Simultaneous integrated boost (SIB) for nasopharynx cancer with helical tomotherapy. A planning study.
OBJECTIVE
To explore the potential of helical tomotherapy (HT) in the treatment of nasopharynx cancer.


METHODS
Six T1-4 N1-3 patients were considered. A simultaneous integrated boost (SIB) technique was planned with inversely optimized conventional intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT; dynamic multileaf collimator using the Eclipse-Helios Varian system) and HT. The prescribed (median) doses were 54 Gy, 61.5 Gy, and 64.5 Gy delivered in 30 fractions to PTV1 (planning target volume), PTV2, and PTV3, respectively. The same constraints for PTV coverage and for parotids, spinal cord, mandible, optic structures, and brain stem were followed in both modalities. The planner also tried to reduce the dose to other structures (mucosae outside PTV1, larynx, esophagus, inner ear, thyroid, brain, lungs, submental connective tissue, bony structures) as much as possible.


RESULTS
The fraction of PTV receiving >95% of the prescribed dose (V95%) increased from 97.6% and 94.3% (IMRT) to 99.6% and 97% (HT) for PTV1 and PTV3, respectively (p<0.05); median dose to parotids decreased from 30.1 Gy for IMRT to 25.0 Gy for HT (p<0.05). Significant gains (p<0.05) were found for most organs at risk (OARs): mucosae (V30 decreased from 44 cm(3) [IMRT] to 18 cm(3) [HT]); larynx (V30: 25 cm(3) vs. 11 cm(3)); thyroid (mean dose: 48.7 Gy vs. 41.5 Gy); esophagus (V45: 4 cm(3) vs. 1 cm(3)); brain stem (D1%: 45.1 Gy vs. 37.7 Gy).


CONCLUSIONS
HT improves the homogeneity of dose distribution within PTV and PTV coverage together with a significantly greater sparing of OARs compared to linac five-field IMRT.
Fiorino
Claudio
C
Medical Physics, S. Raffaele Institute, Milano, Italy. fiorino.claudio@hsr.it
Dell'Oca
Italo
I
Pierelli
Alessio
A
Broggi
Sara
S
Cattaneo
Giovanni Mauro
GM
Chiara
Anna
A
De Martin
Elena
E
Di Muzio
Nadia
N
Fazio
Ferruccio
F
Calandrino
Riccardo
R
D001822:Body Burden; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D019583:Dose Fractionation, Radiation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D020360:Neoadjuvant Therapy; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011835:Radiation Protection; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage; D011880:Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation*; D050397:Radiotherapy, Intensity-Modulated / Q000295:instrumentation*; D054894:Spiral Cone-Beam Computed Tomography / Q000295:instrumentation*