Ultrasound imaging to assess inter- and intra-fraction motion during bladder radiotherapy and its potential as a verification tool.

AIMS: Organ motion is the principle source of error in bladder cancer radiotherapy. The aim of this study was to evaluate ultrasound bladder volume measurement as a surrogate measure of organ motion during radiotherapy: (1) to assess inter- and intra-fraction bladder variation and (2) as a potential treatment verification tool.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty patients receiving radical radiotherapy for bladder cancer underwent post-void ultrasound bladder volume measurement at the time of radiotherapy treatment planning (RTP), and immediately before (post-void) and after receiving daily fractions.
RESULTS: Ultrasound bladder volume measurement was found to be a simple and acceptable method to estimate relative bladder volume changes. Six patients showed significant changes to post-void bladder volume over the treatment course (P<0.05). The mean inter-fraction post-void bladder volume of five patients exceeded their RTP ultrasound bladder volume by more than 50%. Intra-fraction bladder volume increased on 275/308 (89%) assessed fractions, with the mean intra-fraction volume increases of seven patients exceeding their RTP ultrasound bladder volume by more than 50%.
CONCLUSIONS: Both day-to-day bladder volume variation and bladder filling during treatment should be considered in RTP and delivery. Ultrasound may provide a practical daily verification tool by: supporting volume limitation as a method of treatment margin reduction; allowing detection of patients who may require interventions to promote bladder reproducibility; and identifying patients with prominent volume changes for the selective application of more advanced adaptive/image-guided radiotherapy techniques.