Dosimetric comparison of advanced radiation techniques for scalp-sparing in low-grade gliomas.

Strahlenther Onkol

Department of Radiation Oncology and Department of Head and Neck Oncology, Cancer Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Sichuan, China.

Published: September 2024

AI Article Synopsis

  • - This study examines how different radiation therapies (proton vs. photon) can affect scalp doses in patients with low-grade glioma (LGG) to minimize alopecia and improve quality of life.
  • - A total of 22 patients were analyzed, using both scalp-optimized (SO) and scalp-non-optimized (SNO) treatment plans, all targeting a specific radiation dose of 54.04 Gy.
  • - Results showed that SO plans significantly reduced scalp radiation exposure, particularly with intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT), which outperformed other techniques, highlighting the need for further prospective trials to confirm these advantages.

Article Abstract

Background: Alopecia causes significant distress for patients and negatively impacts quality of life for low-grade glioma (LGG) patients. We aimed to compare and evaluate variations in dose distribution for scalp-sparing in LGG patients with proton therapy and photon therapy, namely intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT), intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT), and helical tomotherapy (HT).

Methods: This retrospective study utilized a dataset comprising imaging data from 22 patients with LGG who underwent postoperative radiotherapy. Treatment plans were generated for each patient with scalp-optimized (SO) approaches and scalp-non-optimized (SNO) approaches using proton techniques and photons techniques; all plans adhered to the same dose constraint of delivering a total radiation dose of 54.04 Gy to the target volume. All treatment plans were subsequently analyzed.

Results: All the plans generated in this study met the dose constraints for the target volume and OARs. The SO plans resulted in reduced maximum scalp dose (D), mean scalp dose (D), and volume of the scalp receiving 30 Gy (V) and 40 Gy (V) compared with SNO plans in all radiation techniques. Among all radiation techniques, the IMPT plans exhibited superior performance compared to other plans for dose homogeneity as for SO plans. Also, IMPT showed lower values for D and D than all photon radiation techniques.

Conclusion: Our study provides evidence that the SO approach is a feasible technique for reducing scalp radiation dose. However, it is imperative to conduct prospective trials to assess the benefits associated with this approach.

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Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00066-024-02229-3DOI Listing

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