Dosimetric advantages of intensity modulated radiation therapy in locally advanced lung cancer

Purpose: Radiation therapy plays an essential role in the treatment of locally advanced lung cancer, but it inevitably leads to incidental and unnecessary dose to critical organs, including the lung, heart, and esophagus. Numerous radiation dose-volumetric parameters have been associated with increa...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: John Boyle, MD, Brad Ackerson, MD, Lin Gu, MS, Chris R. Kelsey, MD
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2017-01-01
Series:Advances in Radiation Oncology
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S245210941630104X
_version_ 1828530936999837696
author John Boyle, MD
Brad Ackerson, MD
Lin Gu, MS
Chris R. Kelsey, MD
author_facet John Boyle, MD
Brad Ackerson, MD
Lin Gu, MS
Chris R. Kelsey, MD
author_sort John Boyle, MD
collection DOAJ
description Purpose: Radiation therapy plays an essential role in the treatment of locally advanced lung cancer, but it inevitably leads to incidental and unnecessary dose to critical organs, including the lung, heart, and esophagus. Numerous radiation dose-volumetric parameters have been associated with increased risk of morbidity and mortality. The purpose of the present study is to quantify differences in normal tissue radiation exposure with intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) compared with 3-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT). Methods and materials: Twenty-four consecutive patients with locally advanced lung cancer undergoing definitive IMRT were enrolled on a phase 1 protocol. For each patient, an optimized 3D-CRT plan was also designed. Plans were normalized in terms of planning target coverage with a standard dose of 60 Gy in 2-Gy fractions with a subset of patients also receiving elective nodal irradiation to a dose of 44 Gy in 2-Gy fractions. Normal tissue dosimetric comparisons were made for the lung, heart, and esophagus. Results: IMRT decreased incidental dose to the lungs, heart, and esophagus. For lung, both V20 Gy (21.5% vs 26.5%, P < .01) and mean lung dose (11.9 Gy vs 14.9 Gy, P < .01) were improved with IMRT without a corresponding increase in V5 Gy (P = .76). For heart, there was improvement in V5 (28.9% vs 33.7%, P < .01) but no difference in V30 Gy (9.8% vs 15.9%. P = .10). For esophagus, all dosimetric endpoints were improved (V20 Gy, V45 Gy, V60 Gy, mean dose). For example, V60 was 6.5% with IMRT compared with 21% with 3D-CRT (P < .01). Conclusions: IMRT significantly decreased unnecessary dose to critical organs with equivalent coverage of planning target volumes. IMRT may therefore improve the tolerability of therapy.
first_indexed 2024-12-11T22:30:21Z
format Article
id doaj.art-7dd6d3b3dbb24c3b8df5fda387808247
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2452-1094
language English
last_indexed 2024-12-11T22:30:21Z
publishDate 2017-01-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Advances in Radiation Oncology
spelling doaj.art-7dd6d3b3dbb24c3b8df5fda3878082472022-12-22T00:48:09ZengElsevierAdvances in Radiation Oncology2452-10942017-01-012161110.1016/j.adro.2016.12.006Dosimetric advantages of intensity modulated radiation therapy in locally advanced lung cancerJohn Boyle, MD0Brad Ackerson, MD1Lin Gu, MS2Chris R. Kelsey, MD3Department of Radiation Oncology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North CarolinaDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North CarolinaDepartment of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North CarolinaDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North CarolinaPurpose: Radiation therapy plays an essential role in the treatment of locally advanced lung cancer, but it inevitably leads to incidental and unnecessary dose to critical organs, including the lung, heart, and esophagus. Numerous radiation dose-volumetric parameters have been associated with increased risk of morbidity and mortality. The purpose of the present study is to quantify differences in normal tissue radiation exposure with intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) compared with 3-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT). Methods and materials: Twenty-four consecutive patients with locally advanced lung cancer undergoing definitive IMRT were enrolled on a phase 1 protocol. For each patient, an optimized 3D-CRT plan was also designed. Plans were normalized in terms of planning target coverage with a standard dose of 60 Gy in 2-Gy fractions with a subset of patients also receiving elective nodal irradiation to a dose of 44 Gy in 2-Gy fractions. Normal tissue dosimetric comparisons were made for the lung, heart, and esophagus. Results: IMRT decreased incidental dose to the lungs, heart, and esophagus. For lung, both V20 Gy (21.5% vs 26.5%, P < .01) and mean lung dose (11.9 Gy vs 14.9 Gy, P < .01) were improved with IMRT without a corresponding increase in V5 Gy (P = .76). For heart, there was improvement in V5 (28.9% vs 33.7%, P < .01) but no difference in V30 Gy (9.8% vs 15.9%. P = .10). For esophagus, all dosimetric endpoints were improved (V20 Gy, V45 Gy, V60 Gy, mean dose). For example, V60 was 6.5% with IMRT compared with 21% with 3D-CRT (P < .01). Conclusions: IMRT significantly decreased unnecessary dose to critical organs with equivalent coverage of planning target volumes. IMRT may therefore improve the tolerability of therapy.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S245210941630104X
spellingShingle John Boyle, MD
Brad Ackerson, MD
Lin Gu, MS
Chris R. Kelsey, MD
Dosimetric advantages of intensity modulated radiation therapy in locally advanced lung cancer
Advances in Radiation Oncology
title Dosimetric advantages of intensity modulated radiation therapy in locally advanced lung cancer
title_full Dosimetric advantages of intensity modulated radiation therapy in locally advanced lung cancer
title_fullStr Dosimetric advantages of intensity modulated radiation therapy in locally advanced lung cancer
title_full_unstemmed Dosimetric advantages of intensity modulated radiation therapy in locally advanced lung cancer
title_short Dosimetric advantages of intensity modulated radiation therapy in locally advanced lung cancer
title_sort dosimetric advantages of intensity modulated radiation therapy in locally advanced lung cancer
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S245210941630104X
work_keys_str_mv AT johnboylemd dosimetricadvantagesofintensitymodulatedradiationtherapyinlocallyadvancedlungcancer
AT bradackersonmd dosimetricadvantagesofintensitymodulatedradiationtherapyinlocallyadvancedlungcancer
AT lingums dosimetricadvantagesofintensitymodulatedradiationtherapyinlocallyadvancedlungcancer
AT chrisrkelseymd dosimetricadvantagesofintensitymodulatedradiationtherapyinlocallyadvancedlungcancer