title: Geographical miss of the prostate during image-guided radiotherapy with a 6-mm posterior expansion margin.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Our department commonly uses a planning target volume (PTV) expansion of 6 mm posterior and 1 cm in all other directions when treating prostate cancer patients with image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT). This study aimed to test the adequacy of this PTV expansion by assessing geographical miss of the prostate on post-treatment cone-beam CT (CBCT) and identify those at risk of geographical miss.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-two prostate cancer patients receiving IGRT with implanted fiducial markers underwent daily pre-treatment orthogonal kV imaging followed by a post-treatment CBCT for a total of 432 fractions. The prostate was outlined on all CBCTs. For each imaging set, the volume of geographic miss was measured by subtracting the PTV from the planning CT and prostate volume on the post-treatment CBCT.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prostate volume moved outside the PTV by >0.01 cc in 9% of fractions (39/432). This occurred in 13 (59%) of 22 patients. Large prostates >40 cc and >50 cc had significantly more geographical miss events (both P < 0.001). Changes in rectal filling appear to be responsible for prostate motion/deformation in 82% (32/39) of fractions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our analysis suggests that, despite IGRT, prostate PTV margins are not adequate in some patients, particularly those with large prostates. PTV margins may be reduced in some other patients. Prostate rotation and deformation play an important role in setting margins and may not always be represented accurately by fiducial marker displacements. Individualised and adaptive margins for prostate cancer patients should be a priority for future research.
authors.affiliation: Radiation Therapy Services, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Bendigo, Australia.|Medical Imaging & Radiation Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Oates
authors.affiliation: Radiation Therapy Services, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Bendigo, Australia.
authors.forename: Daryl
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: Radiation Oncology, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Australia.|Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia.
authors.forename: Farshad
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Foroudi
authors.affiliation: Radiation Oncology, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Suki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gill
authors.affiliation: Physical Sciences, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Prabhakar
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ramachandran
authors.affiliation: Medical Imaging & Radiation Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Michal
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.affiliation: Radiation Oncology, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lim Joon
authors.affiliation: Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia.|Physical Sciences, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Tomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kron
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D054893:Cone-Beam Computed Tomography; D057918:Fiducial Markers; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009068:Movement; D011467:Prostate / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000528:radiation effects*; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D011880:Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted; D061089:Radiotherapy, Image-Guided / Q000592:standards
keywords: Cone-beam CT; margins; motion; prostate cancer; radiotherapy