A case study of evaluating bilateral lung dose for VMAT treatment planning using a partial sagittal arc

Radiation pneumonitis (RP) is a potential toxic side effect of thoracic radiotherapy. Optimal planning techniques must maintain tumor coverage while limiting dose to normal lung tissue to reduce the risk of patients developing RP. The addition of a noncoplanar arc may be beneficial by increasing treatment angles and providing an ideal dose distribution for tumor coverage while decreasing dose to organs at risk (OAR). The purpose of this research was to compare the effects on the normal bilateral lung tissue receiving 20 Gy, 10 Gy and 5 Gy (V20, V10, V5) and the mean lung dose (MLD) values when medial lung tumors are treated with 3 partial coplanar arcs vs 2 partial coplanar arcs combined with a partial sagittal arc.

Source: Medical Dosimetry - January 18, 2021 Category: Radiology Authors: Tenzin Yiga, Tiffany G. Lin, Brandon Williamson, Nishele Lenards, Ashley Hunzeker, Matt Tobler, Sabrina Zeiler, Ashley Fellows Source Type: research