Spatial rectal dose/volume metrics predict patient-reported gastro-intestinal symptoms after radiotherapy for prostate cancer.

Background: Gastro-intestinal (GI) toxicity after radiotherapy (RT) for prostate cancer reduces patient's quality of life. In this study, we explored associations between spatial rectal dose/volume metrics and patient-reported GI symptoms after RT for localized prostate cancer, and compared these with those of dose-surface/volume histogram (DSH/DVH) metrics.

Material And Methods: Dose distributions and six GI symptoms (defecation urgency/emptying difficulties/fecal leakage, ≥Grade 2, median follow-up: 3.

Associations between volume changes and spatial dose metrics for the urinary bladder during local versus pelvic irradiation for prostate cancer.

Background: Inter-fractional variation in urinary bladder volumes during the course of radiotherapy (RT) for prostate cancer causes deviations between planned and delivered doses. This study compared planned versus daily cone-beam CT (CBCT)-based spatial bladder dose distributions, for prostate cancer patients receiving local prostate treatment (local treatment) versus prostate including pelvic lymph node irradiation (pelvic treatment).

Material And Methods: Twenty-seven patients (N = 15 local treatment; N = 12 pelvic treatment) were treated using daily image-guided RT (1.