Conformal Arc Research Articles

A Novel Planning and Delivery Technology: Dose, Dose Rate and Linear Energy Transfer (LET) Optimization Based on Spot-Scanning Proton Arc Therapy FLASH (SPLASHLET)

To achieve a high conformal dose with Linear Energy Transfer (LET) optimized FLASH proton therapy, we introduced a new planning and delivery technique concept, the voxel-wised optimization of LET distribution and dose rate based on scanning arc therapy (SPLASHLET) MATERIALS/METHODS: The algorithm optimizes (1) the clinical dose-volume constraint based on dose distribution and (2) the clinical LET-volume constraint based on LET distribution using Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers (ADMM) with Limited-memory BFGS solver by minimizing the monitor unit (MU) constraint on spot weight and (3) the effective dose-average dose rate by minimizing the accelerator's beam current sequentially. Such optimization framework enables the high dose conformal dynamic arc therapy with the capability of LET painting with voxel-based FLASH dose rate in an open-source proton planning platform (MatRad, Department of Medical Physics in Radiation Oncology, German Cancer Research Center-DKFZ). It aiming to minimize the overall cost function value combined with plan quality and voxel-based LET and dose rate constraints. Three representative cases (brain, liver and prostate cancer) were used for testing purposes. Dose-volume histogram (DVH), LET volume histogram (LVH) dose rate volume histogram (DRVH) and dose rate map were assessed compared to the original SPArc plan (SPArcoriginal). SPLASHLET plan could offer comparable plan quality compared to SPArcoriginal plan. The DRVH results indicated that SPArcoriginal could not achieve FLASH using the clinic beam current configuration, while SPLASHLET could significantly not only improve V40Gy/s in target and region of interest (ROI) but also improve the mean LET in the target and reduce the high LET in organ at risk (OAR) in comparison with SPArcoriginal (Table 1). SPLASHLET offers the first LET painting with voxel-based ultra-dose-rate and high-dose conformity treatment using proton beam therapy. Such technique has the potential to take full vantage of LET painting, FLASH and SPArc.

Automatic Treatment Planning for Multi-focal Dynamic Conformal Arc GRID Therapy for Late-Stage Lung Cancer: A Feasibility Study

Palliative management of large, symptomatic pulmonary lesions, either as primary lung cancers or metastases, can be challenging due to need to balance effective radiation doses for cytoreduction with safety. Spatially Fractionated Radiation Therapy (SFRT), or GRID Therapy, is an emerging technique, which delivers ablative doses of radiotherapy to small, selected areas of tumor, while sparing organs-at-risk (OARs), and has been shown to debulk large lesions in preliminary studies. Conventionally, an alloy GRID block is manufactured to deliver GRID therapy. However, this delivery technique poses a challenge due to need for block, and dosimetrically when the tumor is deep-seated as excess dose may be delivered to OARs, such as skin and chest wall. This study aims to develop a fast, automatic planning solution using multi-focal dynamic conformal arcs (DCA) on modern Linear Accelerator. One late-stage lung cancer patient with simulated sphere target grid was included in this study. The sphere targets are 1.5cm in diameter and 4.3cm spacing. Four co-planar full arcs were used for optimization. The problem is formalized as finding optimal multi-leaf collimator (MLC) sequencing to cover N targets with K control points (CPs) for each arc. The state of each target's MLC opening at each CP is binary. In order to solve this NP-hard problem, the optimal solution was approximated by eliminating projection collision at each CP. MLC motion continuity and maximum speed were included in the cost function to ensure deliverability. The optimization started with randomized initial CP apertures, followed by solving state-transition equations for following CPs. Two grid arrays (9 and 10 targets respectively) were tested for plan quality. For each grid of target, the arc collimator angle was planned with 0 and 30 degrees for comparison. Prescription was 20 Gy per fraction. Monte Carlo simulation dose engine from matRad toolkit was used for dose calculation. Key dosimetric endpoints including target mean dose, D5%(Gy) and D95%(Gy), were reported. Average calculation time on the AMD Ryzen 5 5600 × 6-Core 3.7GHz CPU and 32GB RAM platform varied from 31 to 44 minutes. One zero-degree collimator and one thirty-degree collimator were generated for each target array. For nine-target array, mean target dose from both plans ranged from 23.41 to 26.55 Gy, while D5%(Gy) and D95%(Gy) ranged from 25.45 to 30.16 Gy, and 20.00 to 22.21 Gy, respectively. For ten-target array, the range of target mean, D5%(Gy) and D95%(Gy) were 23.82 to 28.74 Gy, 26.50 to 33.11 Gy, and 20.00 to 22.49 Gy. A fast, automatic planning solution for multi-focal DCA GRID therapy was developed. It provides clinically feasible plans with high efficiency for small target arrays for the late-stage cancer patient. The implementation provides excellent coverage for deep-seated tumors where alloy grid solution could fail to meet coverage objectives. Additional patients are needed in the future to further refine the technique.

Gantry triggered x-ray verification during single-isocenter stereotactic radiosurgery: Increased certainty for a no-margin strategy

BackgroundSingle-isocenter linac-based stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) has emerged as a dedicated treatment option for multiple brain metastases. Consequently, image-guidance for patient positioning and motion management has become very important. The purpose of this study was to analyze intra-fraction errors measured with stereoscopic x-rays and their impact on the dose distribution. Materials and methodsTreatments were planned with non– coplanar dynamic conformal arcs for 33 patients corresponding to 127 brain lesions and 356 arcs. Intra-arc positioning errors were measuredusing stereoscopic x-rays (ExacTrac Dynamic, Brainlab), triggered during arc delivery. Couch corrections above 0.7 mm and 0.5° were always applied. Intra-arc positioning data was analyzed. The dose impact was evaluated by applying the measured errors to the dose given in each arc. ResultsMedian residual errors were 0.10 mm, 0.13 mm and 0.08 mm for the lateral, longitudinal and vertical directions and 0.10°, 0.08° and 0.13° for the pitch, roll and yaw angles respectively. 90% of the treatment arcs showed shifts of less than 0.4 mm and 0.4°in all directions. Dosimetric impact of motion showed the largest losses in coverage on small targets. All targets achieved at least 95% of the prescription dose to 95% of their volume, even when planned without margins. ConclusionsIntra-fractional errors measured during beam delivery were found to be notably low with a dose impact that showed acceptable target coverage when applying these intra-arc errors to the dose distributions of the individual treatment arcs. Using an adequate immobilization and intra-fraction imaging prior to and during irradiation, no margins need to be added to compensate for intra-fraction motion.

Full Dose SBRT in Combination With Mediastinal Chemoradiation for Locally Advanced, Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Practical Guide for Planning, Dosimetric Results From a Phase 2 Study, and a Treatment Planning Guide for the Phase 3 NRG Oncology LU-008 Trial

Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) has been utilized with high effectiveness in early stage NSCLC but has not been studied extensively in locally advanced NSCLC. We conducted a phase II study delivering SBRT to the primary tumor followed by conventionally fractionated chemoradiation to the involved lymph nodes for patients with node positive locally advanced NSCLC. This manuscript serves as both a guide to planning techniques utilized on this trial and the subsequent phase III study, NRG Oncology LU-008, and to report patient dosimetry and toxicity results. We initiated a phase II multi-center single arm study evaluating SBRT to the primary tumor (50-54 Gy in 3-5 fractions) followed by conventionally fractionated chemoradiation to 60 Gy in 2 Gy fractions with doublet chemotherapy to the involved lymph nodes for patients with stage III or unresectable stage II NSCLC. Patients eligible for adjuvant immunotherapy received up to 12 months of durvalumab. We report a detailed guide for the entire treatment process from CT simulation through treatment planning and delivery. The dosimetric outcomes from the 60 patients who completed therapy on study are reported both for target coverage and normal structure doses. We also report correlation between radiation related toxicities and dosimetric parameters. 60 patients were enrolled between 2017-2022. Planning techniques utilized were primarily VMAT for both SBRT to the primary tumor and conventionally fractionated radiation to the involved nodes, with a minority of cases utilizing dynamic conformal arcs technique or static DMLC IMRT. Grade 2 or higher pneumonitis was associated with lung dose V5Gy >70 % and grade 2 or higher pulmonary toxicity was associated with lung dose V10Gy>50%. Only 3 patients (5%) experienced grade 3 or higher pneumonitis. Grade 2 or higher esophagitis was associated with esophageal doses, including mean dose >20Gy, V60Gy >7%, and D1cc >55Gy. Only one patient (1.7%) experienced grade 3 esophagitis. SBRT to the primary tumor followed by conventionally fractionated chemoradiation to the involved lymph nodes is feasible with planning techniques as described. Radiation related toxicity on this phase II study was low. This manuscript serves as a guideline for the recently activated NRG Oncology LU-008 phase III trial evaluating this experimental regimen.

PO-04-095 ACCURATE EAM-BASED TARGET DELINEATION IN STEREOTACTIC ARRHYTHMIA RADIOABLATION OF VT

Stereotactic Arrhythmia Radiotherapy (STAR) aided by precise image-guided delivery and respiratory motion management has been used successfully for experimental treatment of refractory VT. However, accurate target selection remains challenging. Current methods often rely on manual delineation and/or visual estimation of predefined cardiac segments. Develop a systematic process for registering VT targets from electroanatomic maps (EAM) to reference imaging coordinates of the planning CT (pCT) used for radiation treatment. The goal is to minimize potential variations in target site selection as well as treated volumes. In patients on antiarrhythmic treatment and undergoing a 2nd unsuccessful VT ablation, EA maps of the LV (and LA/RV when possible) and more focal maps of VT target sites were acquired (CARTO®3, Biosense-Webster, CA, USA) and exported. In-house software was used to register these to a planning image set and convert them to DICOM structure files (Fig 1). Dice similarity coefficients were calculated between ventricular mesh data and corresponding reference contours. Initial targets (GTV) were expanded to include internal target volumes (ITV) and planning target volumes (PTV) to account for respiratory and cardiac motion and residual uncertainties, with minor manual adjustments guided by consensus among electrophysiologists, radiation oncologists and medical physicists. STAR was delivered as a single fraction of 25 Gy using volumetric-modulated arc therapy or dynamic conformal arc therapy depending on the target shape. 7 patients with refractory VT were treated by defining targets based on registering individualized EAM maps on the planning images. Dice similarity indices between transferred reference map and reference contours were 0.83 ± 0.04 and 0.72 ± 0.04 for LV and LA/RV, respectively (table 1). The median clinical target was 22cc, with PTVs ranging from 62.4 to 199.6 cc. All patients demonstrated a significant reduction in VT events by 6 weeks post STAR. We have developed an effective methodology for direct registration of VT targets selected for STAR, based on direct anatomic registration of individualized EA maps acquired during ablation procedures. This process offers a way to efficiently delineate variable target boundaries in a semi-automated way, which is advantageous when unusual contours make standard segmentation inaccurate and visual estimation difficult. However, rigorous comparison with other approaches remains to be done.Tabled 1Patient-specific metrics1234567Dice, LV0.8680.8450.7910.8060.7210.8720.794Dice, LA/RV0.7520.6670.734N/A0.382N/A0.338GTV (cc)22.313.526.520.759.863.927.2ITV (cc)45.529.142.230.959.8127.829.6PTV (cc)98.662.488.275.5166.8199.672.8 Open table in a new tab

A GPU-accelerated Monte Carlo dose computation engine for small animal radiotherapy.

Accurate dose computation is critical in precision small animal radiotherapy. The Monte Carlo simulation method is the gold standard for radiation dose computation but has not been widely implemented in practice due to its low computation efficiency. This study aims to develop a GPU-accelerated radiation dose engine (GARDEN) based on the Monte Carlo simulation method for fast and accurate dose computation. In the GARDEN simulation, Compton scattering, Rayleigh scattering, and photoelectric effect were considered. The Woodcock tracking algorithm and GPU-specific acceleration techniques were used to obtain a high computational efficiency. Benchmark studies against both Geant4 simulations and experimental measurements were performed for various phantoms and beams. Finally, a conformal arc treatment plan was designed for a lung tumor to further evaluate the accuracy and efficiency in small animal radiotherapy. The engine attained a speed-up of 1232 times in a homogeneous water phantom and 935 times in a water-bone-lung heterogeneous phantom when compared with Geant4. Both the depth-dose curves and cross-sectional dose profiles for various radiation field sizes showed a great match between measurements and the GARDEN calculations. For in vivo dose validation, the differences between calculations and measurements in the mouse thorax and abdomen were 2.50%±1.50% and 1.56%±1.40%, respectively. The computation time for an arc treatment plan delivered from 36 angles was 2 s at a<1% uncertainty level using an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER GPU. When compared with Geant4, the 3D gamma comparison passing rate was 98.7% at 2%/0.3mm criteria. GARDEN can perform fast and accurate dose computations in heterogeneous tissue environments and is expected to play a vital role in image-guided precision small animal radiotherapy.

Impact of tumour volume and treatment delay on the outcome after linear accelerator-based fractionated stereotactic radiosurgery of uveal melanoma

Background/aimsPrimary radiation therapy is used to treat malignant uveal melanoma (UM). We report our single-centre experience with fractionated radiosurgery (fSRS) with a linear accelerator (LINAC) after specific adaptation for small...

Evaluation of plan quality and treatment efficiency in cranial stereotactic radiosurgery treatment plans with a variable source-to-axis distance.

Radiotherapy deliveries with dynamic couch motions that shorten the source-to-axis distance (SAD) on a C-arm linac have the potential to increase treatment efficiency through the increase of the effective dose rate. In this investigation, we convert clinically deliverable volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) and dynamic conformal arc (DCA) plans for cranial radiosurgery into virtual isocenter plans through implementation of couch trajectories that maintain the target at a shortened but variable SAD throughout treatment. A randomly sampled population of patients treated with cranial radiosurgery from within the last three years were separated into groups with one, two, and three lesions. All plans had a single isocenter (regardless of number of targets), and a single prescription dose. Patient treatment plans were converted from their original delivery at a standard isocenter to a dynamic virtual isocenter in MATLAB. The virtual isocenter plan featured a variable isocenter position based upon the closest achievable source-to-target distance (referred to herein as a virtual source-to-axis distance [vSAD]) which avoided collision zones on a TrueBeam STx platform. Apertures were magnified according to the vSAD and monitor units at a given control point were scaled based on the inverse square law. Doses were calculated for the plans with a virtual isocenter in the Eclipse (v13.6.23) treatment planning system (TPS) and were compared with the clinical plans. Plan metrics (MU, Paddick conformity index, gradient index, and the volume receiving 12 Gy or more), normal brain dose-volume differences, as well as maximum doses received by organs at risk (OARs) were assessed. The values were compared between standard and virtual isocenter plans with Wilcoxon Sign Ranked tests to determine significance. A subset of the plans were mapped to the MAX-HD anthropomorphic phantom which contained an insert housing EBT3 GafChromic film and a PTW 31010 microion chamber for dose verification on a linac. Delivering plans at a virtual isocenter resulted in an average reduction of 20.9% (p = 3×10-6 ) and 20.6% (p = 3.0×10-6 ) of MUs across all VMAT and all DCA plans, respectively. There was no significant change in OAR max doses received by plans delivered at a virtual isocenter. The low dose wash (1.0-2.0 Gy or 5-11% of the prescription dose) was increased (by approximately 20 cc) for plans with three lesions. This was equivalent to a 2.7%-3.8% volumetric increase in normal tissue receiving the respective dose level when comparing the plan with a virtual isocenter to a plan with a standard isocenter. Gamma pass rates with a 5%/1mm analysis criteria were 96.40% ± 2.90% and 95.07% ± 3.10% for deliveries at standard and virtual isocenter, respectively. Absolute point dose agreements were within -0.36% ± 3.45% and -0.55% ± 3.39% for deliveries at a standard and virtual isocenter, respectively. Potential time savings per arc were found to have linear relationship with the monitor units delivered per arc (savings of 0.009 s/MU with an r2 = 0.866 when fit to plans with a single lesion). Converting clinical plans at standard isocenter to a virtual isocenter design did not show any losses to plan quality while simultaneously improving treatment efficiency through MU reductions.

Clinical outcomes and lung toxicities after lung SABR using dynamic conformal arc therapy: a single-institution cohort study

BackgroundStereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) is a validated treatment for early stage lung cancer and pulmonary metastases. It provides a high local control rate with low symptomatic toxicities. Recently, Dynamic Conformal Arc Therapy (DCAT), a delivery option that differs from conventional DCA, has been implemented in the Monaco Treatment Planning System for SABR. The aim of the study was to report clinical outcomes and toxicities for patients treated for lung SABR with this new technique.MethodsWe retrospectively identified adult patients treated for primary or secondary lung tumors with DCAT-SABR and reported their clinical, radiological, histological characteristics and dosimetric parameters. Total dose was delivered in 3 or 5 fractions for 95% of patients and prescribed on the 80% isodose line to the PTV periphery.Results145 patients met inclusion criteria for a total of 152 lesions with a median follow up of 12 months. Local control for the irradiated site was 96.7% at 1 year. Overall survival was 93.1% at 1 year. Mean prescription dose in BED10 was 110 Gy. 92% of patients had a prescribed dose superior to 100 Gy BED10. Mean PTV coverage was 95.1%. There were 66 cases of grade 1 radiation pneumonitis (RP) (43%) and only 7 cases of symptomatic grade 2 RP (4.6%).ConclusionLung SABR for primary or metastatic lung tumors using dynamic conformal arc therapy provides efficient results of local control and low lung toxicities, similar to other SABR techniques. Advances in knowledge: SABR using DCAT is a safe technique to treat lung lesions, allowing intra-fraction motion limitation, potentially higher OARs protection and a shortened beam delivery.

Modified Dynamic Conformal Arcs With Forward Planning for Radiosurgery of Small Brain Metastasis: Each Double Arc and Different To-and-Fro Leaf Margins to Optimize Dose Gradient Inside and Outside the Gross Tumor Boundary.

Dynamic conformal arcs (DCA) are a widely used technique for stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) of brain metastases (BM) using a micro-multileaf collimator (mMLC), while the planning design and method considerably vary among institutions. In the usual forward planning of DCA, the steepness of the dose gradient outside and inside the gross tumor volume (GTV) boundary is simply defined by the leaf margin (LM) setting to the target volume edge. The dose fall-off outside the small GTV tends to be excessively precipitous, especially with an MLC of 2.5-mm leaf width, which is predisposed to the insufficient coverage of microscopic brain invasion and other inherent inaccuracies. Meanwhile, insufficient dose increase inside the GTV boundary, i.e., less inhomogeneous GTV dose, likely leads to inferior and less sustainable tumor response. The more inhomogeneous GTV dose is prone to the steeper dose gradient outside the GTV and vice versa. Herein, we describe an alternative simply modified DCA (mDCA) planning that was uniquely devised to optimize the dose gradient outside and inside the GTV boundary for further enhancing and consolidating local control of small BM. For a succinct exemplification, a 10-mm spherical target was assumed as a GTV for DCA planning using a 2.5-mm mMLC. The benchmark plan was generated by adding a 0-mm LM to the GTV edge byassigning a single fraction of 30 Gy to the isocenter, in which the GTV coverage by 24 Gy with 80% isodose surface (IDS) was 96%, i.e., D96%, while the coverage of GTV + isotropic 2 mm volume by 18 Gy with 60% IDS was 70%, with the D98% being 12 Gy with 40% IDS, viz., too steep dose fall-off outside the GTV boundary. Alternatively, the increase of LM with or without decreasing the isocenter dose enablesthe increase of the GTV + 2 mm coverage by 18 Gy while resulting in an inadequate GTV dose with either a less inhomogeneous dose or an excessive marginal dose. Meanwhile, in the newly devised mDCA planning, everysingle arc was converted to a double to-and-fro arcwith different LM settings under the same spatial arrangement, which enabled GTV + 2 mm volume coverage with 18 Gy while preserving the GTV marginal dose and inhomogeneity similar to those for the benchmark plan. Additionally, the different collimator angle (CA) setting for the to-and-fro arcs led to further trimming of the dose conformity. The limitations of general forward planning with only adjusting the LM for everysingle arc were demonstrated, which can be a contributing factor for local tumor progressionof small BM. Alternatively, the mDCA with each double to-and-fro arc and different LM and CA settings enables optimization of the dose gradient both outside and inside the GTV boundary according to the planners' intent, e.g., moderate dose spillage margin outside the GTV and steep dose increase inside the GTV boundary.

Monitor unit restrained hybrid approach using conformal arcs for radiosurgery of solitary brain metastasis

PurposeThis study appraises the efficacy of monitor unit (MU) restrained hybrid planning approach for solitary brain metastasis combining dynamic conformal and volumetric modulated arcs. The optimal level of monitor unit restrainment is ascertained by plan metric analysis. Besides, dependence of efficiency index (η50%) on beam modulation (BM) and association of normal brain receiving 12Gy (V12) with gradient index (GI) under the applied MU constraints is assessed. MethodsSixteen cases were planned to a dose of 20 Gy using 2–3 non-coplanar DCAT arcs and a coplanar VMAT arc, combined in a 7:3 dose ratio. All VMAT optimizations were based on DCA dose. A baseline VMAT plan was generated without using the MU-tool. Then MUs of the baseline plan were reduced using the MU-tool by 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40% to develop alternate plan types. Alternate plans were compared to baseline plan using the mean difference of plan metrics. The relationship of η50% with BM and that of V12 with GI was assessed using Pearson's r. ResultsEfficiency index, η50% reduced significantly across all plan types except MU-10. CI increased from 90.8% to 91.4% on reducing MU restraint. GI did not deteriorate for MU-10 and MU-20 but increased for MU-30 and MU-40, P < 0.006. Brain receiving 12Gy, V12 increased about 0.1 cm3 for MU-40, P = 0.001. Also, the probability of symptomatic necrosis, S-NEC(V12), increased by 0.1% for MU-40 and MU-30, P < 0.012. BM reduced from MU-20 through MU-40 by at least 5.7% (P < 0.001). Beam-on-time and MU factor reduced maximally by 0.6 min and 15.7%, for MU-40. For all plan types, η50% correlated directly with BM, whereas V12 showed an inverse relationship with GI. ConclusionsModerately constrained, MU-20 type hybrid plans demonstrated optimal overall efficiency, achieving plan objectives with reasonable delivery simplicity. Efficiency index reduced gradually with decreasing beam modulation.

Cochlear sparing in LINAC-based radiosurgery for vestibular schwannoma: a dosimetric comparison of dynamic conformal arc, IMRT and VMAT treatment plans

BackgroundStereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is the preferred treatment for vestibular schwannoma (VS) in patients with preserved hearing and tumour diameter < 3 cm. Emerging evidence suggests restricting cochlear dose could preserve hearing. This retrospective replanning study aims to compare dynamic conformal arc therapy (DCAT), intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) plans for superiority of cochlear dose sparing without compromising tumour coverage.MethodsEligibility criteria included sporadic VS, serviceable hearing and availability of CT and MRI for planning. The original gross tumour volume and brainstem OAR volume were retained; the cochlea was newly contoured on the planning CT scan (bone window). Each case was replanned using the three above techniques, prescribing 12 Gy to the 80% isodose line. No dose constraint was applied to the cochlea.ResultsEighteen patients were replanned. Mean tumour volume was 2.25 cc. Tumour coverage and tumour mean dose (DCAT: 14.2, IMRT: 14.6, VMAT: 14.5 Gy) were comparable. Paddick and RTOG conformity indices were better for DCAT (0.66 and 1.6) and VMAT (0.69 and 1.5) compared to IMRT (0.56 and 1.9). DCAT had superior gradient index (3.0) compared to VMAT (3.4) and IMRT (3.4). VMAT delivered the lowest mean brainstem maximum dose (8.3 Gy) and decreased the mean cochlear dose (3.4 Gy) by 2.3 and 2.1 Gy, and the mean cochlear maximum dose (3.6 Gy) by 2.4 and 2.5 Gy relative to DCAT and IMRT, respectively.ConclusionLINAC-based SRS treatment using VMAT can achieve better cochlear dose sparing than DCAT or IMRT while maintaining tumour coverage.

Direct dosimetric comparison of linear accelerator vs. Gamma Knife fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (fSRT) of large brain tumors.

The purpose of this study was to directly compare the plan quality of Gamma Knife (GK) (Elekta, Stockholm, Sweden)- vs linear accelerator (LINAC)-based delivery techniques for fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (fSRT) of large brain metastases. Eighteen patients with clinical target volumes (CTVs) larger than 9.5 cc were selected to generate comparative plans for the prescription dose of 9 Gy × 3 fractions, utilizing the Eclipse (Varian, Palo Alto, US) vs Leksell GammaPlan (LGP) (Elekta, Stockholm, Sweden) treatment planning systems (TPS). Each GK plan was first developed using LGP's automatic planning, followed by manual adjustments/refinements. The same MRI and structures, including CTVs and organs at risk, were then DICOM-transferred to the Eclipse TPS. Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT) and Dynamic Conformal Arc (DCA) plans for a Truebeam, with high-definition multi-leaf collimators (MLCs), were developed on these MR images and structures using a single isocenter and 3 non-coplanar arcs. No planning target volume (PTV) margins were added, and no heterogeneity correction was used for either TPS. GK plans were prescribed to the 50% isodose line, and Eclipse VMAT and DCA plans allowed a maximum dose up to 170% and ∼125%, respectively. Gradient index (GI), Paddick Conformity Index (PCI), V20GyRind, and V4GyRind of all 3 techniques were calculated and compared. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to determine the statistical significance of the differences of these planning indices for the 3 planning techniques. A total of eighteen treatment targets were analyzed. Median CTV volume was 14.4 cc (range 9.5 cc - 55.9 cc). Mean ± standard deviation of PCI were 0.85 ± 0.03, 0.90 ± 0.03, and 0.72 ± 0.11 for GK, VMAT and DCA plans, respectively. They were respectively 2.64 ± 0.17, 2.46 ± 0.18, and 2.83 ± 0.48 for GI; 15.33 ± 8.45 cc, 10.47 ± 4.32 cc and 23.51 ± 16 cc for V20GyRind; and 316.28 ± 138.35 cc, 317.81 ± 108.21 cc, and 394.85 ± 142.16 cc for V4GyRind. The differences were statistically significant with p < 0.01 for all indices, except for V4GyRind (p > 0.129). In conclusion, a direct dosimetric comparison using the same MRI scan and contours was performed to evaluate the plan quality of various fSRT delivery techniques for CTV > 9.5 cc. LINAC VMAT plans provided the best dosimetric outcome in regard to PCI, GI, and V20GyRind. GK outcomes were similar to LINAC VMAT plans while LINAC DCA outcomes were significantly worse. Even though GK has a smaller physical penumbra, LINAC VMAT outperformed GK in this study due to enhanced penumbra sharpening and better beam optimization.

Radiosurgical treatment of solitary brain metastases using virtual cones with a standard multileaf collimator.

The virtual cone has been previously introduced as a novel technique for generating small, spherical dose distributions using a high-definition multileaf collimator (MLC) for functional radiosurgery applications. There has been no reported investigation into adapting this technique to a standard MLC for the treatment of solitary intracranial metastases as an alternative to physical stereotactic cones. This study characterizes the virtual cone technique adapted to a standard 5mmleaf-width MLC (VCSD ). VCSD dose distributions using MLC leaf gaps of 2-5mmwere generated and isodose sphericity metrics, peak dose gradients, optimal normalization ranges, and achievable field widths were compared to those of 5.0-12.5mmdiameter physical cones. Target sizes feasible to treat were identified and planned for comparison against established techniques using Paddick conformity index (PCI) and dose volume metrics. End-to-end validation of the VCSD technique was performed. VCSD and physical cones sphericity metrics agree within 3.5% and VCSD plans achieved a dose gradient of 21.3%mm-1 , comparable to 10.0-12.5mmdiameter physical cones. Normalization within the 50%-77% range preserves the optimal dose gradient within 2%⋅mm-1 and enables the treatment of 5-11mmdiameter planning target volumes (PTVs). Mean PCI for virtual and physical cones was 0.957 and 0.949, which compared favorably against conformal arc and VMAT (0.899 and 0.926). VCSD outperformed conformal arc and VMAT for all dose volume metrics, and the mean 50% dose volume differed from physical cones by<0.5cc for PTVs as small as 5mm.Validationmeasurementsshowed100% of points passing a 2% / 0.5mmgamma test for all plans. The VCSD technique efficiently generates spherical dose distributions for the treatment of small brain metastases. Characteristics of the VCSD dose distributions are sufficiently comparable to those of physical cones to support VCSD as an alternative for the treatment of spherical PTVs as small as 5mmin diameter.

Planning issues on linac-based stereotactic radiotherapy.

This work aims to summarize and evaluate the current planning progress based on the linear accelerator in stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT). The specific techniques include 3-dimensional conformal radiotherapy, dynamic conformal arc therapy, intensity-modulated radiotherapy, and volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT). They are all designed to deliver higher doses to the target volume while reducing damage to normal tissues; among them, VMAT shows better prospects for application. This paper reviews and summarizes several issues on the planning of SRT to provide a reference for clinical application.

A novel and clinically useful weight-optimized dynamic conformal arc in stereotactic radiation therapy of non-small cell lung cancer: Dosimetric comparison of treatment plans with volumetric‐modulated arc therapy

PurposeThis study constitutes a feasibility assessment of dynamic conformal arc (DCA) therapy as an alternative to volumetric‐modulated arc therapy (VMAT) for stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) of lung cancer with the free-breathing technique using four-dimensional computed tomography. MethodsA total of 25 patients who received 50 Gy in four fractions treated using VMAT technique having two partial coplanar arcs with 6 MV beams for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were included. Plans were re‐planned using a novel and clinically technique of weight optimized based on dynamic conformal Arcs with two coplanar partial dynamic conformal arcs (WO-DCA). For the two partial arcs, MLC aperture around the PTV was automatically generated at different margins for both arcs and maintained dynamically around the target during arc rotation. Weight of the two arcs using optimization method was adjusted between the arcs to maximize tumor coverage and protect organs at risk (OAR). The clinical VMAT and WO-DCA plans were compared via the RTOG-0915 protocol for conformity and dose to the organs at risk (OAR). Additionally, delivery efficiency, quality assurance pass rate, monitor unit and beam treatment time were recorded. ResultsThe mean value of quality assurance (QA) pass rate 98.16 ± 1.27 in WO-DCA and 92.87 ± 1.56 in VMAT. The rate was higher in WO-DCA (p < 0.001 and t = 8.75). The values of beam‐on time (BOT) and monitor units (MU) in the VMAT technique were 4.20 (3.45–4.95) and 3155 (2279–4867) and they were 3.10 (2.85–3.35) and 2167 (1702–2948) in WO-DCA. These values were significantly improved with WO-DCA (p < 0.001 and p < 0.001) ConclusionsAs there is, no beam modulation through the target, WO‐DCA plans could potentially minimize small‐field dosimetry error without MLC interplay effects via respiratory motion and provide similar doses to OAR and the tumor while providing faster treatment delivery by significantly reducing MU and BOT in lung cancer for tumors of appropriate localization. Additionally, providing WO‐DCA eliminate patient‐specific VMAT quality assurance; potentially offering cost‐effective, same day SBRT treatments.

Novel approach for the evaluation of dose conformity in radiotherapy.

We describe a new approach to evaluate conformity of dose distributions in radiotherapy. The suggested conformity factor λ is defined by using existing conformity indices and expansion of the planning target volume (PTV). If the average distance ( ) between the PTV and reference isodose surface and an arbitrarily selected PTV expansion margin ( ) are both much smaller than the size of the PTV, then λ approximately equals the ratio . We use λ to analyze several cases of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT). In the case of SRS with a single target or multiple targets, treatment plans produced with the help of volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) have smaller λ than plans produced by using dynamic conformal arcs (DCA). Likewise, it is demonstrated that in the case of SBRT, λ is reduced by employing VMAT instead of DCA. It is also shown that if the distance between the reference isodose surface and surface of the PTV is fixed, λ varies less with variations in PTV volume compared to frequently used conformity indices. The described conformity factor λ can be applied clinically to compare and rank treatment plans for lesions of different sizes. It is suggested that conditions and λ>1 can be employed as "pass" and "fail" criteria, respectively, for dose conformity assessment with appropriate choice of .

Dynamic conformal arc radiotherapy for locally advanced lung cancer: a comparison with static-beam conformal radiotherapy.

This study investigated whether the dose distribution of lung cancer can be improved by dynamic arc conformal radiotherapy (dynamic CRT) compared with static multiple-beam radiotherapy (static CRT). A dummy study of static CRT and dynamic CRT was performed, designed to meet the predetermined dose constraints. A dose of 60 Gy in 30 fractions was administered using two dose prescription methods: dose prescribed to the isocenter (IC prescription), and dose prescribed to > 50% of the planning target volume (D50 prescription). Dose-volume parameters were compared between the plans. Among 20 patients with locally advanced lung cancer, dose conformity was significantly better with dynamic CRT than static CRT (median conformity index: 1.3 vs. 2.2; p < 0.01). As for the lung dose, compared with static CRT, dynamic CRT did not increase the percentage lung volume receiving ≥ 20 Gy (18.9% vs. 19.3%, p = 0.09). The maximum spinal cord dose was significantly reduced by dynamic CRT (static vs. dynamic CRT: 44.1 vs. 25.2 Gy, p < 0.001). With the change from IC to D50 prescription, the 95% isodose volume increased by 18.3 cc in static CRT and by 4.1 cc in dynamic CRT, while doses to the lung and spinal cord remained within the acceptable ranges. The dynamic CRT technique showed better target coverage and lower doses to the spinal cord in exchange for increased low-dose lung area, compared with static CRT. Dynamic CRT with D50 prescription instead of prescription to the isocenter has excellent dose distribution profiles without compromising doses to organs at risk for lung cancer at favorable locations.

Small-field dosimetry with detector-specific output correction factor for single-isocenter stereotactic radiotherapy of single and multiple brain metastases.

Recently, the International Atomic Energy Agency and the American Association of Physicists in Medicine reported correction factors (CFs) for detector-response variation considering the uncertainty in detector readings in small-field dosimetry. In this study, the effect of CFs on small-field dosimetry measurements was evaluated for single-isocenter stereotactic radiotherapy for brain metastases. The output factors (OPFs) were measured with and without CFs in a water-equivalent sphere phantom using TrueBeam with a flattening-filter-free energy of 10 MV. Five detectors were used in a perpendicular orientation: CC01, 3D pinpoint ionization chambers, unshielded SFD detector, shielded EDGE detector, and microDiamond detector. First, the square-field sizes were set to 5-100mm using a multi-leaf collimator (MLC) field. The OPFs were evaluated in the presence and absence of CFs. Second, single-isocenter stereotactic irradiation was performed on 22 brain metastases in 15 patients following dynamic conformal arc (DCA) treatment. The equivalent field size was calculated using the MLC aperture for each planning target volume. For the OPFs, the mean deviations from the median of the doses measured with detectors other than the CC01 for square-field sizes larger than 10mm were within ± 4.3% of the median without CFs, and ± 3.3% with CFs. For DCA plans, the deviations without and with CFs were -2.3 ± 1.9% and -4.8 ± 2.4% for CC01, -1.1 ± 3.0% and 1.0 ± 1.6% for 3D pinpoint, 8.8 ± 3.0% and 2.9 ± 2.8% for SFD, -3.1 ± 3.0% and -13.5 ± 4.0% for EDGE, and 8.9 ± 2.1% and 0.8 ± 1.9% for microDiamond. This feasibility study confirmed that the deviation of the detectors can be reduced using an appropriate detector with CFs.

A Method to Simplify Patient-Specific QA of Single Isocenter Multiple Met SRS Plans

<h3>Purpose/Objective(s)</h3> Pre-treatment quality assurance of single isocenter multi-met stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) plans is standardly performed by acquiring a dose measurement using a detector array or ion chamber and film. The major efficiency issue with QA of these plans is how many, and which of the multiple metastases (mets) should be measured. The purpose of this study was to develop a workflow using an independent 3D dose calculation (DC) and trajectory log (TL) QA software to efficiently determine which of the brain mets should be further evaluated by measurement. <h3>Materials/Methods</h3> 30 single isocenter multiple metastasis patient SRS plans with a total of 82 mets were retrospectively studied. The clinical SRS plans were generated with an automated dynamic conformal arc SRS planning system (TPS). All plans were sent to the DC software for calculation. The gamma analysis (3%, 1 mm), percent difference between TPS and DC calculated mean and max dose to PTV, and the dose difference of the centroid point of each PTV was recorded. All plans were delivered to a high-resolution diode array designed for SRS and measurements were used to perform a gamma analysis (3%, 1 mm). In addition, the trajectory logs of the QA delivery were used to calculate 3D dose distributions and the same metrics acquired from the DC software were calculated and recorded. Pearson correlation between DC and TL calculated metrics was calculated. <h3>Results</h3> The results of the dosimetric metrics calculated by the DC and TL software are presented in Table 1. Overall agreement between DC and TPS was excellent, with all mean percent differences within 1.1% and mean gamma pass rates greater than 99%. Furthermore, dosimetric metrics calculated by DC and TL were highly correlated, with the correlation coefficients for all metrics at least 0.96, which suggests DC results can be used to predict TL QA results. To use DC to screen which PTVs should be further evaluated, an action level was set such that if any metric fell outside the 95% confidence interval (mean + 1.96 × SD), a QA measurement would be performed. For all metrics, a ±5% action level was calculated to cover the 95% confidence interval. DC results for 6 PTVs exceeded the action level. Of these plans, the measured patient specific QA passed for all plans. While all measured QA passed, DC and TL QA appeared to be more sensitive than the diode array measurement in identifying potential plan quality issues. <h3>Conclusion</h3> An efficient workflow for patient specific QA of single isocenter multiple met SRS plans was developed. An independent 3D dose calculation is used to calculate agreement of dosimetry metrics compared to the TPS. If the percent difference of a metric for a PTV exceeds a 5% action level, it is selected for further QA using a dose measurement.