Dose and Volume of the Irradiated Main Bronchi and Related Side Effects in the Treatment of Central Lung Tumors With Stereotactic Radiotherapy

High radiation dose to the main bronchi can result in stenosis, occlusion or fistula formation, and death. Only 8 articles have reported side effects to the main bronchi from stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), mostly with only one symptomatic complication per article. Therefore, we calculated the dose to the bronchial structures, such as trachea; mainstem bronchi; intermediate bronchus; upper-, middle-, and lower-lobe bronchus; and the segmental bronchi in 134 patients with central tumors and calculated the normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) for each of these structures, with toxicity determination based upon computed tomography imaging.
Source: Seminars in Radiation Oncology - Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Source Type: research