Abstract:
Objective To analyze and compare the dosimetric difference between volumetric intensity modulated arc therapy (VMAT) and conformal intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) in the extended field radiotherapy plan for locally advanced cervical cancer.
Methods Retrospective analysis was carried out on the clinical data of 20 patients with cervical cancer admitted to the Affiliated Huaian NO.1 People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from January 2019 to December 2021. Patients aged (56.3±9.1) years and ranging from 39 to 78 years old were included. Each patient underwent CT scanning, and the delineations of the planning target volume (PTV), planning gross target volume for lymph node lesion (PGTVnd), and organs at risk such as bladder, rectum, bilateral femoral heads, liver, kidneys, small intestine, and spinal cord were outlined. All patients were divided into the IMRT and VMAT group by using a random number table method with 10 patients in each group. The IMRT and VMAT radiotherapy plans were conducted separately. The patients in the IMRT group were aged (54.1±7.1) years, while those in the VMAT group were aged (58.1±10.8) years. The relevant dosimetric parameters of the target volume and the organs at risk, total machine hops, and total treatment time were compared between the two groups. The t-test was used for inter-group comparison of measurement data.
Results In PTV, the conformity index of VMAT was significantly higher than that of IMRT ((0.81±0.03) vs. (0.79±0.23), t=−2.190, P=0.035). In PGTVnd, the homogeneity index of VMAT was significantly lower than that of IMRT ((0.06±0.01) vs. (0.07±0.01), t=−2.315, P=0.026). In the bladder irradiation dose, the V20 Gy (Vx Gy indicates the percentage of volume irradiated with ≥ x Gy to total volume) in the VMAT plan was significantly lower than that in the IMRT group ((92.64±2.29)% vs. (93.98±1.47)%, t=2.220, P=0.032). In the rectal irradiation dose, the V20 Gy in the VMAT group was significantly lower than that in the IMRT group ((92.20±2.21)% vs. (93.68±1.88)%, t=2.282, P=0.028). In the liver irradiation dose, the V10 Gy and V20 Gy in the VMAT group were (7.73±0.39)% and (5.14±0.68)%, respectively, which were lower than the V10 Gy ((7.93±0.10)% ) and V20 Gy ((5.51±0.16)%) in the IMRT group, and the differences were statistically significant (t=2.372, 2.367, P=0.023, 0.023). In the small intestine irradiation dose, V20 Gy, V30 Gy, V40 Gy, and Dmean in the VMAT group were (77.67±4.64)%, (39.21±1.10)%, (18.35±3.05)%, and (30.36±3.46) Gy, respectively, which were significantly lower than the V20 Gy ((80.24±1.05)%), V30 Gy ((42.34±6.00)%), V40 Gy ((22.34±6.01)%), and Dmean ((34.23±6.71) Gy) in the IMRT group (t=2.228–2.628, all P<0.05). In the spinal cord irradiation dose, the V20 Gy and Dmean in the VMAT group were (38.81±2.33)% and (11.46±4.26) Gy, respectively, which were significantly lower than the V20 Gy ((42.88±6.19)%) and Dmean ((17.97±7.40) Gy) in the IMRT group (t=2.752, 3.410, P=0.009, 0.002). In the left kidney irradiation dose, the V20 Gy and Dmean in the VMAT group were (11.67±2.36)% and (10.02±2.19) Gy, respectively, which were significantly lower than the V20 Gy ((15.56±7.50)% ) and Dmean ((14.06±7.29) Gy) in the IMRT group (t=2.216, 2.375, P=0.033, 0.023). In the right kidney irradiation dose, the V20 Gy and Dmean in the VMAT plan were (11.72±2.31)% and (10.07±2.15) Gy, respectively, which were significantly lower than the V20 Gy ((16.67±6.92)%) and Dmean ((13.92±7.17) Gy) in the IMRT group (t=3.030, 2.295, P=0.004, 0.027). In the left caput femoris irradiation dose, significant differences were observed in the V10 Gy ( (74.77±2.33)% vs. (78.51±7.46)%), V20 Gy ((34.37±2.74)% vs. (38.91±7.20)%), V30 Gy ((14.77±2.33)% vs. (18.51±7.46)%), V40 Gy ((2.99±1.03)% vs. (4.98±3.73)%), V50 Gy ((0.48±0.22)% vs. (0.99%±0.65)%), and Dmean ((34.32±2.79) Gy vs. (38.41±6.67) Gy) in the VMAT plan compared with the IMRT group (t=2.147–3.359, all P<0.05). In the right caput femoris irradiation dose, the V50 Gy in the VMAT group was (0.02±0.01)%, which was significantly lower than the V50 Gy ((0.03±0.01)%) in the IMRT group (t=2.997, P=0.005). The total machine hop of VMAT group was significantly lower than that of the IMRT group ((536.16±42.37) vs. (614.44±59.44), t=−5.362, P<0.001). The effective treatment time of VMAT group was significantly lower than that of the IMRT group ((152.23±0.31) min vs. (453.88±9.94) min, t=−151.708, P<0.001).
Conclusion VMAT has good plan conformation and uniformity, can effectively protect the organs at risk, and can reduce the number of machine hops, and can shorten the treatment time.