| Yu Chaojun,Li Bo,Wei Zhenzhen,et al.Effects of air cavity correction on optimization convergence errors in intensity-modulated radiation therapy planning for nasopharyngeal carcinoma[J].Chinese Journal of Radiological Medicine and Protection,2026,46(6):573-580 |
| Effects of air cavity correction on optimization convergence errors in intensity-modulated radiation therapy planning for nasopharyngeal carcinoma |
| Received:October 28, 2025 |
| DOI：10.3760/cma.j.cn112271-20251028-00380 |
| KeyWords:Air cavity correction|Nasopharyngeal carcinoma|Intensity-modulated radiation therapy|Optimization convergence error |
| FundProject:广西壮族自治区卫生健康委员会自筹经费科研课题(Z-A20250381,Z-A20250390) |
| Author Name | Affiliation | E-mail | | Yu Chaojun | Department of Radiation Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning 530021, China | | | Li Bo | Department of Radiation Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning 530021, China | | | Wei Zhenzhen | Department of Radiation Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning 530021, China | | | Zhang Wei | Department of Radiation Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning 530021, China | | | Su Shida | Department of Radiation Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning 530021, China | | | Ye Weiqiang | Department of Radiation Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning 530021, China | WeiqiangYe@hotmail.com |
|
| Hits: 1961 |
| Download times: 33 |
| Abstract:: |
| Objective To investigate the effects of air cavity correction (ACC) on optimization convergence errors (OCEs) in intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) planning for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and to provide a basis for precise radiotherapy of NPC. Methods A retrospective study was conducted on 20 NPC patients treated at the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University. Two groups of 9-field IMRT plans were designed for these patients using the Eclipse treatment planning system (TPS): one with ACC turned on (the ACCon group) and the other with ACC turned off (the ACCoff group). A planning target volume (PTV) of the primary tumor was segmented into two sub-volumes based on a HU threshold of -100 in the computed tomography (CT) scans: a cavity-containing target volume (< -100 HU) and a tissue-containing target volume (CT > -100 HU). The dosimetric parameters of three target volume types and organs at risk (OARs), as well as plan complexity were assessed. Additionally, the correlations between the proportion of air cavity volume and the parameter differences between the two plan groups were analyzed. Results The ACCon group exhibited higher Dmin, D95%, and V100% of the three target volume types than the ACCoff group (t =2.60, 9.70, 8.32,3.04, 3.79, 7.16,2.75, 2.17, 2.77, P < 0.05), with the V100% of cavity-containing target volumes increasing by 21.68% ［(84.97% ±4.98%) vs. (69.83% ±8.03%)］. In contrast, the ACCon group showed lower Dmax and homogeneity index (HI) of PTVs and tissue-containing target volumes than the ACCoff group (t =-2.69,-4.58,-2.69、-2.57, P< 0.05), with the HI of the tissue-containing target volumes decreasing by 15.68%［(0.102 ±0.027)vs.(0.086 ±0.006)］. No statistically significant differences in the Dmax of OARs and plan complexity were observed between both groups (P > 0.05). Correlation analysis reveals positive correlations between the proportion of cavity volume and the ΔDmin, ΔD95%, and ΔV100% of PTVs between both groups (r = 0.69, 0.82, 0.66, P< 0.05) and a negative correlation between the proportion of air cavity volume and ΔHI between both groups (r = -0.50, P< 0.05). Conclusions The ACC-based optimization of IMRT planning for NPC can significantly reduce OCEs, enhance dose delivered to air cavities, and improve the dose coverage and uniformity to PTVs without compromising OARs sparing or increasing plan complexity. Notably, a larger proportion of the cavity volume corresponds to a more significant optimization effect of ACC in reducing OCEs. |
| HTML View Full Text View/Add Comment Download reader |
| Close |
|
|
|
