Tom Konert1, Wouter V Vogel1, Sarah Everitt2, Michael P MacManus2, Daniela Thorwarth3, Elena Fidarova4, Diana Paez4, Jan-Jakob Sonke5, Gerard G Hanna6. 1. Nuclear Medicine Department, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Radiation Oncology, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. 2. Division of Radiation Oncology, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, East Melbourne, Australia. 3. Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Tübingen, Germany. 4. Department of Nuclear Sciences and Application, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria. 5. Department of Radiation Oncology, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. 6. Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology, Queen's University of Belfast, United Kingdom. Electronic address: g.hanna@qub.ac.uk.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: To assess the impact of a standardized delineation protocol and training interventions on PET/CT-based target volume delineation (TVD) in NSCLC in a multicenter setting. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Over a one-year period, 11 pairs, comprised each of a radiation oncologist and nuclear medicine physician with limited experience in PET/CT-based TVD for NSCLC from nine different countries took part in a training program through an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) study (NCT02247713). Teams delineated gross tumor volume of the primary tumor, during and after training interventions, according to a provided delineation protocol. In-house developed software recorded the performed delineations, to allow visual inspection of strategies and to assess delineation accuracy. RESULTS: Following the first training, overall concordance indices for 3 repetitive cases increased from 0.57±0.07 to 0.66±0.07. The overall mean surface distance between observer and expert contours decreased from -0.40±0.03cm to -0.01±0.33cm. After further training overall concordance indices for another 3 repetitive cases further increased from 0.64±0.06 to 0.80±0.05 (p=0.01). Mean surface distances decreased from -0.34±0.16cm to -0.05±0.20cm (p=0.01). CONCLUSION: Multiple training interventions improve PET/CT-based TVD delineation accuracy in NSCLC and reduce interobserver variation.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: To assess the impact of a standardized delineation protocol and training interventions on PET/CT-based target volume delineation (TVD) in NSCLC in a multicenter setting. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Over a one-year period, 11 pairs, comprised each of a radiation oncologist and nuclear medicine physician with limited experience in PET/CT-based TVD for NSCLC from nine different countries took part in a training program through an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) study (NCT02247713). Teams delineated gross tumor volume of the primary tumor, during and after training interventions, according to a provided delineation protocol. In-house developed software recorded the performed delineations, to allow visual inspection of strategies and to assess delineation accuracy. RESULTS: Following the first training, overall concordance indices for 3 repetitive cases increased from 0.57±0.07 to 0.66±0.07. The overall mean surface distance between observer and expert contours decreased from -0.40±0.03cm to -0.01±0.33cm. After further training overall concordance indices for another 3 repetitive cases further increased from 0.64±0.06 to 0.80±0.05 (p=0.01). Mean surface distances decreased from -0.34±0.16cm to -0.05±0.20cm (p=0.01). CONCLUSION: Multiple training interventions improve PET/CT-based TVD delineation accuracy in NSCLC and reduce interobserver variation.
Authors: T Konert; W V Vogel; D Paez; A Polo; E Fidarova; H Carvalho; P S Duarte; A C Zuliani; A O Santos; D Altuhhova; L Karusoo; R Kapoor; A Sood; J Khader; A Al-Ibraheem; Y Numair; S Abubaker; C Soydal; T Kütük; T A Le; N X Canh; B Q Bieu; L N Ha; J S A Belderbos; M P MacManus; D Thorwarth; G G Hanna Journal: Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging Date: 2019-07-31 Impact factor: 9.236
Authors: Yatman Tsang; Peter Hoskin; Emiliano Spezi; David Landau; Jason Lester; Elizabeth Miles; John Conibear Journal: Tech Innov Patient Support Radiat Oncol Date: 2019-06-22