title: Practice of 3-dimensional treatment planning at the Fox Chase Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania.
abstract: The use of 3-dimensional (3-D) dose distributions and dose-volume histograms in radiation therapy treatment planning is illustrated on a patient with a head and neck tumor. The patient was immobilized in a rectangular tissue compensation bolus box. The treatment was planned with a 14 MeV D-T derived fast neutron therapy beam. The isodose distributions and the dose-volume histograms at multiple adjacent levels are used to evaluate the adequacy of coverage of target volumes and the doses to the normal tissues. Such dose-volume histograms are useful and practical in summarizing the dose distribution throughout the irradiated volume, assessing the degree of uniformity of the dose distribution within the target volume, quantifying the amount of normal tissue irradiated, and evaluating rival treatment plans for both particle and nonparticle beams.
mesh_terms: D005214:Fast Neutrons; D006801:Humans; D009060:Mouth Floor; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy; D011880:Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted; D011881:Radiotherapy, Computer-Assisted; D011882:Radiotherapy, High-Energy