Validity of Current Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy Dose Constraints for Aorta and Major Vessels

Understanding dose constraints for critical structures in stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is essential to generate a plan for optimal efficacy and safety. Published dose constraints are derived by a variety of methods, including crude statistics, actuarial analysis, modeling, and simple biologically effective dose (BED) conversion. Many dose constraints reported in the literature are not consistent with each other, secondary to differences in clinical and dosimetric parameters. Application of a dose constraint without discriminating the variation of all the factors involved may result in suboptimal treatment.
Source: Seminars in Radiation Oncology - Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Source Type: research