Practical needle selection for Vienna-style applicators: improving therapeutic ratio in hybrid intracavitary-interstitial brachytherapy.

PURPOSE: Hybrid intracavitary and interstitial (IC/IS) applicators improve dose distribution compared to traditional IC applicators in cervical high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy. There is a learning curve to these applicators, and initial standard needle insertion patterns have not been well-established. In this study, we quantified dosimetric benefits of IC/IS applicators, and offer practical initial interstitial needle-selection, insertion depths, and dwell position recommendations. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Fifteen patients previously treated with a tandem and ring IC applicator and magnetic resonance (MR)-guidance were re-planned at first fraction using a digital template of Vienna-style interstitial needles. IC/IS plans maintained identical high-risk clinical target volume (HR-CTV) D90% while reducing dose to organs at risk (OARs). To assess the validity of planning using virtual needles, virtual needle templates were overlaid on twelve clinical IC/IS plans, and the displacements between 40 physical and virtual needles were measured at 3 cm depth. RESULTS: The median HR-CTV volume in the present study was 19.6 cc (range, 6.6-60.5 cc). HR-CTV D90% was maintained in all re-plans. Median bladder D2cc decreased from 5.4 Gy per fraction to 4.8 Gy (p = 0.003); median rectum D2cc decreased from 2.4 Gy per fraction to 2.0 Gy (p = 0.007). We suggest that a standard loading pattern should include needles in lateral channels 4, 5, and 9, 10 inserted 3 cm deep, with dwell times < 20% of the combined tandem and ring dwells. The mean displacement between planned and physical needles was 1.8 mm. All needles but three deviated less than 3.3 mm, demonstrating the validity of re-planning with virtual needles. CONCLUSIONS: Hybrid IC/IS applicators maintain excellent D90% coverage while improving dose to OARs compared to IC-only applicators, even in non-bulky HR-CTVs. We offer practical recommendations for needle selection, insertion depth, and relative weighting for Vienna-style applicators in small HR-CTVs. These results support previous publications, offering practical recommendations for users of Vienna-style hybrid applicators.

Virtual reality-based simulation improves gynecologic brachytherapy proficiency, engagement, and trainee self-confidence.

PURPOSE: Intracavitary brachytherapy is critical in treatment of cervical cancer with the highest rates of local control and survival. Only about 50% of graduating residents express confidence to develop a brachytherapy practice with caseload as the greatest barrier. We hypothesize that virtual reality (VR)-based intracavitary brachytherapy simulation will improve resident confidence, engagement, and proficiency. METHODS: We created a VR training video of an intracavitary brachytherapy case performed by a board-certified gynecologic radiation oncologist and medical physicist. Residents performed a timed intracavitary procedure on a pelvic simulator before and after viewing the VR simulation module on a commercially available VR headset while five objective measures of implant quality were recorded. The residents completed a pre- and postsimulation questionnaire assessing self-confidence, procedural knowledge, and perceived usefulness of the session. RESULTS: There were 14 residents, including five postgraduate year (PGY)-2, three PGY-3, four PGY-4, and two PGY-5, who participated in the VR curriculum. There were improvements in resident confidence (1.43-3.36), and subjective technical skill in assembly (1.57-3.50) and insertion (1.64-3.21) after the simulation. Average time of implant decreased from 5:51 to 3:34 (p = 0.0016). Median technical proficiencies increased from 4/5 to 5/5. Overall, the residents found VR to be a useful learning tool and indicated increased willingness to perform the procedure again. CONCLUSIONS: VR intracavitary brachytherapy simulation improves residents' self-confidence, subjective and objective technical skills, and willingness to perform brachytherapy. Furthermore, VR is an immersive, engaging, time-efficient, inexpensive, and enjoyable tool that promotes residents interest in brachytherapy.

Per-fraction positional and dosimetric performance of prone breast tangential radiotherapy on Halcyon™ linear accelerator assessed with daily rapid kilo-voltage cone beam computed tomography: a single-institution pilot study.

BACKGROUND: This study investigates daily breast geometry and delivered dose to prone-positioned patients undergoing tangential whole breast radiation therapy (WBRT) on an O-ring linear accelerator with 6X flattening filter free mode (6X-FFF), planned with electronic compensation (ECOMP) method. Most practices rely on skin marks or daily planar image matching for prone breast WBRT. This system provides low dose daily CBCT, which was used to study daily robustness of delivered dose parameters for prone-positioned WBRT. METHODS: Eight patients treated with 16-fraction prone-breast WBRT were retrospectively studied. Planning CTs were deformed to daily CBCT to generate daily synthetic CTs, on which delivered dose distributions were calculated. A total of 8 × 16 = 128 synthetic CTs were generated. Consensus ASTRO definition was used to contour Breast PTV Eval for each daily deformed CT. Breast PTV Eval coverage (V90%) and hotspot (V105% and Dmax) were monitored daily to compare prescription dose with daily delivered dose. Various predictors including patient weight, breast width diameter (BWD), and Dice similarity coefficient (DSC) were fit into an analysis of covariance model predicting V90% and V105% deviation from prescribed (ΔV90%, ΔV105%). Statistical significance is indicated with asterisks (* for p < 0.05; ** for p < 0.001). RESULTS: Daily delivered Breast PTV Eval V90% was moderately smaller than prescribed (median ΔV90% = - 0.1%*), while V105% was much larger (median ΔV105% = + 10.1%** or + 92.4 cc**). Patient's weight loss correlated with significantly increased ΔV105% (+ 4.6%/ - 1% weight, R2 = 0.4**) and moderately decreased ΔV90% (- 0.071%/ - 1% wt., R2 = 0.2**). Comprehensive ANCOVA models indicated three factors affect ΔV90% and ΔV105% the most: (1) BWD decrease (- 0.09%* and + 10%**/ - 1 cm respectively), (2) PTV Eval volume decrease (- 0.4%** and + 9%**/ - 100 cc), and for ΔV105% only, (3) the extent of breast deformation (+ 10%**/ - 0.01 DSC). Breast PTV Eval volume also decreased with time (- 2.21*cc/fx), possibly indicating seroma resolution and increase in V105% over time. CONCLUSIONS: Daily CBCT revealed key delivered dose parameters vary significantly for patients undergoing tangential prone breast WBRT planned with ECOMP using 6X-FFF. Patient weight, BWD, and breast shape deformation could be used to predict dosimetric variations from prescribed. Preliminary findings suggest an adaptive plan based on daily CBCT could reduce excessive dose to the breast.

Initial Clinical Experience Treating Patients With Gynecologic Cancers on a 6MV Flattening Filter Free O-Ring Linear Accelerator.

PURPOSE: Radiation therapy (RT) is commonly used in the treatment of gynecologic cancers. Intensity-modulated RT (IMRT) has been shown to reduce gastrointestinal toxicity compared with 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional RT modalities. We report the initial clinical experience using IMRT for gynecologic cancers with a novel 6MV flattening filter free O-ring linear accelerator (6X-FFF ORL). METHODS AND MATERIALS: We retrospectively identified consecutive women with uterine or cervical cancer who received pelvic RT on Halcyon (Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, CA), a novel 6X-FFF ORL. We report their clinicopathologic data, RT details, early disease-control outcomes, acute toxicities, dose-volume histogram data, couch corrections, and treatment times. RESULTS: Seventeen women received RT on a 6X-FFF ORL for uterine cancer (76%) or cervical cancer (24%) between January 2017 and September 2019. RT was delivered postoperatively (82%) or to intact disease (18%), to a median dose of 50.4 Gy (range, 19.8-55.0 Gy) in 25 fractions (range, 11-28), with 12% receiving extended-field RT and 65% receiving chemotherapy. Target and organ-at-risk constraints were met in all plans. The 3-dimensional vector couch correction average was 0.90 ± 0.37 cm. The mean beam-on time was 2.9 ± 0.4 min and mean treatment time, from imaging start to beam-off, was 3.6 ± 0.4 min. Grade 2 fatigue, anorexia, diarrhea, bloating, and nausea occurred in 41%, 12%, 12%, 6%, and 6% of patients, respectively. There were no grade ≥3 toxicities. CONCLUSIONS: In the initial clinical report of pelvic RT for gynecologic cancers using a 6X-FFF ORL, the linac showed versatility in treatment; comparability to flattening-filtered IMRT for early disease-control, toxicity, and dosimetry; and treatment speed that compared favorably to IMRT on a C-arm gantry. Accordingly, a 6X-FFF ORL may increase throughput or reduce day length in departments with high gynecologic cancer volumes, without compromising clinical outcomes.

Techniques for and uncertainties of MRI-based reconstruction of titanium tandem and ring brachytherapy applicators.

PURPOSE: Eliminating patient computed tomography (CT) scans for tandem and ring (T&R) brachytherapy can reduce overall procedure time and eliminates imaging dose. However, reconstructing titanium applicators in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is challenging. We evaluated the uncertainty of different applicator reconstruction workflows in MR-guided brachytherapy, and assessed the clinical impact of reconstruction uncertainties. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Titanium MRI-compatible T&Rs with aqueous gel in the buildup cap were reconstructed on CTs and MRIs to assess the uncertainties of four different workflows. Reconstruction was performed using (1) proton density-weighted MRIs with solid applicator from a library, (2) applicator-only reference CT fused with MRIs, (3) T2-weighted (T2W) MRIs following GEC-ESTRO guidelines, and (4) patient CTs fused with patient MRIs with in situ applicators. We evaluated dwell positions and plan quality differences using high-risk clinical target volume coverage, and EQD2 D2cc of rectum, sigmoid, bladder, and small bowel. RESULTS: The 2σ uncertainty for dwell positions for each workflow were (1) 2.7 mm for both ring and tandem, (2) 1.4 mm ring and 0.8 mm tandem, (3) 0.2 mm ring and 0.8 mm tandem, and (4) 1.9 mm ring and 0.4 mm tandem. Reconstruction uncertainties resulted in dose variations within acceptable levels (below 10%) except for (1) which resulted in larger dose to the rectum (20%). Dose uncertainties were similar between reference CT and patient CT. CONCLUSIONS: Reconstruction with a reference CT results in similar uncertainty to a patient CT. T2W MRI plans have acceptable uncertainty levels for the applicator reconstruction and resulting dose distributions.

Increase in Superficial Dose in Whole-Breast Irradiation With Halcyon Straight-Through Linac Compared With Traditional C-arm Linac With Flattening Filter: In vivo Dosimetry and Planning Study.

PURPOSE: Superficial dose is an important parameter in breast cancer radiation therapy. When treated with conventional linacs, bolus is commonly applied to improve target coverage near the surface while also managing the risk of severe skin reactions and negative cosmesis. With the introduction of modern linacs with 6X flattening filter free (FFF) photon beams, the effect on superficial dose and the need for bolus must be evaluated. METHODS AND MATERIALS: In vivo measurements of superficial dose were made with optically stimulated luminescence dosimeters on 11 breast cancer patients treated with the Halcyon 6X FFF linac (Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, CA). Additionally, measurements were made with the Halycon 6X FFF beam and a 6X beam with flattening filter (FF) delivered to an anthropomorphic phantom. A planning study was carried out in which 14 patients treated on the Halcyon were replanned with a conventional linac to determine the difference in superficial dose predicted by the treatment planning system. Measures were taken to increase the accuracy of the treatment planning system superficial dose. RESULTS: The use of the Halcyon 6X FFF beam led to higher superficial dose compared with 6X FF beams. The in vivo measurements show an average superficial dose of 83.8% ± 0.6%, which is an increase of approximately 10% compared with published measurements for a 6X FF linac. Comparison of superficial dose for 6X FF and 6X FFF beams in the phantom measurements show an increase from 70% ± 1.3% to 84% ± 1.3%, which is consistent with the in vivo measurements. The planning comparison shows an increase in V70%Rx from 62% ± 4.4% to 81% ± 2.2% for the superficial breast tissue for the Halcyon 6X FFF beam compared with a standard C-arm linac with FF. CONCLUSIONS: The use of the Halcyon 6X FFF beam was associated with higher superficial dose which may obviate the use of bolus.

Effects of full-neck volumetric-modulated arc therapy vs split-field intensity-modulated head and neck radiation therapy on low neck targets and structures.

OBJECTIVE: While split-field intensity-modulated radiation therapy (SF-IMRT) decreases dose to low neck (LAN) structures such as the glottic larynx compared with full-neck intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), it is unknown whether SF-IMRT affords superior dose avoidance to organs than whole neck-field volumetric-modulated arc therapy (WF-VMAT). METHODS: 10 patients treated definitively with radiation for oropharyngeal, oral cavity or nasopharyngeal carcinoma were compared. Only patients ideally suited for SF-IMRT plans were included. The glottic larynx, supraglottic larynx, arytenoids, pharyngeal constrictors, oesophagus, brachial plexus and target volume coverage in the LAN were compared between WF-VMAT and SF-IMRT. RESULTS: Volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) yielded statistically significant decreases in maximum dose to the arytenoids and mean dose to the oesophagus. There was no difference in dose to the glottic larynx, supraglottic larynx, pharyngeal constrictors and brachial plexus. WF-VMAT led to improved coverage to 50/2 Gy fraction equivalent in LAN compared with SF-IMRT using an anteroposterior (AP) LAN field but no difference to the 60/2 Gy fraction equivalent between SF-IMRT and WF-VMAT using AP/posterior-anterior LAN boost. CONCLUSION: WF-VMAT affords equivalent glottic and supraglottic larynx dose and lower dose to the arytenoids and oesophagus. WF-VMAT better covers most LAN target structures. Given these findings as well as concerns with matchline cold spots or hotspots with SF-IMRT, patients requiring comprehensive elective nodal irradiation should typically be treated with WF-VMAT. ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE: SF-IMRT for larynx sparing has better dosimetric results to normal structures than whole-neck IMRT, but with increased matchline recurrence risk. We show dosimetric equivalence or superiority of WF-VMAT compared with SF-IMRT.

Development and evaluation of an automatic interstitial catheter digitization tool for adaptive high-dose-rate brachytherapy.

PURPOSE: To develop and evaluate an automatic interstitial catheter digitization algorithm for use in adaptive high-dose-rate brachytherapy for gynecologic cancers using the Syed-Neblett template. METHODS AND MATERIALS: We developed an automatic catheter digitization tool, which uses a region growing algorithm in conjunction with a spline model of the catheters. Seed locations were selected in each catheter for the region growing algorithm. The region growing was constrained by a spline model of the catheters, which prevents intercatheter crossover or incorrect digitization due to air pockets. Plan reoptimization was performed on successive day computed tomography scans using dwell positions for the Day 1 computed tomography. This method was applied to 10 patients who had received high-dose-rate interstitial brachytherapy using the Syed-Neblett template. The prescribed dose was 18.75 or 20 Gy delivered in five fractions, twice daily, and more than 3 consecutive days. Dosimetric comparisons were made between automatically and manually digitized plans. RESULTS: The region growing algorithm was able to successfully digitize all catheters. The mean difference between automatic and manually digitized positions was 0.4 ± 0.2 mm. No significant difference was found in dosimetric parameters between the automatic and manually digitized plans. The mean D90% of the clinical target volume over all 3 days of treatment of the manual vs. reoptimized automatic plans was 94.3 ± 6.58% and 92.32 ± 8.34%, respectively (p = 0.50). CONCLUSIONS: The algorithm discussed in this article is the first developed for adaptive interstitial brachytherapy for a large number of catheters (14 on average). The algorithm has future potential in digitization quality assurance. A region growing algorithm was developed to automatically digitize interstitial catheters in high-dose-rate brachytherapy. This automatic digitization tool was shown to be accurate compared with manual digitization.

Feasibility and limitations of bulk density assignment in MRI for head and neck IMRT treatment planning.

Head and neck cancers centered at the base of skull are better visualized on MRI than on CT. The purpose of this investigation was to investigate the accuracy of bulk density assignment in head and neck intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) treatment plan optimization. Our study investigates dose calculation differences between density-assigned MRI and CT, and identifies potential limitations related to dental implants and MRI geometrical distortion in the framework of MRI-only-based treatment planning. Bulk density assignment was performed and applied onto MRI to generate three MRI image sets with increasing levels of heterogeneity for seven patients: 1) MRIW: all water-equivalent; 2) MRIW+B: included bone with density of 1.53 g/cm3; and 3) MRIW+B+A: included bone and air. Using identical planning and optimization parameters, MRI-based IMRT plans were generated and compared to corresponding, forward-calculated, CT-based plans on the basis of target coverage, isodose distributions, and dose-volume histograms (DVHs). Phantom studies were performed to assess the magnitude and spatial dependence of MRI geometrical distortion. MRIW-based dose calculations overestimated target coverage by 16.1%. Segmentation of bone reduced differences to within 2% of the coverage area on the CT-based plan. Further segmentation of air improved conformity near air-tissue interfaces. Dental artifacts caused substantial target coverage overestimation even on MRIW+B+A. Geometrical distortion was less than 1 mm in an imaging volume 20 × 20 × 20 cm3 around scanner isocenter, but up to 4 mm at 17 cm lateral to isocenter. Bulk density assignment in the framework of MRI-only IMRT head and neck treatment planning is a feasible method with certain limitations. Bone and teeth account for the majority of density heterogeneity effects. While soft tissue is well visualized on MRI compared to CT, dental implants may not be visible on MRI and must be identified by other means and assigned appropriate density for accurate dose calculation. Far off-center geometrical distortion of the body contour near the shoulder region is a potential source of dose calculation inaccuracy.