AIM: Improvement of the dose homogeneity in radiation treatment of the intact breast using 3D-planning and dose volume histograms. PATIENTS AND METHOD: 3D-planning, including the calculation of dose volume histograms of the planning target volume, was performed on 15 patients, who underwent radiation therapy with tangential photon beams. A standard plan and 2 modified or optimized plans were evaluated. Different dosimetric parameters like maximum dose, mean dose, standard deviation and the fractional volume which receives doses from 95 to 105% of the reference dose were compared and correlated with breast size. RESULTS: With increasing breast size standard planning leads to increased overdosage, both in magnitude and volume. Individual optimization by modifying weights and wedges gives no improvement in dose homogeneity, whereas a photon energy of 10 MV results in a more homogeneous dose distribution. The drawback of the higher energy is the increased underdosage of the skin. CONCLUSION: Using the standard geometry of tangential fields the dose homogeneity cannot be improved significantly by 3D-planning, compared to our standard technique.
AIM: Improvement of the dose homogeneity in radiation treatment of the intact breast using 3D-planning and dose volume histograms. PATIENTS AND METHOD: 3D-planning, including the calculation of dose volume histograms of the planning target volume, was performed on 15 patients, who underwent radiation therapy with tangential photon beams. A standard plan and 2 modified or optimized plans were evaluated. Different dosimetric parameters like maximum dose, mean dose, standard deviation and the fractional volume which receives doses from 95 to 105% of the reference dose were compared and correlated with breast size. RESULTS: With increasing breast size standard planning leads to increased overdosage, both in magnitude and volume. Individual optimization by modifying weights and wedges gives no improvement in dose homogeneity, whereas a photon energy of 10 MV results in a more homogeneous dose distribution. The drawback of the higher energy is the increased underdosage of the skin. CONCLUSION: Using the standard geometry of tangential fields the dose homogeneity cannot be improved significantly by 3D-planning, compared to our standard technique.
Authors: L J Solin; J C Chu; M R Sontag; L Brewster; E Cheng; K Doppke; R E Drzymala; M Hunt; R Kuske; J M Manolis Journal: Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys Date: 1991-05-15 Impact factor: 7.038
Authors: S Webb; M O Leach; R E Bentley; K Maureemootoo; J R Yarnold; M A Toms; J Gardiner; D Parton Journal: Phys Med Biol Date: 1987-07 Impact factor: 3.609
Authors: J M Monson; L Chin; A Nixon; I Gage; B Silver; A Recht; J R Harris Journal: Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys Date: 1997-03-15 Impact factor: 7.038