Dose prescription for stereotactic body radiotherapy: general and organ-specific consensus statement from the DEGRO/DGMP Working Group Stereotactic Radiotherapy and Radiosurgery.

Purpose And Objective: To develop expert consensus statements on multiparametric dose prescriptions for stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) aligning with ICRU report 91. These statements serve as a foundational step towards harmonizing current SBRT practices and refining dose prescription and documentation requirements for clinical trial designs.

Materials And Methods: Based on the results of a literature review by the working group, a two-tier Delphi consensus process was conducted among 24 physicians and physics experts from three European countries.

Risk stratification for febrile neutropenia in patients with testicular germ cell tumors.

The aim of this study was to detect risk factors for febrile neutropenia (FN) in patients with testicular germ cell tumors (TGCT). In this retrospective cohort study at the Medical University of Graz, we included 413 consecutive TGCT patients who received adjuvant or curative treatment with cisplatin-based chemotherapy. FN occurred in 70 (16.

ÖGRO survey on radiotherapy capacity in Austria : Status quo and estimation of future demands.

Background: A comprehensive evaluation of the current national and regional radiotherapy capacity in Austria with an estimation of demands for 2020 and 2030 was performed by the Austrian Society for Radiation Oncology, Radiobiology and Medical Radiophysics (ÖGRO).

Materials And Methods: All Austrian centers provided data on the number of megavoltage (MV) units, treatment series, fractions, percentage of retreatments and complex treatment techniques as well as the daily operating hours for the year 2014. In addition, waiting times until the beginning of radiotherapy were prospectively recorded over the first quarter of 2015.

A method for improved 4D-computed tomography data acquisition.

In four-dimensional time-dependent computed tomography (4D-CT) of the lungs, irregularities in breathing movements can cause errors in data acquisition, or even data loss. We present a method based on sending a synthetic, regular breathing signal to the CT instead of the real signal, which ensures 4D-CT data sets without data loss. Subsequent correction of the signal based on the real breathing curve enables an accurate reconstruction of the size and movement of the target volume.

Hounsfield units variations: impact on CT-density based conversion tables and their effects on dose distribution.

Purpose: Determination of dose error margins in radiation therapy planning due to variations in Hounsfield Units (HU) values dependent on the use of different CT scanning protocols.

Patients And Methods: Based on a series of different CT scanning protocols used in clinical practice, conversion tables for radiation dose calculations were generated and subsequently tested on a phantom. These tables were then used to recalculate the radiation therapy plans of 28 real patients after an incorrect scanning protocol had inadvertently been used for these patients.