Hip prostheses during pelvic irradiation: effects and corrections.

Treatment of pelvic malignancies frequently includes the use of lateral, arc, or rotational fields. The presence of hip prostheses in these treatment fields will perturb the dose distribution. Correction factors for metal-based alloys used in artificial hips have not previously been reported. Prostheses constructed from frequently used alloys were obtained and measurements were made of the transmission of 4MV and 10MV photons. These measured data were compared with computed correction factors. The computer uses the "ratio of tissue-maximum ratios (TMR's)" method of heterogeneity correction. The computer was provided with both the physical density and the relative electron density of each prosthesis for comparison purposes, since electron densities for hip prostheses are not widely known. Correction factors determined from electron densities demonstrated better agreement with measured data. The "ratio of TMR's" correction algorithm does not consider the contribution of scattered radiation in the dose computations. Consequently, a small adjustment to the relative electron density of the prosthetic hip was required at lower X ray beam energies. Agreement was satisfactory for higher energy X rays, and thus no adjustment was necessary. Relative electron densities and adjusted electron densities for alloys used in artificial hips are provided for computer-aided treatment planning. Recommendations for incorporating the hip prosthesis into the treatment planning process are also provided.