Radiation dose to the fetus during CyberKnife radiosurgery for a brain tumor in pregnancy.

PURPOSE: Pregnancy during radiosurgery is extremely rare in clinical practice. We report fetal dose results during CyberKnife radiosurgery for a brain tumor in pregnancy. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A 26 year old pregnant woman with a rapidly growing deep-seated grade-III glioma was treated during the third trimester of gestation using CyberKnife. Ultrasound imaging was used to determine the position of the embryo prior to treatment. A dose of 1400 cGy was prescribed aiming to control tumor growth until delivery of the child. Prior to radiosurgery, the treatment was simulated on an anthropomorphic phantom. Radiation dose to the embryo was measured using a Farmer chamber and EBT3 films. RESULTS: Fetal doses of 4.4 cGy and 4.1 cGy were measured for the embryo's head and legs, lying at 56 cm and 72 cm from the isocenter, respectively, using the Farmer chamber situated at 8.5 cm depth beneath the phantom surface. Dose results of 4.4 cGy, 3.5 cGy and 2.0 cGy were measured with the films situated at depths of 6.5 cm, 9.5 cm and 14.5 cm, respectively. An average dose of 4.2 cGy to the fetus was derived from the above values. A corresponding dose of 3.2 cGy was also calculated based on results obtained using EBT3 films situated upon the patient skin. CONCLUSIONS: The measured fetal doses are below the threshold of 10 cGy for congenital malformations, mental and growth retardation effects. The radiogenic cancer risk to the live-born embryo was estimated less than 0.3% over the normal incidence. The treatment was administered successfully, allowing the patient to deliver a healthy child.

Peripheral doses in patients undergoing Cyberknife treatment for intracranial lesions. A single centre experience.

BACKGROUND: Stereotactic radiosurgery/radiotherapy procedures are known to deliver a very high dose per fraction, and thus, the corresponding peripheral dose could be a limiting factor for the long term surviving patients. The aim of this clinical study was to measure the peripheral dose delivered to patients undergoing intracranial Cyberknife treatment, using the MOSFET dosimeters. The influence of the supplemental shielding, the number of monitor units and the collimator size to the peripheral dose were investigated. METHODS: MOSFET dosimeters were placed in preselected anatomical regions of the patient undergoing Cyberknife treatment, namely the thyroid gland, the nipple, the umbilicus and the pubic symphysis. RESULTS: The mean peripheral doses before the supplemental shielding was added to the Cyberknife unit were 51.79 cGy, 13.31 cGy and 10.07 cGy while after the shielding upgrade they were 38.40 cGy, 10.94 cGy, and 8.69 cGy, in the thyroid gland, the umbilicus and the pubic symphysis, respectively. The increase of the collimator size corresponds to an increase of the PD and becomes less significant at larger distances, indicating that at these distances the PD is predominate due to the head leakage and collimator scatter. CONCLUSION: Weighting the effect of the number of monitor units and the collimator size can be effectively used during the optimization procedure in order to choose the most suitable treatment plan that will deliver the maximum dose to the tumor, while being compatible with the dose constraints for the surrounding organs at risk. Attention is required in defining the thyroid gland as a structure of avoidance in the treatment plan especially in patients with benign diseases.

Integration of functional MRI and white matter tractography in stereotactic radiosurgery clinical practice.

PURPOSE: To study the efficacy of the integration of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and diffusion tensor imaging tractography data into stereotactic radiosurgery clinical practice. METHODS AND MATERIALS: fMRI and tractography data sets were acquired and fused with corresponding anatomical MR and computed tomography images of patients with arteriovenous malformation (AVM), astrocytoma, brain metastasis, or hemangioma and referred for stereotactic radiosurgery. The acquired data sets were imported into a CyberKnife stereotactic radiosurgery system and used to delineate the target, organs at risk, and nearby functional structures and fiber tracts. Treatment plans with and without the incorporation of the functional structures and the fiber tracts into the optimization process were developed and compared. RESULTS: The nearby functional structures and fiber tracts could receive doses of >50% of the maximum dose if they were excluded from the planning process. In the AVM case, the doses received by the Broadmann-17 structure and the optic tract were reduced to 700 cGy from 1,400 cGy and to 1,200 cGy from 2,000 cGy, respectively, upon inclusion into the optimization process. In the metastasis case, the motor cortex received 850 cGy instead of 1,400 cGy; and in the hemangioma case, the pyramidal tracts received 780 cGy instead of 990 cGy. In the astrocytoma case, the dose to the motor cortex bordering the lesion was reduced to 1,900 cGy from 2,100 cGy, and therefore, the biologically equivalent dose in three fractions was delivered instead. CONCLUSIONS: Functional structures and fiber tracts could receive high doses if they were not considered during treatment planning. With the aid of fMRI and tractography images, they can be delineated and spared.

CT-guided fiducial placement for cyberknife stereotactic radiosurgery: an initial experience.

CyberKnife frameless image-guided radiosurgery has become a widely used system for parenchymal extracranial lesions. Gold fiducials are required for the planning and aiming of CyberKnife therapy. We report our initial experience and describe the technique of positioning tumor markers, under CT guidance. We conducted a retrospective review of 105 patients who were referred for CyberKnife stereotactic radiosurgery at Iatropolis CyberKnife Center in Athens. All patients underwent percutaneous fiducial placement via CT guidance. At the desired location, the 18-G needle was advanced into or near the tumor. Data collected included number and locations of fiducials placed and complications experienced to date. One hundred five patients underwent fiducial placement under CT guidance and a total number of 319 gold seeds were implanted. We experienced one episode of pneumothorax that required drainage, one mild pneumothorax, and three episodes of perifocal pulmonary hemorrhage. In conclusion, fiducial implantation under CT guidance appears to be a safe and efficient procedure, as long as it is performed by an experienced interventional radiologist.