| 1. |
- Abdollahi, Sara, et al.
(författare)
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A dose planning study for cardiac and lung dose sparing techniques in left breast cancer radiotherapy : Can free breathing helical tomotherapy be considered as an alternative for deep inspiration breath hold?
- 2023
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Ingår i: Technical Innovations and Patient Support in Radiation Oncology. - : Elsevier BV. - 2405-6324. ; 25
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: To investigate the possibility to be able to offer left sided breast cancer patients, not suitable for DIBH, an organ at risk saving treatment. Materials and Methods: Twenty patients receiving radiotherapy for left breast cancer in DIBH were enrolled in the study. Planning CT scans were acquired in the same supine treatment position in FB and DIBH. 3DCRT_DIBH plans were designed and optimized using two parallel opposed tangent beams (with some additional segments) for the breast and chest wall and anterior-posterior fields for regional lymph nodes irradiation. Additionally, FB helical tomotherapy plans were optimized to minimize heart and lung dose. All forty plans were optimized with at least 95% of the total CTV covered by the 95% of prescribed dose of 50 Gy in 25 fractions. Results: HT_FB plans showed significantly better dose homogeneity and conformity compared to the 3DCRT_DIBH specially for regional nodal irradiation. The heart mean dose was almost comparable in 3DCRT_DIBH and HT_FB while the volume (%) of the heart receiving 25 Gy had a statistically significant reduction from 7.90 ± 3.33 in 3DCRT_DIBH to 0.88 ± 0.66 in HT_FB. HT_FB was also more effective in left descending artery (LAD) mean dose reduction about 100% from 30.83 ± 9.2 Gy to 9.7 ± 3.1. The ipsilateral lung volume receiving 20 Gy has a further reduction of 43 % in HT_FB compared with 3DCRT_DIBH. For low dose comparison, 3DCRT_DIBH was superior for contralateral organ sparing compared to the HT_FB due to the limited angle for dose delivery. Conclusion: For patients who cannot be a candidate for DIBH for any reason, HT in free breathing may be a good alternative and provides heart and ipsilateral lung dose sparing, however with the cost of increased dose to contralateral breast and lung.
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| 2. |
- Andersson, Karin M., 1989-, et al.
(författare)
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Pencil beam scanning proton therapy of Hodgkin's lymphoma in deep inspiration breath-hold : A case series report
- 2020
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Ingår i: Technical Innovations & Patient Support in Radiation Oncology. - : Elsevier. - 2405-6324. ; 13, s. 6-10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Most patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma are young and have a favourable prognosis, therefore it is of high importance to decrease the radiation doses to normal tissues received during radiotherapy. A combination of proton therapy and deep inspiration breath-hold technique (DIBH) can improve the sparing effect and thereby reduce the risk of late effects.Case presentation: The two first patient cases treated with proton therapy in DIBH at the Skandion Clinic, Uppsala, Sweden, are presented here. Proton treatment plans were compared to photon plans based on doses to target and organs at risk. Several CT scans were acquired during the treatment course and inter breath-hold variations were evaluated based on anatomical distances and dosimetric comparisons.Conclusions: The results from our first patients treated with proton therapy in DIBH imply that the treatment strategy is robust and has the potential to reduce dose to normal tissue.
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| 3. |
- Batista, Vania, et al.
(författare)
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Surface guided radiation therapy: : An international survey on current clinical practice
- 2022
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Ingår i: Technical Innovations and Patient Support in Radiation Oncology. - : Elsevier BV. - 2405-6324. ; 22, s. 1-8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Introduction: Surface Guided Radiation Therapy (SGRT) is being increasingly implemented into clinical practiceacross a number of techniques and irradiation-sites. This technology, which is provided by different vendors, canbe used with most simulation- and delivery-systems. However, limited guidelines and the complexity of clinicalsettings have led to diverse patterns of operation. With the aim to understand current clinical practice a surveywas designed focusing on specifics of the clinical implementation and usage.Materials and methods: A 32-question survey covered: type and number of systems, quality assurance (QA),clinical workflows, and identification of strengths/limitations. Respondents from different professional groupsand countries were invited to participate. The survey was distributed internationally via ESTRO-membership,social media and vendors.Results: Of the 278 institutions responding, 172 had at least one SGRT-system and 136 use SGRT clinically.Implementation and QA were primarily based on the vendors’ recommendations and phantoms. SGRT wasmainly implemented in breast RT (116/136), with strong but diverse representation of other sites. Many (58/135) reported at least partial elimination of skin-marks and a third (43/126) used open-masks. The most commonimaging protocol reported included the combination of radiographic imaging with SGRT. Patient positioning(115/136), motion management (104/136) and DIBH (99/136) were the main applications.Main barriers to broader application were cost, system integration issues and lack of demonstrated clinical value.A lack of guidelines in terms of QA of the system was highlighted.Conclusions: This overview of the SGRT status has the potential to support users, vendors and organisations in thedevelopment of practices, products and guidelines.
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| 4. |
- Gurjar, Mrugaja, 1997, et al.
(författare)
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Automated data extraction tool (DET) for external applications in radiotherapy.
- 2023
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Ingår i: Technical innovations & patient support in radiation oncology. - : Elsevier BV. - 2405-6324. ; 25
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Oncological Information Systems (OIS) manage information in radiotherapy (RT) departments. Due to database structure limitations, stored information can rarely be directly used except for vendor-specific purposes. Our aim is to enable the use of such data in various external applications by creating a tool for automatic data extraction, cleaning and formatting.We used OIS data from a nine-linac RT department in Sweden (70weeks, 2015-16). Extracted data included patients' referrals and appointments with details for RT sub-tasks. The data extraction tool to prepare the data for external use was built in C# programming language. It used excel-automation queries to remove unassigned/duplicated values, substitute missing data and perform application-specific calculations. Descriptive statistics were used to verify the output with the manually prepared dataset from the corresponding time period.From the initial raw data, 2030 (51%)/907 (23%) patients had known curative and palliative treatment intent for 84 different cancer diagnoses. After removal of incomplete entries, 373 (10%) patients had unknown treatment intents which were substituted based on the known curative/palliative ratio. Automatically- and manuallyprepared datasets differed<1% for Mould, Treatment planning, Quality assurance and±5% for Fractions and Magnetic resonance imaging with overestimations in 80/140 (57%) entries by the tool.We successfully implemented a software tool to prepare ready-to-use OIS datasets for external applications. Our evaluations showed overall results close to the manually-prepared dataset. The time taken to prepare the dataset using our automated strategy can reduce the time for manual preparation from weeks to seconds.
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| 5. |
- Jóhannesson, Vilberg, et al.
(författare)
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Dose-volume relationships of planned versus estimated delivered radiation doses to pelvic organs at risk and side effects in patients treated with salvage radiotherapy for recurrent prostate cancer
- 2024
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Ingår i: Technical Innovations and Patient Support in Radiation Oncology. - 2405-6324. ; 29
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- PURPOSE: To investigate estimated delivered dose distributions using weekly cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans for pelvic organs at risk (OARs) in salvage radiotherapy (SRT) after radical prostatectomy. Furthermore, to compare them with the originally planned dose distributions and analyse associations with gastrointestinal (GI) and genitourinary (GU) side effects.METHODS: This study is part of a phase II trial involving SRT for recurrent prostate cancer. Treatment was personalised based on PSA response during SRT, classifying patients as PSA responders or non-responders. Estimated radiation dose distributions were obtained using deformable image registration from weekly CBCT scans. GI and GU toxicities were assessed using the RTOG toxicity scale, while patient-reported symptoms were monitored through self-assessment questionnaires.RESULTS: The study included 100 patients, with similar treatment-related side effects observed in both responders and non-responders. Differences in dose-volume metrics between the planned and estimated delivered doses for the examined OARs were mostly modest, although generally statistically significant. We identified statistically significant associations between QUANTEC-recommended dose-volume constraints and acute bowel toxicity, as well as late urinary patient-reported symptoms, for both the estimated delivered and planned dose distributions.CONCLUSION: We found small but statistically significant differences between estimated delivered and planned doses to OARs. These differences showed trends toward improved associations for estimated delivered dose distributions with side effects. Enhanced registration methods and imaging techniques could potentially further enhance the assessment of truly delivered doses and yield more reliable dose-volume constraints for future therapies.
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| 6. |
- Kristensen, Ingrid, et al.
(författare)
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A dose based approach for evaluation of inter-observer variations in target delineation
- 2017
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Ingår i: Technical Innovations and Patient Support in Radiation Oncology. - : Elsevier. - 2405-6324. ; 3-4, s. 41-47
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background and purpose: Substantial inter-observer variations in target delineation have been presented previously. Target delineation for paediatric cases is difficult due to the small number of children, the variation in paediatric targets, the number of study protocols, and the individual patient's specific needs and demands. Uncertainties in target delineation might lead to under-dosage or over-dosage. The aim of this work is to apply the concept of a consensus volume and good quality treatment plans to visualise and quantify inter-observer target delineation variations in dosimetric terms in addition to conventional geometrically based volume concordance indices.Material and methods: Two paediatric cases were used to demonstrate the potential of adding dose metrics when evaluating target delineation diversity; Hodgkin's disease (case 1) and rhabdomyosarcoma of the parotid gland (case 2). The variability in target delineation (PTV delineations) between six centres was quantified using the generalised conformity index, CIgen, generated for volume overlap. The STAPLE algorithm, as implemented in CERR, was used for both cases to derive a consensus volumes. STAPLE is a probabilistic estimate of the true volume generated from all observers. Dose distributions created by each centre for the original target volumes were then applied to this consensus volume.Results: A considerable variation in target segmentation was seen in both cases. For case 1 the variation was 374-960 cm3 (average 669 cm3) and for case 2; 65-126 cm3 (average 109 cm3). CIgen were 0.53 and 0.70, respectively. The DVHs in absolute volume displayed for the delineated target volume as well as for the consensus volume adds information on both ''compliant" target volumes as well as outliers which are hidden with just the use of concordance indices.Conclusions: The DVHs in absolute volume add valuable and easily understood information to various indices for evaluating uniformity in target delineation.
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| 7. |
- Langegård, Ulrica, 1969, et al.
(författare)
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Health-related quality of life in patients with primary brain tumors during and three months after treatment with proton beam therapy
- 2021
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Ingår i: Technical Innovations & Patient Support in Radiation Oncology. - : Elsevier BV. - 2405-6324. ; 17, s. 5-17
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background Proton beam therapy (PBT) is increasingly administered to patients with primary brain tumors. Benefits of new treatments must be weighed against side effects and possible deterioration in health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The aim of this study was to describe and compare HRQoL, including acute symptom experiences and associated factors, in patients with malignant and benign brain tumors treated with PBT. Materials and Methods Adult PBT-treated patients with primary brain tumors (n=266) were studied. HRQoL was assessed with EORTC QLQ-C30, QLQ-BN20, HADS, ISI and MFI before, during and three months after treatment. Associations with demographic and medical factors were explored. Results Between baseline and three months post-treatment: HRQoL decreased significantly in the global health/QOL domains physical functioning, role functioning and cognitive functioning in the malignant group, global health/QOL and physical functioning decreased significantly in the benign group, more comorbidity was significantly associated with increased motor dysfunction, leg weakness, headache and future uncertainty. Fatigue and depression were the most frequent symptoms in both groups. Independent predictors of risk factor recognition were age, sex, chemotherapy, comorbidity and education level. Discussion Global health/QOL in patient with brain tumors is very complex and multidimensional. Symptoms are interrelated and related to patient, tumor and treatment factors. It is important to identify aspects of HRQoL that may be affected by treatment. These include both benefits, expected to improve HRQoL, and negative changes such as symptom experience and influencing factors. Evidence-based guidelines are needed for symptom management, and for high quality of care for patients experiencing low PBT-related HRQoL.
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| 8. |
- Lindberg, Jesper, 1983, et al.
(författare)
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Linear accelerator utilization: Concept and tool to aid the scheduling of patients for radiotherapy.
- 2021
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Ingår i: Technical innovations & patient support in radiation oncology. - : Elsevier BV. - 2405-6324. ; 20, s. 10-16
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Resources in radiotherapy (RT) need to be used effectively to meet the current clinical demand. The aim of this data-driven study is to identify temporal trends in the scheduling of patients for RT and to develop a tool for a visual overview of future scheduling levels.Scheduling data at an eight-linac modern RT department in Sweden were collected twice daily for planned and observed linac use in 2018-2020. Information was retrieved each day for the present (Day 0) and the forthcoming 100 weekdays with total linac utilization rates (LURs) calculated for two activity categories: treatment and non-treatment. An in-house tool based on the LUR concept, database queries from the oncology information system (OIS)/automatic calculations was developed and evaluated by RT managers and scheduling staff (n=10).Overall median LURs were 87%/89% (planned/observed; p<0.01) with more frequent and larger daily increase for non-treatment activities compared with treatment activities. LUR increased with shorter planning horizons and reached 100% for fully-operating linacs ≈3 weeks before Day 0. The tool was reported by 88% to ease the work and to contribute towards an even scheduling of patients (responses: 8/10).Alterations from a planned RT schedule occurs frequently. Having a tool that helps to reduce the abundance of booking information into clinically relevant overviews promise to increase the understanding of present and future scheduling levels. Our proposed concept and tool suggest that this is a feasible approach to schedule patients for RT more evenly.
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| 9. |
- Lindberg, Jesper, 1983, et al.
(författare)
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Resource planning principles for the radiotherapy process using simulations applied to a longer vacation period use case.
- 2021
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Ingår i: Technical innovations & patient support in radiation oncology. - : Elsevier BV. - 2405-6324. ; 20, s. 17-22
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Radiotherapy (RT) resources need to be used wisely to balance workload and patient throughput. There are no known strategies on how to plan resource use around longer vacation periods to avoid patient waiting times. We created a simulation model over the RT workflow to evaluate different scenarios for this purpose.The simulation model mimics a large modern RT department in Sweden. It was based on real data on patient referral patterns and resource use extracted from clinical systems (3666 treatment courses). Workshops with managers and staff were held to investigate nine different scenarios for the summer vacation period including one scenario to validate the model. Different capacity reductions, vacation period lengths and timing of the vacation periods between the preparatory part of the RT workflow and the treatment part were evaluated.For an eight-week period, resource utilization was predicted to be high both before and after the vacation period regardless of timing. However, more patients would be waiting with completed preparations with simultaneous vacation periods than when the preparatory part started one-two weeks prior to the treatment part. With shorter vacation periods, treatment would require overtime during the vacation period with higher levels of patients waiting compared to an eight-week scenario.Our proposed strategy aided managers to identify a preferred scenario for the summer vacation period with the preparatory part starting one-two weeks prior to the treatment part for an eight-week vacation period. This can help other RT departments to plan for similar situations.
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| 10. |
- Mannerberg, Annika, et al.
(författare)
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Faster and more accurate patient positioning with surface guided radiotherapy for ultra-hypofractionated prostate cancer patients
- 2021
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Ingår i: Technical Innovations and Patient Support in Radiation Oncology. - : Elsevier BV. - 2405-6324. ; 19, s. 41-45
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate if surface guided radiotherapy (SGRT) can decrease patient positioning time for localized prostate cancer patients compared to the conventional 3-point localization setup method. The patient setup accuracy was also compared between the two setup methods. Materials and methods: A total of 40 localized prostate cancer patients were enrolled in this study, where 20 patients were positioned with surface imaging (SI) and 20 patients were positioned with 3-point localization. The setup time was obtained from the system log files of the linear accelerator and compared between the two methods. The patient setup was verified with daily orthogonal kV images which were matched based on the implanted gold fiducial markers. Resulting setup deviations between planned and online positions were compared between SI and 3-point localization. Results: Median setup time was 2:50 min and 3:28 min for SI and 3-point localization, respectively (p < 0.001). The median vector offset was 4.7 mm (range: 0–10.4 mm) for SI and 5.2 mm for 3-point localization (range: 0.41–17.3 mm) (p = 0.01). Median setup deviation in the individual translations for SI and 3-point localization respectively was: 1.1 mm and 1.9 mm in lateral direction (p = 0.02), 1.8 and 1.6 mm in the longitudinal direction (p = 0.41) and 2.2 mm and 2.6 mm in the vertical direction (p = 0.04). Conclusions: Using SGRT for positioning of prostate cancer patients provided a faster and more accurate patient positioning compared to the conventional 3-point localization setup.
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