Document Type : Research Articles
Authors
1
Radiotherapy Department, National Cancer Institute, Shefaa Alorman Hospital, Egypt.
2
Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Aswan University, Egypt.
3
Department of Radiotherapy, Children’s Cancer Hospital, Egypt.
4
Clinical Oncology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Aswan University, Egypt.
Abstract
Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of static or step-and-shoot intensity-modulated radiotherapy (ssIMRT) and dynamic intensity-modulated radiotherapy (dIMRT) delivery techniques for various treatment sites. Materials and methods: The treatment planning system (TPS) was utilized to develop optimal treatment plans for twenty-seven patients selected for this comparative study, including nine with head and neck cancer, nine with prostate cancer, and nine with cervical cancer. The prescribed doses were 7000cGy/33fr, 7425cGy/33fr, and 5000cGy/25fr for the nasopharynx, prostate, and cervix cases, respectively, in both ssIMRT and dIMRT delivery techniques. Plans were generated using the Monaco treatment planning system with a 6MV photon beam and nine equidistant fields. Plan evaluation criteria included dose-volume histogram analysis, dose homogeneity index, conformity index, radiation delivery time, and monitor unit requirements. Results: All plans were optimized to ensure that 98% of the planning target volume (PTV) received at least 95% of the prescribed dose, while meeting the planning objectives for organs at risk. dIMRT plans exhibited superior conformity (CI = 0.85 ± 0.05) compared to ssIMRT plans (CI = 0.79 ± 0.08), with statistically significant differences (P < 0.01). Inhomogeneity within the PTV was significantly higher in ssIMRT plans (HI = 0.10 ± 0.02) compared to dIMRT plans (HI = 0.09 ± 0.01), with a significant difference (P < 0.01). Delivery time per fraction was significantly lower in dIMRT compared to ssIMRT (P < 0.01). Furthermore, dIMRT plans required a higher mean monitor unit value (1335.4 ± 172.2) compared to ssIMRT plans (974.4 ± 133.6) with a significant difference (P < 0.001). Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate that dIMRT provides improved target coverage, homogeneity, and conformity while reducing treatment delivery time compared to ssIMRT.
Keywords
Main Subjects
)