Feasibility of cranio-spinal axis radiation with the Hi-Art tomotherapy system

Background and purpose: Helical tomotherapy can eliminate the need for junction lines. The goal of this study is to evaluate tomotherapy in the delivery of CSA radiation and measurement of plan quality using physical parameters in comparing conventional (CSA-RT) and helical tomotherapy (CSA-TOMO) plans. Patients and methods: CSA-TOMO and CSA-RT plans were created for dosimetric comparison. Integral dose values were calculated. The ratios D-50% (dose received by 50% of the organ at risk's volume) and D-10% (dose received by 10% of the organ at risk's volume) were calculated representing large volumes and small volumes of organs at risk receiving significant dose. Results: When considering D-50% and D-10%, CSA-TOMO has a dosimetric advantage over CSA-RT for most organs at risk. The body integral dose was higher for the CSA-TOMO plan by approximately 6.5%. Conclusions: Tomotherapy is a feasible alternative for treatment of CSA. Analysis shows that tomotherapy improves dose ratios over conventional radiation for most organs at risk. The impact of a small increase in whole body integral dose is unknown. Long-term follow-up will be needed to answer this question as others have argued of the possibility of increased risk of secondary malignancies due to delivery of radiotherapy with IMRT. (C) 2005 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.