Comparison of high‐dose‐rate intracavitary brachytherapy dosimetry with and without anesthesia in patients with cervical carcinoma

This study compares the dosimetry of high‐dose‐rate intracavitary brachytherapy (HDR‐ICBT) performed with and without general anesthesia/spinal anesthesia (GA/SA) in patients with cervical carcinoma. We retrospectively retrieved the records of 138 HDR‐ICBT applicator insertions performed in 46 patients: 69 performed with GA/SA (anesthesia group known as AG) in 23 patients, and 69 performed without GA/SA (nonanesthesia group known as NAG) in 23 patients. The intracavitary brachytherapy (ICBT) application was done with central tandem and two vaginal ovoids. For each ICBT plan, a high‐dose‐rate (HDR) dose of 7 Gy was prescribed to point A. From each plan, the doses to Point B right ( BR) , Point B left ( BL) , bladder and rectal reference points ( Bladder refand Rectal ref ) were recorded and compared in the two groups. Student's t‐test was applied to find out the significance of difference. The two groups were comparable in terms of demography and clinical characteristics. Mean Point B L doses in AG and NAG were 1.89 Gy (27% of Point A dose) and 1.82 Gy (26% of Point A dose), respectively. Mean Point B R doses in AG and NAG were 1.91 Gy (27% of Point A dose) and 1.85 Gy (26% of point A), respectively (p‐value 0.7). The mean dose toBladder refin AG and NAG was 5.03 Gy and 4.90 Gy, respectively (p‐value 0.6). The mean dose toRectal refwas significantly higher in AG than NAG (5.09 Gy vs. 4.49 Gy, p‐value 0.01). Although based on conventional 2D dosimetry planning, our study has demonstrated that avoiding GA/SA does not result in inferior HDR‐ICBT dosimetry. PACS number: 87.53.Jw, 87.50.cm