A comparison of forward and inverse planned conformal, multi segment and intensity modulated radiotherapy for the treatment of prostate and pelvic nodes.
OBJECTIVE
Full inverse planned intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) may be indicated to treat concave targets like prostate and pelvic nodes, because concave dose distributions cannot be generated with conformal radiotherapy (CRT). We investigated whether this concave dose distribution can be produced using simplified forward planned multi segment radiotherapy (MSRT).


METHODS
CRT, MSRT and IMRT dose distributions were calculated and compared for five patients treated in our current IMRT prostate and pelvic node dose escalation trial. The same beam arrangement was used for CRT, MSRT and IMRT, increasing the number of segments. The MSRT concave dose distribution was realised regarding left and right pelvic nodes as two separate targets. The IMRT dose distribution had been used to treat the patients using a step and shoot delivery.


RESULTS
Contrary to CRT, forward planned MSRT concave dose distributions had improved target coverage at lower or equivalent bowel doses than inverse planned IMRT. The five MSRT beams had a maximum of three segments per beam. Both lateral beams had two segments to deliver the two dose levels to prostate and nodes. The posterior field needed a third segment to avoid using a central block. The two anterior oblique beams needed a third segment to account for the different beam weighting because the nodes were irradiated partially using four and partially using five beams. Inverse planned IMRT used up to 15 segments in any one beam, with an average of 11.4 per beam.


CONCLUSIONS
Concave dose distributions for prostate and pelvic node treatment were generated using forward planned multi segment techniques. The plans met clinical constraints used in our IMRT protocol. MSRT presented a significant advantage over both CRT and IMRT.
Vaarkamp
Jaap
J
Joint Department of Physics, Royal Marsden NHS Trust and Institute of Cancer Research, Sutton, Surrey, UK.
Adams
Elizabeth J
EJ
Warrington
Alan P
AP
Dearnaley
David P
DP
D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010386:Pelvic Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D011880:Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted; D020266:Radiotherapy, Conformal / Q000379:methods*