SU‐F‐T‐48: Clinical Implementation of Brachytherapy Planning System for COMS Eye Plaques

Abstract

Purpose:To commission the Brachytherapy Planning (BP) system (Varian, Palo Alto, CA) for the Collaborative Ocular Melanoma Study (COMS) eye plaques by evaluating dose differences against original plans from Nucletron Planning System (NPS).Methods:NPS system is the primary planning software for COMS‐plaques at our facility; however, Brachytherapy Planning 11.0.47 (Varian Medical Systems) is used for secondary check and for seed placement configurations not originally commissioned. Dose comparisons of BP and NPS plans were performed for prescription of 8500 cGy at 5 mm depth and doses to normal structures: opposite retina, inner sclera, macula, optic disk and lens. Plans were calculated for Iodine‐125 seeds (OncoSeeds, Model 6711) using COMS‐plaques of 10, 12, 14, 16, 18 and 20 mm diameters. An in‐house program based on inverse‐square was utilized to calculate point doses for comparison as well.Results:The highest dose difference between BP and NPS was 3.7% for the prescription point for all plaques. Doses for BP were higher than doses reported by NPS for all points. The largest percent differences for apex, opposite retina, inner sclera, macula, optic disk, and lens were 3.2%, 0.9%, 13.5%, 20.5%, 15.7% and 2.2%, respectively. The dose calculated by the in‐house program was 1.3% higher at the prescription point, and were as high as 42.1%, for points away from the plaque (i.e. opposite retina) when compared to NPS.Conclusion:Doses to the tumor, lens, retina, and optic nerve are paramount for a successful treatment and vision preservation. Both systems are based on TG‐43 calculations and assume water medium tissue homogeneity (ρe=1, water medium). Variations seen may result from the different task group versions and/or mathematical algorithms of the software. BP was commissioned to serve as a backup system and it also enables dose calculation in cases where seeds don't follow conventional placement configuration.