimensional concomitant dose received as a result of CBCT scans in 6 patients representing different clinical scenarios: two pelvis, two head and neck, and two chest. We assessed the effect that a daily on-line IGRT strategy would have on the patient dose distribution, assuming 40 CBCT scans throughout the treatment course. The additional dose to the planning target volume margin region was also estimated. In the pelvis, a single CBCT scan delivered a mean dose to the femoral heads of 2-6 cGy and the rectum of 1-2 cGy. An additional dose to the planning target volume was within 1-3 cGy. In the chest, the mean dose to the planning target volume varied from 2.5 to 5 cGy. The lung and spinal cord planning organ at risk volume received ≤4 cGy and ≤5 cGy, respectively. In the head and neck, a single CBCT scan delivered a mean dose of 0.3 cGy, with bony structures receiving 0.5-0.8 cGy. The femoral heads received an additional dose of 1.5-2.5 Gy. A reduction of 20-30% in the mean dose to the organs at risk was achieved using bowtie filtration. In the head and neck, the dose to the eyes and brainstem was eliminated by decreasing the craniocaudal field size. The additional dose from on-line IGRT procedures can be clinically relevant. The organ dose can be significantly reduced with the use of appropriate patient-specific settings. The concomitant dose from CBCT should be accounted for and the acquisition settings optimized for optimal IGRT strategies on a patient basis.

Spezi E ，Downes P ，Jarvis R ，Radu E ，Staffurth J ... -  《-》

Monte Carlo calculation of imaging doses from diagnostic multidetector CT and kilovoltage cone-beam CT as part of prostate cancer treatment plans.

Ding A ，Gu J ，Trofimov AV ，Xu XG ... -  《MEDICAL PHYSICS》