A strategy to objectively evaluate the necessity of correcting detected target deviations in image guided radiotherapy.

Image guided radiotherapy technologies are being increasingly utilized in the treatment of various cancers. These technologies have enhanced the ability to detect temporal and spatial deviations of the target volume relative to planned radiation beams. Correcting these detected deviations may, in principle, improve the accuracy of dose delivery to the target. However, in many situations, a clinical decision has to be made as to whether it is necessary to correct some of the deviations since the relevant dosimetric impact may or may not be significant, and the corresponding corrective action may be either impractical or time consuming. Ideally this decision should be based on objective and reproducible criteria rather than subjective judgment. In this study, a strategy is proposed for the objective evaluation of the necessity of deviation correction during the treatment verification process. At the treatment stage, without any alteration from the planned beams, the treatment beams should provide the desired dose coverage to the geometric volume identical to the planning target volume (PTV). Given this fact, the planned dose distribution and PTV geometry were used to compute the dose coverage and PTV enclosure of the clinical target volume (CTV) that was detected from imaging during the treatment setup verification. The spatial differences between the detected CTV and the planning CTV are essentially the target deviations. The extent of the PTV enclosure of the detected CTV as well as its dose coverage were used as criteria to evaluate the necessity of correcting any of the target deviations. This strategy, in principle, should be applicable to any type of target deviations, including both target deformable and positional changes and should be independent of how the deviations are detected. The proposed strategy was used on two clinical prostate cancer cases. In both cases, gold markers were implanted inside the prostate for the purpose of treatment setup verification and were used to determine potential target deviations. To derive the detected CTV geometry from the planning CTV based on the locations of the gold markers, the CTV was approximated with an elastic semirigid body model. The derived CTV geometry and shape were confirmed with CBCT imaging. The evaluation results and the related mathematical equations and computational algorithm are presented. It is concluded that the proposed strategy is potentially useful in establishing objective criteria for the necessity of correction of the target deviations.