title: Dose response explorer: an integrated open-source tool for exploring and modelling radiotherapy dose-volume outcome relationships.
abstract: Radiotherapy treatment outcome models are a complicated function of treatment, clinical and biological factors. Our objective is to provide clinicians and scientists with an accurate, flexible and user-friendly software tool to explore radiotherapy outcomes data and build statistical tumour control or normal tissue complications models. The software tool, called the dose response explorer system (DREES), is based on Matlab, and uses a named-field structure array data type. DREES/Matlab in combination with another open-source tool (CERR) provides an environment for analysing treatment outcomes. DREES provides many radiotherapy outcome modelling features, including (1) fitting of analytical normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) and tumour control probability (TCP) models, (2) combined modelling of multiple dose-volume variables (e.g., mean dose, max dose, etc) and clinical factors (age, gender, stage, etc) using multi-term regression modelling, (3) manual or automated selection of logistic or actuarial model variables using bootstrap statistical resampling, (4) estimation of uncertainty in model parameters, (5) performance assessment of univariate and multivariate analyses using Spearman's rank correlation and chi-square statistics, boxplots, nomograms, Kaplan-Meier survival plots, and receiver operating characteristics curves, and (6) graphical capabilities to visualize NTCP or TCP prediction versus selected variable models using various plots. DREES provides clinical researchers with a tool customized for radiotherapy outcome modelling. DREES is freely distributed. We expect to continue developing DREES based on user feedback.
authors.affiliation: Washington University, Saint Louis, MO, USA. ielnaqa@radonc.wustl.edu
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: El Naqa
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Suneja
authors.forename: P E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Lindsay
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Hope
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Alaly
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vicic
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Bradley
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Apte
authors.forename: J O
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Deasy
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D011381:Programming Languages; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage; D011880:Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D011881:Radiotherapy, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D012984:Software; D014584:User-Computer Interface