Postoperative irradiation of gynecologic malignancies: improving treatment delivery using aperture-based intensity-modulated radiotherapy

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate dosimetric and treatment delivery advantages of aperture-based intensity-modulated radiotherapy (AB-IMRT) for the treatment of patients receiving whole pelvic radiotherapy for gynecologic malignancies.

Methods and materials: Nineteen patients undergoing pelvic radiotherapy after resection of endometrial cancers were selected. A 45-Gy dose was prescribed to the target volume delineated on a planning CT scan. An in-house inverse planning system, Ballista, was used to develop a treatment plan using aperture-based multileaf collimator segments. This approach was compared with conventional four-field, enlarged four-field, and static beamlet-based IMRT (BB-IMRT) techniques in terms of target coverage, dose-volume histogram statistics for surrounding normal tissues, and numbers of segments and monitor units (MU).

Results: Three quarters (76.4%) of the planning target volume received the prescription dose with conventional four-field plans. With adequate target coverage, the Ballista plans significantly reduced the volume of bowel and bladder irradiated at the prescribed dose (p < 0.001), whereas the two approaches provided equivalent results for the rectum (p = 0.5). On the other hand, AB-IMRT and BB-IMRT plans showed only small differences in dose-volume histogram statistics of unknown clinical impact, whereas Ballista plan delivery required on average 73% and 59% fewer segments and MU, respectively.

Conclusion: With respect to conventional techniques, AB-IMRT for the treatment of gynecologic malignancies provides dosimetric advantages similar to those with BB-IMRT but with clear treatment delivery improvements.