Radiation Medicine Commons^™

Proof-Of-Concept For Converging Beam Small Animal Irradiator, Benjamin Insley

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

The Monte Carlo particle simulator TOPAS, the multiphysics solver COMSOL., and

several analytical radiation transport methods were employed to perform an in-depth proof-ofconcept

for a high dose rate, high precision converging beam small animal irradiation platform.

In the first aim of this work, a novel carbon nanotube-based compact X-ray tube optimized for

high output and high directionality was designed and characterized. In the second aim, an

optimization algorithm was developed to customize a collimator geometry for this unique Xray

source to simultaneously maximize the irradiator’s intensity and precision. Then, a full

converging beam irradiator apparatus was fit with a multitude …

Evaluation Of An End-To-End Radiotherapy Treatment Planning Pipeline For Prostate Cancer, Mohammad Daniel El Basha, Court Laurence, Carlos Eduardo Cardenas, Julianne Pollard-Larkin, Steven Frank, David T. Fuentes, Falk Poenisch, Zhiqian H. Yu

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Radiation treatment planning is a crucial and time-intensive process in radiation therapy. This planning involves carefully designing a treatment regimen tailored to a patient’s specific condition, including the type, location, and size of the tumor with reference to surrounding healthy tissues. For prostate cancer, this tumor may be either local, locally advanced with extracapsular involvement, or extend into the pelvic lymph node chain. Automating essential parts of this process would allow for the rapid development of effective treatment plans and better plan optimization to enhance tumor control for better outcomes.

The first objective of this work, to automate the treatment …

Real World Clinical Experience Using Daily Intelligence-Assisted Online Adaptive Radiotherapy For Head And Neck Cancer, Philip Blumenfeld, Eduard Arbit, Robert Den, Ayman Salhab, Tal Falick Michaeli, Marc Wygoda, Yair Hillman, Raphael Pfeffer, Marcel Fang, Yael Misrati, Noam Weizman, Jon Feldman, Aron Popovtzer

Department of Radiation Oncology Faculty Papers

No abstract provided.

Novel Frameless Linac Radiosurgery Solution For Uveal Melanoma, Louis Cappelli, Mehak Khan, Sudheshna Vemula, Christina Hum, Haisong Lui, Yan Yu, Yingxuan Chen, Yechi Zhang, Muhammad Sharif, Wenyin Shi

Department of Radiation Oncology Faculty Papers

INTRODUCTION: Radiation treatment has replaced enucleation as an organ-preservation treatment for patients with uveal melanoma (UM). We developed a novel non-invasive, frameless LINAC based solution for fractionated stereotactic radiosurgery (fSRS) treatment.

METHODS: We designed and constructed the a stereotactic ocular localization box that can be attached and indexed to a stereotactic LINAC tabletop. It contains adjustable LED lights as a gaze focus point and CCD camera for monitoring of the patient's eye position. The device also has 6 infrared spheres compatible with the ExacTRAC IGRT system. Treatment plans were developed using iPLAN Dose version 4.5, with conformal dynamic arcs and …

Temporal Considerations In Brain Metastases Radiation Therapy: The Intersection Of Chronobiology And Patient Profiles, Nicolas Nelson, Sara Burke, Louis Cappelli, Lauren Matlack, Alexandria Smith, Noelle Francois, Joseph Lombardo, Yash Shah, Kuang-Yi Wen, Ayesha A Shafi, Nicole Simone

Department of Radiation Oncology Faculty Papers

The circadian system, a vital temporal regulator influencing physiological processes, has implications for cancer development and treatment response. Our study assessed circadian timing’s impact on whole-brain radiotherapy outcomes in brain metastases for personalized cancer therapy insights. The aim of the study was to evaluate circadian influence on radiation treatment timing and its correlation with clinical outcomes and to identify patient populations benefiting from interventions synchronizing circadian rhythms, considering subgroup differences and potential disparities. An IRB-approved retrospective analysis of 237 patients undergoing whole-brain radiotherapy for brain metastases (2017–2021), receiving over 80% of treatments in the morning or afternoon, was performed. Survival …

Flash Radiation Ultra-High Dose Rate Radiation With Potential For Sensitization By Platinum, Abigail A. Jaczkowski, Stephen Brown Ph.D.

Medical Student Research Symposium

External beam radiation therapy, a cornerstone in cancer treatment for 50% of patients, poses challenges due to its toxicity to both cancer and healthy cells. Seeking to mitigate side effects, the emerging FLASH radiation technology employs ultra-high dose rates, promising quicker treatments with reduced impact on surrounding normal tissue. Platinum, recognized as a radiation sensitizer, enhances the effectiveness of radiation therapy by increasing sensitization at higher energy levels through pair-production.

This study explores the hypothesis that Cisplatin, a platinum-based chemotherapy agent, will exhibit a synergistic effect when combined with FLASH radiation. Using A549 cells from non-small cell lung cancer, the …

Biological Insights From Plasma Proteomics Of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients Treated With Immunotherapy, Jair Bar, Raya Leibowitz, Niels Reinmuth, Astrid Ammendola, Eyal Jacob, Mor Moskovitz, Adva Levy-Barda, Michal Lotem, Rivka Katsenelson, Abed Agbarya, Mahmoud Abu-Amna, Maya Gottfried, Tatiana Harkovsky, Ido Wolf, Ella Tepper, Gil Loewenthal, Ben Yellin, Yehuda Brody, Nili Dahan, Maya Yanko, Coren Lahav, Michal Harel, Shani Raveh Shoval, Yehonatan Elon, Itamar Sela, Adam Dicker, Yuval Shaked

Department of Radiation Oncology Faculty Papers

INTRODUCTION: Immune checkpoint inhibitors have made a paradigm shift in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, clinical response varies widely and robust predictive biomarkers for patient stratification are lacking. Here, we characterize early on-treatment proteomic changes in blood plasma to gain a better understanding of treatment response and resistance.

METHODS: Pre-treatment (T0) and on-treatment (T1) plasma samples were collected from 225 NSCLC patients receiving PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor-based regimens. Plasma was profiled using aptamer-based technology to quantify approximately 7000 plasma proteins per sample. Proteins displaying significant fold changes (T1:T0) were analyzed further to identify associations with clinical outcomes using …

Effectiveness Of Blended Pedagogy For Radiographic Interpretation Skills In Operative Dentistry - A Comparison Of Test Scores And Student Experiences At An Undergraduate Dental School In Pakistan, Marium Iqbal, Jacqueline Maria Dias, Amber Shahmim Sultan, Hussain Ahmed Raza, Laeeq Uz Zaman

Department for Educational Development

Background: Utilizing Blended pedagogy (BP) in radiographic skills may prove to be an effective teaching strategy. However, studies on the use of BP in dentistry are quite limited in Pakistan, where teaching has mostly been via traditional Didactic Lectures (DL); and radiographic interpretation skills of undergraduate dental students are suboptimal. Therefore, this study aims to assess whether utilizing BP to teach radiographic interpretation skills is an effective teaching methodology in Pakistan.
Methods: This mixed-method study was conducted on final year dental students at Jinnah Medical and Dental College (JMDC). Two groups of students were utilized for this study, one taught …

Pseudotumoral Hemicerebellitis In A Young Male Sailor With Complete Recovery After Steroid Therapy, Khizer Masroor Anns, Faheem Ullah Khan, Muhammad Aman, Anwar Ahmad, Kumail Khandwala, Zainab Aslam Saeed Memon, Izaz Ahmad, Muhammad Ismail Safi

Medical College Documents

Pseudotumoral hemicerebellitis is a rare presentation of acute cerebellitis, which involves the inflammation of a single cerebellar hemisphere and most commonly affects children. It mimics a tumor on imaging, hence given the name. In this report, we present a case of pseudotumoral hemicerebellitis in a 30-year-old male who presented to the emergency room (ER) with complaints of vertigo, vomiting, and a headache.

The Impact Of Simulated Image Acquisition Time Reduction On Image Quality And Parameters Of Myocardial Perfusion Imaging Using A Dedicated Cardiac Camera, Alireza Khatami

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Heart disease is the second leading cause of death in Canada, highlighting the crucial role of early diagnosis in disease management. Myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI), is widely employed for this purpose, involves injecting a radiopharmaceutical into the body, imaging its distribution with a gamma camera, and revealing cardiac blood flow patterns. A significant challenge in MPI is the lengthy 8 to 10 minutes required for stress and rest imaging, potentially causing patient discomfort and compromising image quality due to movement. In a clinical study with 26 patients, post-processed data manipulation simulated a reduction in MPI imaging time. The findings indicated …

Evidence Of Direct Interaction Between Cisplatin And The Caspase-Cleaved Prostate Apoptosis Response-4 Tumor Suppressor, Krishna K. Raut, Samjhana Pandey, Gyanendra Kharel, Steven M. Pascal

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Prostate apoptosis response-4 (Par-4) tumor suppressor protein has gained attention as a potential therapeutic target owing to its unique ability to selectively induce apoptosis in cancer cells, sensitize them to chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and mitigate drug resistance. It has recently been reported that Par-4 interacts synergistically with cisplatin, a widely used anticancer drug. However, the mechanistic details underlying this relationship remain elusive. In this investigation, we employed an array of biophysical techniques, including circular dichroism spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, and UV–vis absorption spectroscopy, to characterize the interaction between the active caspase-cleaved Par-4 (cl-Par-4) fragment and cisplatin. Additionally, elemental analysis was …

Comparative Analysis Of Rectum Delineation: Inter-Observer Agreement Among Treatment Planners Versus Auto Segmentation In A Single Institution, Haley Douglas

Culminating Experience Projects

Abstract

Introduction

The past 20 years have seen a continuous rise in the cancer patient population, resulting in staffing shortages, longer wait times for patients, and potentially lower-quality care. Artificial intelligence has been incorporated into the healthcare system and has provided ease with understaffing. Using AI technology to delineate structures can reduce planning time and variation between planners. The objective of this research is to assess the level of consistency in the rectum boundary delineation performed by different dosimetrists working at a single institution, as compared to the performance of the AutoContour software. This analysis will help determine the efficacy …

Stereotactic Mr-Guided On-Table Adaptive Radiation Therapy (Smart) For Borderline Resectable And Locally Advanced Pancreatic Cancer: A Multi-Center, Open-Label Phase 2 Study, Michael Chuong, Percy Lee, Daniel Low, Joshua Kim, Kathryn Mittauer, Michael Bassetti, Carri Glide-Hurst, Ann Raldow, Yingli Yang, Lorraine Portelance, Kyle Padgett, Bassem Zaki, Rongxiao Zhang, Hyun Kim, Lauren Henke, Alex Price, Joseph Mancias, Christopher Williams, John Ng, Ryan Pennell, M Raphael Pfeffer, Daphne Levin, Adam Mueller, Karen Mooney, Patrick Kelly, Amish Shah, Luca Boldrini, Lorenzo Placidi, Martin Fuss, Parag Jitendra Parikh

Department of Radiation Oncology Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Radiation dose escalation may improve local control (LC) and overall survival (OS) in select pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patients. We prospectively evaluated the safety and efficacy of ablative stereotactic magnetic resonance (MR)-guided adaptive radiation therapy (SMART) for borderline resectable (BRPC) and locally advanced pancreas cancer (LAPC). The primary endpoint of acute grade ≥ 3 gastrointestinal (GI) toxicity definitely related to SMART was previously published with median follow-up (FU) 8.8 months from SMART. We now present more mature outcomes including OS and late toxicity.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: This prospective, multi-center, single-arm open-label phase 2 trial (NCT03621644) enrolled 136 …

Identification Of Ct-Based Non-Invasive Radiomic Biomarkers For Overall Survival Prediction In Oral Cavity Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Xiao Ling, Gregory S. Alexander, Jason Molitoris, Jinhyuk Choi, Lisa Schumaker, Ranee Mehra, Daria A. Gaykalova, Lei Ren

Department of Radiation Oncology Faculty Papers

This study addresses the limited non-invasive tools for Oral Cavity Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) survival prediction by identifying Computed Tomography (CT)-based biomarkers to improve prognosis prediction. A retrospective analysis was conducted on data from 149 OSCC patients, including CT radiomics and clinical information. An ensemble approach involving correlation analysis, score screening, and the Sparse-L1 algorithm was used to select functional features, which were then used to build Cox Proportional Hazards models (CPH). Our CPH achieved a 0.70 concordance index in testing. The model identified two CT-based radiomics features, Gradient-Neighboring-Gray-Tone-Difference-Matrix-Strength (GNS) and normalized-Wavelet-LLL-Gray-Level-Dependence-Matrix-Large-Dependence-High-Gray-Level-Emphasis (HLE), as well as stage and alcohol usage, …

Development Of A Remote Dosimetric Audit Framework For Carbon Therapy, Paige Taylor

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Carbon ion therapy is available at over a dozen institutions around the world and is being employed for treatment of cancer. The increased biological effect of carbon compared to conventional photon-based radiotherapy holds promise for the therapeutic benefit in historically radioresistant tumors. While ion chamber dosimetry has been used for day-to-day clinical measurements of absorbed dose, there are few options for remote dosimetry. The availability of such tools would support the development of a robust remote audit program for carbon ion therapy.

The Imaging and Radiation Oncology Core (IROC) conducts remote audits of photon and proton therapy. These audits are …

Evaluation Of A Balloon Implant For Simultaneous Magnetic Nanoparticle Hyperthermia And High-Dose-Rate Brachytherapy Of Brain Tumor Resection Cavities, Shuying Wan, Dario Rodrigues, Janet Kwiatkowski, Omaditya Khanna, Kevin Judy, Robert Goldstein, Marty Overbeek Bloem, Yan Yu, Sophia Rooks, Wenyin Shi, Mark Hurwitz, Paul Stauffer

Department of Radiation Oncology Faculty Papers

Previous work has reported the design of a novel thermobrachytherapy (TBT) balloon implant to deliver magnetic nanoparticle (MNP) hyperthermia and high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy simultaneously after brain tumor resection, thereby maximizing their synergistic effect. This paper presents an evaluation of the robustness of the balloon device, compatibility of its heat and radiation delivery components, as well as thermal and radiation dosimetry of the TBT balloon. TBT balloon devices with 1 and 3 cm diameter were evaluated when placed in an external magnetic field with a maximal strength of 8.1 kA/m at 133 kHz. The MNP solution (nanofluid) in the balloon absorbs …

Clinical And Dosimetric Impact Of 2d Kv Motion Monitoring And Intervention In Liver Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy., Andrew Santoso, Yevgeniy Vinogradskiy, Tyler Robin, Karyn Goodman, Tracey Schefter, Moyed Miften, Bernard Jones

Department of Radiation Oncology Faculty Papers

PURPOSE: Positional errors resulting from motion are a principal challenge across all disease sites in radiation therapy. This is particularly pertinent when treating lesions in the liver with stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT). To achieve dose escalation and margin reduction for liver SBRT, kV real-time imaging interventions may serve as a potential solution. In this study, we report results of a retrospective cohort of liver patients treated using real-time 2D kV-image guidance SBRT with emphasis on the impact of (1) clinical workflow, (2) treatment accuracy, and (3) tumor dose.

METHODS AND MATERIALS: Data from 33 patients treated with 41 courses …

Preoperative 18f-Fdg Pet/Ct And Ct Radiomics For Identifying Aggressive Histopathological Subtypes In Early Stage Lung Adenocarcinoma, Wookjin Choi, Chia-Ju Liu, Sadegh Riyahi Alam, Jung Hun Oh, Raj Vaghjiani, John Humm, Wolfgang Weber, Prasad Adusumilli, Joseph Deasy, Wei Lu

Department of Radiation Oncology Faculty Papers

Lung adenocarcinoma (ADC) is the most common non-small cell lung cancer. Surgical resection is the primary treatment for early-stage lung ADC while lung-sparing surgery is an alternative for non-aggressive cases. Identifying histopathologic subtypes before surgery helps determine the optimal surgical approach. Predominantly solid or micropapillary (MIP) subtypes are aggressive and associated with a higher likelihood of recurrence and metastasis and lower survival rates. This study aims to non-invasively identify these aggressive subtypes using preoperative ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT and diagnostic CT radiomics analysis. We retrospectively studied 119 patients with stage I lung ADC and tumors ≤ 2 cm, where 23 had …

Gastric Cancer; Actualities And Perspectives Of Early Diagnosis And Targeted Therapy, Adrian Silaghi, Laura Florentina Rebegea, Daniela Gabriela Balan, Anca Dumitriu, Stana Paunica, Cristian Balalau, Stefăniță Tenea Cojan, Dragos Epistatu, Vlad Denis Constantin

Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences

Gastric cancer is an extremely aggressive form of malignancy that, if left untreated, is life-threatening. Improved survival rates depend on early detection of the disease, as well as on the combination of different forms of treatment (surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy, etc.). Screening methods have brought real benefit in early detection of malignancies, but many cases are still diagnosed at advanced stages. The current study is a review related to actualities and perspectives of early diagnosis and targeted therapy of gastric cancer. After an extensive review of the literature, epidemiological, diagnostic and treatment data are presented. The open surgical approach is …

Research Progress On The Regulation And Mechanism Of Borneol On The Blood-Brain Barrier In Pathological States: A Narrative Review Focused On Ischemic Stroke And Cerebral Glioma, Xinghua Tan, Ke Zhang, Wenyin Shi, Zhihu Tang

Department of Radiation Oncology Faculty Papers

Background and Objective: The blood-brain barrier (BBB) serves as a dynamic, selective shield, safeguarding the central nervous system (CNS) by separating the brain from circulating blood, preserving its microenvironment, and ensuring stability. However, in the presence of brain pathology, drug delivery across the BBB and blood-tumor barrier (BTB) becomes challenging, hindering effective treatments. Borneol exhibits promise in bidirectionally modulating the BBB under pathological conditions, suggesting at potential clinical applications for related diseases. Our primary goal in this review is to investigate borneol’s potential clinical utility in bidirectionally regulating the BBB under pathological conditions.

Methods: The PubMed database, CNKI (China National …

A Proof-Of-Concept Pilot Test Of A Behavioral Intervention To Improve Adherence To Dietary Recommendations For Cancer Prevention, Meghan Butryn, Charlotte Hagerman, Nicole Crane, Marny Ehmann, Evan Forman, Brandy-Joe Milliron, Nicole L. Simone

Department of Radiation Oncology Faculty Papers

OBJECTIVES: Prevention programs that can help adults improve the quality of their diets to reduce cancer risk are needed. This Phase IIa study prospectively tested a mHealth intervention designed to improve adherence to dietary quality guidelines for cancer prevention.

METHODS: All participants (N = 62) received nutrition education and a self-regulation skills curriculum, with a primary target of changing grocery shopping behavior. Using a randomized, factorial design, the study varied whether each of the following 4 components were added to the 20-week intervention: (1) location-triggered app messaging, delivered when individuals arrived at grocery stores, (2) reflections on benefits of change, …

Nrg/Rtog 0837: Randomized, Phase Ii, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial Of Chemoradiation With Or Without Cediranib In Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma, Tracy T. Batchelor, Minhee Won, Arnab Chakravarti, Costas G. Hadjipanayis, Wenyin Shi, Lynn S. Ashby, Volker W. Stieber, H. Ian Robins, Heidi J. Gray, Alfredo Voloschin, John B. Fiveash, Clifford G. Robinson, Ushasree Chamarthy, Young Kwok, Terrence P. Cescon, Anand K. Sharma, Rekha Chaudhary, Mei-Yin Polley, Minesh P. Mehta

Department of Radiation Oncology Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: A randomized, phase II, placebo-controlled, and blinded clinical trial (NCT01062425) was conducted to determine the efficacy of cediranib, an oral pan-vascular endothelial growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, versus placebo in combination with radiation and temozolomide in newly diagnosed glioblastoma.

METHODS: Patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma were randomly assigned 2:1 to receive (1) cediranib (20 mg) in combination with radiation and temozolomide; (2) placebo in combination with radiation and temozolomide. The primary endpoint was 6-month progression-free survival (PFS) based on blinded, independent radiographic assessment of postcontrast T1-weighted and noncontrast T2-weighted MRI brain scans and was tested using a 1-sided …

Conditional Risks Of Biochemical Failure And Prostate Cancer-Specific Death In Patients Undergoing External Beam Radiotherapy: A Secondary Analysis Of 2 Randomized Clinical Trials, Gregory S. Alexander, Rebecca F Krc, James W Assif, Kai Sun, Jason K Molitoris, Phuoc Tran, Zaker Rana, Søren M Bentzen, Mark V Mishra

Department of Radiation Oncology Faculty Papers

IMPORTANCE: As patients achieve years of survival after treatment for prostate cancer, the risk of biochemical failure (BF) or prostate cancer-specific death (PCSD) may evolve over time, with clinical relevance to both patients and clinicians.

OBJECTIVE: To determine conditional BF-free survival, PSCD, and overall survival estimates for patients with low- or intermediate-risk prostate cancer enrolled in the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) 0126 and RTOG 0415 clinical trials. A secondary objective was to determine whether prognostic factors at diagnosis remain relevant at later points in follow-up.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A pooled secondary analysis of patients treated with external-beam radiotherapy …

Efficacy Of Scalp-Sparing Volumetric-Modulated Arc Therapy Approach In Reducing Scalp Radiation Dose For Patients With Glioblastoma: A Cross-Sectional Study, Muneeb Khan Niazi, Olga Russial, Louis Cappelli, Ryan Miller, Yingxuan Chen, Yelena Vakhnenko, Haisong Lui, Wenyin Shi

Department of Radiation Oncology Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Radiation is integral to the treatment of glioblastoma (GBM). However, radiation-induced scalp toxicity can negatively impact patients' quality of life. Volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) optimizes the dose to organs at risk (OARs). We hypothesize that a scalp-sparing VMAT (SSV) approach can significantly reduce undesirable doses to the scalp without compromising the target dose.

METHODS: This is a retrospective cross-sectional study of GBM patients who originally received radiation with non-SSV. We contoured the scalp as a 5 mm rind-like structure beneath the skin above the level of the foramen magnum. We replanned our patients using SSV techniques. We compared …

Inducing Accelerated Lung Toxicity In Mice Using A Partial Arc Sbrt Technique, Andrew Gerry, Charita Kunta, Noelle Francois, Tiziana Deangelis, Anuradha Shastri, Nicole Simone, Reza Taleei

Department of Radiation Oncology Posters

Background

• Radiation-induced pulmonary fibrosis (RIPF) is a frequent outcome of thoracic radiation therapy, constraining safe tumor radiation dosage. Various animal models, such as mice, rats, and pigs, have been devised to study RIPF
• Current methods for inducing lung fibrosis in mice involve whole lung irradiation with doses between 2-20 Gy. These methods used fixed anterior and posterior (AP/PA) x-ray beams at 0º and 180º with analysis typically commencing 24 to 52 weeks post-radiation
• Current methods are unrepresentative of modern radiation therapy techniques and are limited by the associated long latency of RIPF

Dosimetric Evaluation Of Left-Sided Chest Wall Vmat Treatment With And Without Jaw Tracking; Dose Comparison Of Left Anterior Descending Artery Versus Heart Mean Dose, Jacqueline J. Emus

Culminating Experience Projects

Radiation therapy has significantly improved breast cancer survival rates; however, it can still lead to long-term side effects, particularly affecting the heart. Left-side breast cancer patients face higher risks due to the proximity of the heart to the treatment area. To mitigate cardiac toxicity, various strategies, including jaw tracking and Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT), have been proposed. This study investigates the dosimetric impact of VMAT plans with and without jaw tracking on the left anterior descending artery (LAD) dose and heart mean dose in post-mastectomy breast cancer patients. Ten patients previously treated with VMAT were evaluated, and the results …

Innate Immune System In The Context Of Radiation Therapy For Cancer, Boopathi Ettickan, Robert Den, Chellappagounder Thangavel

Department of Radiation Oncology Faculty Papers

Radiation therapy (RT) remains an integral component of modern oncology care, with most cancer patients receiving radiation as a part of their treatment plan. The main goal of ionizing RT is to control the local tumor burden by inducing DNA damage and apoptosis within the tumor cells. The advancement in RT, including intensity-modulated RT (IMRT), stereotactic body RT (SBRT), image-guided RT, and proton therapy, have increased the efficacy of RT, equipping clinicians with techniques to ensure precise and safe administration of radiation doses to tumor cells. In this review, we present the technological advancement in various types of RT methods …

A Quantitative Dosimetric Comparison Of Dibh Vmat And Static-Imrt Apbi Treatments: Evaluating Large Left Sided Lumpectomy Cavities Located Near The Chest Wall, Christopher Jordan Clifton

Culminating Experience Projects

Abstract

Introduction

The main purpose of this study was to determine whether there was a significant difference between the dose distributions when comparing static-IMRT and VMAT plans for patients with large left sided lumpectomy cavities located near the chest wall while utilizing DIBH. Thorough planning and statistical analysis was performed to determine whether there was a clear advantage for either treatment technique to better benefit patient outcomes.

Methods

Ten female patients with large left sided lumpectomy cavities were selected to be retrospectively planned using both static-IMRT and VMAT plans. Each patient fell within the ASTRO eligibility criteria for APBI treatments. …

A Dosimetric Comparison Of Jaw Tracking Versus Non-Jaw Tracking Using 6mv Vmat Treatment Beams In Prostate Patients With Involved Lymph Nodes, Rebecca Todd

Culminating Experience Projects

Introduction:

Jaw tracking is the process of the collimator jaws dynamically following the multileaf collimators during modulated therapy. Jaw tracking can be used throughout the dosimetry treatment planning process for IMRT and VMAT treatment plans. It can reduce a patient’s OAR dose by reducing low dose spillage from MLC interleaf leakage. This study aims to investigate if jaw tracking reduces OAR dose while maintaining PTV coverage in prostate patients with involved lymph nodes using 6MV VMAT treatment planning technique.

Methods:

This is a quantitative study of 10 patients. For each patient, two plans were created, one plan using a non-jaw …

Dosimetric Significance Of Manual Density Overrides In Oropharyngeal Cancer, Thomas Lo Greco

Culminating Experience Projects

Kilovoltage computed tomography plays a crucial role in radiotherapy planning. However, the presence of high-density metallic objects can introduce streaking artifacts in CT scans, resulting in inaccurate dose calculations by the treatment planning software. Previous studies have explored manual density overrides and artifact reduction algorithms individually to enhance dose calculation accuracy, but their combined application on patient plans within a treatment planning system remains unexplored.

This research aims to assess the necessity of manual density overrides when an artifact reduction algorithm is already employed to address dental artifacts in oropharyngeal cancer treatment plans. A total of 20 previously treated volumetric …