Fully automated radiotherapy treatment planning: A scan to plan challenge.

Background And Purpose: Over the past decade, tools for automation of various sub-tasks in radiotherapy planning have been introduced, such as auto-contouring and auto-planning. The purpose of this study was to benchmark what degree of automation is possible.

Materials And Methods: A challenge to perform automated treatment planning for prostate and prostate bed radiotherapy was set up.

Design and characterisation of a minibeam collimator utilising Monte Carlo simulation and a clinical linear accelerator.

Spatially fractionated radiotherapy is showing promise as a treatment modality. Initial focus was on beams of photons at low energy produced from a synchrotron but more recently research has expanded to include applications in proton therapy. Interest in photon beams remains and this is the focus of this paperThis study presents a 3D printed tungsten minibeam collimator intended to produce peak-to-valley dose ratios (PVDR) of between seven and ten with a 1 MV, bremsstrahlung generated, photon beam.

Treatment planning and delivery practice of lung SBRT: Results of the 2022 ESTRO physics survey.

Background And Purpose: The use of Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) in lung cancer is increasing. However, there is no consensus on the most appropriate treatment planning and delivery practice for lung SBRT. To gauge the range of practice, quantify its variability and identify where consensus might be achieved, ESTRO surveyed the medical physics community.

First UK patient cohort treated with stereotactic ablative radiotherapy for primary kidney cancer.

Aims: Stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) for primary renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a promising non-invasive ablative treatment option. A prospective interventional clinical trial published showed that treatment was feasible and well tolerated. We present the first single-institution UK cohort of patients with primary RCC receiving protocol-based SABR with prospective follow-up.

An external dosimetry audit programme to credential static and rotational IMRT delivery for clinical trials quality assurance.

Purpose: External dosimetry audits give confidence in the safe and accurate delivery of radiotherapy. The RTTQA group have performed an on-site audit programme for trial recruiting centres, who have recently implemented static or rotational IMRT, and those with major changes to planning or delivery systems.

Methods: Measurements of reference beam output were performed by the host centre, and by the auditor using independent equipment.

Effect of androgen deprivation therapy on intraprostatic tumour volume identified on F choline PET/CT for prostate dose painting radiotherapy.

Objective: Prostate dose painting radiotherapy requires the accurate identification of dominant intraprostatic lesions (DILs) to be used as boost volumes; these can be identified on multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) or choline positron emission tomography (PET)/CT. Planning scans are usually performed after 2-3 months of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). We examine the effect of ADT on choline tracer uptake and boost volumes identified on choline PET/CT.

Monte Carlo dosimetry for the Papillon P50 contact radiotherapy and IORT device.

Contact radiotherapy uses small field sizes and very short SSDs to deliver low-energy X-rays very close to the position of a tumour. We present a Monte Carlo simulation of the Papillon contact radiotherapy machine, and in particular the backscatter factor, to investigate whether the factors given in current Codes of practice for kV dosimetry remain valid under these conditions.

An analytical approach to acceptance criteria for quality assurance of Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy.

Detectability and impact of potential treatment machine errors on IMRT treatments were evaluated. The ability of the gamma index to detect deliberately introduced errors was assessed and their clinical impact was assessed using Tumour Control Probability (TCP) and Normal Tissue Complication Probability. TCP was only marginally affected by 2mm errors in MLC position.