title: Clinical application of multimodality imaging in radiotherapy treatment planning for rectal cancer.
abstract: Radiotherapy plays an important role in the treatment of rectal cancer. Three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy and intensity-modulated radiotherapy are mainstay techniques of radiotherapy for rectal cancer. However, the success of these techniques is heavily reliant on accurate target delineation and treatment planning. Computed tomography simulation is a cornerstone of rectal cancer radiotherapy, but there are limitations, such as poor soft-tissue contrast between pelvic structures and partial volume effects. Magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography (PET) can overcome these limitations and provide additional information for rectal cancer treatment planning. PET can also reduce the interobserver variation in the definition of rectal tumor volume. However, there is a long way to go before these image modalities are routinely used in the clinical setting. This review summarizes the most promising studies on clinical applications of multimodality imaging in target delineation and treatment planning for rectal cancer radiotherapy.
authors: Department of Radiation Oncology, General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China.
authors: Yan Yang
authors: YY
authors: Wang
authors: Department of Radiation Oncology, General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China.
authors: Hong
authors: H
authors: Zhe
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D064847:Multimodal Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D011880:Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D012004:Rectal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed