Radical radiation therapy for carcinoma of the prostate in patients with a single hip prosthesis: a technique analysis using dose-volume histograms.

Radiation therapy of the prostate patient is sometimes complicated by the presence of a hip prosthesis. Using dose-volume histogram (DVH) data, various techniques were assessed in terms of rectal and bladder sparing, as well as total dose to the femoral head and neck. An attempt was made to isolate a suitable technique in prosthesis patients that was comparable to the standard 4-field box technique in nonprosthesis cases. A 3-field coplanar technique is identified as equally efficacious in terms of rectal sparing, while avoiding the hip prosthesis. The importance of using dose-wall histograms for the rectum in plan ranking is discussed, as are the limitations of DVH data analyses without biological endpoints.