Image-guidance for stereotactic body radiation therapy.

The term stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) describes a recently introduced external beam radiation paradigm by which small lesions outside the brain are treated under stereotactic conditions, in a single or few fractions of high-dose radiation delivery. Similar to the treatment planning and delivery process for cranial radiosurgery, the emphasis is on sparing of adjacent normal tissues through the creation of steep dose gradients. Thus, advanced methods for assuring an accurate relationship between the target volume position and radiation beam geometry, immediately prior to radiation delivery, must be implemented. Such methods can employ imaging techniques such as planar (e.g., x-ray) or volumetric (e.g., computed tomography [CT]) approaches and are commonly summarized under the general term image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT). This review summarizes clinical experience with volumetric and ultrasound based image-guidance for SBRT. Additionally, challenges and potential limitations of pre-treatment image-guidance are presented and discussed.