Program Information

HDR Brachytherapy: Treatment Verification Methods

O Craciunescu¹, I Buzurovic², G Cohen³*, (1) Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, (2) Brigham & Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, (3) Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Tenafly, NJ

Presentations

2:45 PM : In-room image verification using film and CBCT - O Craciunescu, Presenting Author
3:05 PM : In-room image verification using CT and MRI - I Buzurovic, Presenting Author
3:25 PM : Software-aided plan verification - G Cohen, Presenting Author

MO-E-FS2-0 (Monday, July 31, 2017) 2:45 PM - 3:45 PM Room: Four Seasons 2

Now more then ever, brachytherapy is an essential component of the standard of care for gynecologic and prostate cancer, with evidence showing that increased dose to the tumor delivered with brachytherapy correlates to better biochemical control in prostate patients and local control in cervix cancer patients. Yet, brachytherapy has lagged behind external beam therapy in the ability to monitor changes in treatment conditions, which can both be due to anatomic variations and to shifts in the implant geometry from planning to treatment. In interstitial gynecologic and prostate high dose-rate brachytherapy, these changes have been shown to be potentially clinically meaningful. The hypofractionated nature of brachytherapy treatments can further exacerbate the problem, with one single suboptimal treatment fraction having a large effect on the entire treatment dose. The timely detection of these varying conditions and the efficient adaptation of each treatment pose a considerable challenge for clinics around the world. Also, with treatment plan increasing in complexity, the importance and difficulty of the secondary physics plan check is crucial in avoiding treatment errors.

In this session we will provide an overview of the various aspect of treatment verification in brachytherapy, followed by an in-depth analysis of 2 aspects: verification through imaging (2D and 3D) and plan verification.

Learning Objectives:
1. Understand the various treatment verification options in brachytherapy
2. Understand the role of image as pre-treatment verification, both with 2D and 3D technologies
3. Understand the role that automation can play in improving the efficiency and efficacy of plan verification.

Handouts

127-35457-418554-126192-1549272922.pdf (O Craciunescu)

127-35458-418554-127646.pdf (I Buzurovic)

127-35459-418554-126180.pdf (G Cohen)

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