Validation of Effective Dose as a Better Predictor of Radiation Pneumonitis Risk than Mean Lung Dose: Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Trial

We found that a normal tissue complications model based on effective dose (Deff) (with volume parameter n=0.5, corresponding to root mean squared dose) predicts risk of radiation pneumonitis after either intensity-modulated radiation therapy or passively scattering proton therapy more accurately than a model based on mean lung dose and suggests that delivering higher doses to smaller lung volumes (vs. lower doses to larger volumes) may increase RP risk more than previously recognized.

Source: International Journal of Radiation Oncology * Biology * Physics - October 3, 2018 Category: Radiology Authors: Susan L. Tucker, Ting Xu, Harald Paganetti, Timo Deist, Vivek Verma, Noah Choi, Radhe Mohan, Zhongxing Liao Source Type: research