The optimization of intensity modulated radiotherapy in cases where the planning target volume extends into the build-up region.

A common clinical problem in IMRT, especially when treating head and neck cases, is that the clinical target volume (CTV) stops short of the skin surface, whilst the margin for geometric uncertainties may take the planning target volume (PTV) to the skin surface or beyond. In these cases, optimization leads to over-dosing of the skin, unless the planner resorts to procedural tricks to avoid this, such as the use of pretend bolus or reduction of the PTV followed by adding 'flash' after optimization. This paper describes a method of avoiding the need for these tricks by using a multiple-isocentre CTV-based objective function. This enables plans to be produced that will give good coverage of the CTV for all the geometrical uncertainties that would have been covered by the PTV without causing the problem of over-dosing the skin. Eight isocentre shifts, equally distributed on the surface of a sphere with a radius equal to the CTV-PTV margin, are shown to be adequate for the optimization process. The resulting fluence maps are much simpler than those resulting from PTV optimization and will therefore be simpler to deliver. The method also permits better sparing of organs at risk such as the spinal cord.