Open AccessDosimetric comparison of radiotherapy treatment plans done by IMRT and VMAT technique in head and neck cancer patients
Author(s) -
Aparajeeta,
A Mehta,
N S Silambarasan,
Piyush Kumar
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
international journal of medical research and review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2321-127X
pISSN - 2320-8686
DOI - 10.17511/ijmrr.2021.i03.06
Subject(s) - medicine , dosimetry , nuclear medicine , radiation therapy , head and neck , head and neck cancer , medical physics , radiology , surgery
Background: The increasing patient load in radiotherapy centres demands selection of thetechnique that provides plans with optimal dosimetry in terms of target volume coverage, organs atrisk (OAR) sparing and a lesser treatment time. This study was designed to compare the two widelypractised conformal techniques, IMRT and VMAT in head and neck cancer patients in terms ofplanning target volume (PTV) coverage, OAR sparing and treatment delivery parameters. Materialsand methods: For ten postoperative head and neck cancer patients who had been treated by IMRTtechnique virtual VMAT plans were generated for study purposes. The dose prescribed to PTV was 60Gy in 30 fractions. The dose-volume parameters of PTV and OARs and the treatment deliveryparameters were compared amongst both the techniques. Statistical significance was calculatedusing paired ‘t’ test. Results: Both the plans were comparable in terms of dosimetry. The onlysignificant difference being better conformity in the IMRT plans. The dose to OARs was alsocomparable in both the techniques except for a significant reduction in the point dose to brainstemwith the IMRT technique. Given the treatment delivery parameters, there was a significant reductionin the treatment delivery time and monitor units with the VMAT technique compared to the IMRTtechnique. Conclusion: VMAT technique gave comparable plans to that of the IMRT technique interms of dosimetry but reduced the treatment time. It seems feasible in radiotherapy centres withincreased patient load.