A technique for delivery of total body irradiation for bone marrow transplantation in adults and adolescents.

With the increasing use of bone marrow transplantation for cancer, total body irradiation is becoming a more commonplace procedure in many of the larger centers across the country. The technical difficulties in delivering homogenous doses of radiation to the whole body are significant and involve many factors such as creation of a homogeneous, "flat" beam of radiation, and dealing with variations in patient thickness and tissue homogeneity, particularly in the lung. In addition, techniques must be used to safely and efficiently deal with patients who are usually very ill and require long treatment times. Although there is often an advantage in terms of dosimetry to using an AP/PA treatment technique, many institutions use parallel opposed lateral beams because of equipment and facility limitations. A technique has been devised that enables total body irradation to be given by an AP/PA technique using equipment available in many radiotherapy departments. Patients are supported in an upright position during treatment by means of a modified harness attached to the ceiling of the treatment room. Lung compensators are fixed to individually fitted "vests," allowing the patient moderate amounts of movement during treatment while maintaining the position of the compensator relative to the lungs. Thermoluminiscent dosimeter (TLD) dose measurements in a phantom indicate that this system can deliver accurate and homogeneous doses to lung tissue, while allowing a good degree of patient comfort and safety during the long treatment times that are required.