Effect of the number of control points on the plan quality of intensity-modulated radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study aimed to investigate the effect of the number of control points (CPs) on the plan quality, plan delivery efficiency, and gamma passing rate (GPR) of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Twenty patients with NPC were selected. With all other optimization conditions unchanged, only the number of CPs in each field was changed and optimized to formulate four groups of IMRT plans (CP10, CP15, CP20, and CP25) for each case. An IMRT factor (IF) was used to evaluate the plan complexity, and the plan quality index (PQI) was employed to measure the plan quality. The MatriXX was used to measure each plan, and the plan delivery time (PDT) was recorded. The CP20 group had the lowest PQI (20.2%), while the CP10 group had the highest PQI (51.4%). The monitor unit (MU) values and PDTs gradually increased as the number of control points increased, while the MUs/segment significantly decreased. A negative correlation was observed between GPR and IF at the three commonly used criteria (R2 = 0.39, 0.39, and 0.41, respectively). Considering the IMRT plan quality and the efficiency and accuracy of plan delivery, 20 CPs per field should be used in the IMRT planning for NPC.