• The Journal of Korean Society for Radiation Therapy
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.31-43
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• 2015

Purpose : Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) has proved its efficacy in several patient populations with primary and metastatic limited tumors. Because SBRT prescription is high dose level than Conventional radiation therapy. SBRT plan is necessary for effective Organ at risk (OAR) protection and sufficient Planning target volume (PTV) dose coverage. In particular, multi-target cases may result excessive doses to OAR and hot spot due to dose overlap. This study evaluate usefulness of Volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) in dosimetric and technical considerations using Flattening filter free (FFF) beam. Materials and Methods : The treatment plans for five patients, being treated on TrueBeam STx(Varian$^{TM}$, USA) with VMAT using 10MV FFF beam and Standard conformal radiotherapy (CRT) using 15MV Flattening filter (FF) beam. PTV, liver, duodenum, bowel, spinal cord, esophagus, stomach dose were evaluated using the dose volume histogram(DVH). Conformity index(CI), homogeneity index(HI), Paddick's index(PCI) for the PTV was assessed. Total Monitor unit (MU) and beam on time was assessed. Results : Average value of CI, HI and PCI for PTV was $1.381{\pm}0.028$, $1.096{\pm}0.016$, $0.944{\pm}0.473$ in VMAT and $1.381{\pm}0.042$, $1.136{\pm}0.042$, $1.534{\pm}0.465$ in CRT respectively. OAR dose in CRT plans evaluated 1.8 times higher than VMAT. Total MU in VMAT evaluated 1.3 times increase than CRT. Average beam on time was 6.8 minute in VMAT and 21.3 minute in CRT. Conclusion : VMAT for SBRT in multi-target liver cancer using FFF beam is effective treatment techniqe in dosimetric and technical considerations. VMAT decrease intra-fraction error due to treatment time shortening using high dose rate of FFF beam.

• The Journal of Korean Society for Radiation Therapy
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• v.34
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• pp.83-92
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• 2022

Purpose: To evaluate usefulness of Tomotherapy and Halcyon VMAT treatment in radiation therapy for bi-breast cancer Materials and Methods: For 10 patients with bi-breast cancer, volumetric modulated arc therapy(VMAT) treatment plan was established using helical Tomotherapy(Accuray. USA) with field width of 5.0-cm and pitch of 0.287, and Halcyon(Varian Medical System, Palo Alto, CA, Version 3.0 USA) of 6arc and 8arc. Prescribed dose was 42.4 Gy/16, and V _40.3Gy of Planning Target Volume(PTV) was 90%. The quality of plan was evaluated by comparing the dose to tumor and normal organs, and the efficiency was evaluated by comparing total MU and beam on time. Results: About three treatment plans(Tomotherapy, Halcyon 6Arc VMAT, Halcyon 8Arc VMAT) , the mean homogeneity index(H.I) of PTV were 1.07, 1.10, 1.11, and the mean conformity index(C.I) of PTV were 1.21, 1.16, 1.17, respectively. The average value of the dose assessment item for a normal organ is V _5Gy(%) of both lung was 36.3, 31.2, 29.7, and V _15Gy(%) were 18.6, 15.5, 14.6, respectively. The mean heart dose(Gy) were 4.17, 2.69, 2.51. Total MU were (7498.6, 2494.2, 2471.5), and beam on time(sec) were 462.5, 195.4, 198.0. Conclusion: Halcyon VMAT showed similar quality of treatment plan compared to helical Tomotherapy, while also protecting normal organs. In addition, the efficiency of radiotherapy increased due to a decrease in Beam On Time and MU.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.1897-1900
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• 2015

Purpose: To evaluate acute toxicity in nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) patients treated with intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT)/volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) with or without cisplatin-based chemotherapy. Materials and Methods: A total of 45 newly diagnosed, histologically proven non-metastatic NPC patients treated with IMRT between May 2010 and December 2012, were evaluated retrospectively, 37 planned with Eclipse and 8 with Prowess Panther treatment planning system. The doses to the planning target volumes of primary tumor and involved lymph nodes, high risk region, and uninvolved regional nodal areas were 70 Gy, 60 Gy, and 54 Gy respectively and delivered simultaneously over 33 fractions to 39 patients. Another 6 patients irradiated with sequential boost technique. Some 84.4% of patients received chemotherapy. Acute toxicities were graded according to the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group scoring criteria and Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) for chemotherapy side effects. Results: Median age was 43 years (14-79) and all patients were WHO type II. Grade 1 mucositis and dysphagia were observed in 17 (37.8%), and 10 (22.2%) patients, respectively. The incidence of acute grade 2 mucositis and dysphagia was 55.6% and 68.9%, respectively. The most common chemoradiotherapy related acute toxicities were nausea, leucopenia and thrombocytopenia. Grade 3 toxicity was detected in 13 (28.8%) cases. No grade 4 toxicity was occurred. Mean weight loss was 9%. None of the patients required the insertion of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy for nutritional support. Radiation therapy was completed without interruption in all patients. Conclusions: IMRT is a safe and effective treatment modality, and well tolerated by patients in the treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. No unexpected side effects were observed.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.209-214
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• 2018

The results of CBCT was obtained using image guided radiation therapy for radiation therapy in 5 prostate cancer patients. Using these results, we compared and evaluated the dose changes according to the treatment plan depending on the volume and position of bladder, rectum, and prostate. The 28 images of CBCT were acquired using On-Board Imaging device before radiotherapy. After the outline of bladder, rectum, and PTV, pCT images and CBCT images for radiotherapy were treated respectively. The volume of the bladder was increased by 105.6% and decreased by 45.2%. The volume of the rectum was increased by 30.5% and decreased by 20.3%. Prostate volume was increased by 6.3% and decreased by 12.3%. The mean dose of the rectum was higher in the CBCT than in the pCT, and V40 (equivalent to 40 Gy) of the bladder showed a reduction in all treatment regimens in the CBCT than in the pCT. Conformity treatment and homogeneity index of PTV showed better results in all treatment regimens using pCT than CBCT. It was found that the dose distribution of the pelvic internal organs varied greatly according to the patient 's condition and pretreatment.

• The Journal of Korean Society for Radiation Therapy
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.109-117
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• 2017

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the change of body shape and the patient alignment state during image-guided volumetric modulated arc therapy in head and neck cancer patients, Materials and Methods: We performed a image-guided volumetric modulated arc therapy plan for 89 patients with head and neck cancer who underwent curative radiotherapy. Ten of them were evaluated for set up error. The landmarks of the ramus, chin, posterior neck, and clavicle were specified using ARIA software (Offline review), and the positional difference was analyzed. Results: The re-CT simulation therapy was performed in 60 men with $17{\pm}4$ cycles of treatment. The weight loss rate was $-6.47{\pm}3.5%$. 29 women performed re-CT simulation at $17{\pm}5$ cycles As a result, weight loss rate was $-5.73{\pm}2.7%$. The distance from skin to C1, C3, and C5 was measured, and both clavicle levels were observed to measure the skin shrinkage changes. The skin shrinkage standard deviations were C1 (${\pm}0.44cm$), C3 (${\pm}0.83cm$), and C5 (${\pm}1.35cm$), which is about 1 mm shrinkage per 0.5 kg reduction. Skin shrinkage according to the number of treatments was 1 ~ 4 fractions (no change), 5 ~ 13 fractions (-2 mm), 14 ~ 22 fractions (-4 mm) and 23 ~ 30 fractions (-6 mm). Conclusion: When the body shape changes about 5 mm, the central dose starts to differ about 3 % or more. Therefore, the CT simulation treatment for the adaptive therapy should be additionally performed. In addition, it is necessary to actively study the CT simulation therapy method and set up method of the lower neck and to examine the use of a new immobilization device.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.100-109
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• 2014

In stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT), the accurate location of treatment sites should be guaranteed from the respiratory motions of patients. Lots of studies on this topic have been conducted. In this letter, a new verification method simulating the real respiratory motion of heterogenous treatment regions was proposed to investigate the accuracy of lung SBRT for Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy. Based on the CT images of lung cancer patients, lung phantoms were fabricated to equip in $QUASAR^{TM}$ respiratory moving phantom using 3D printer. The phantom was bisected in order to measure 2D dose distributions by the insertion of EBT3 film. To ensure the dose calculation accuracy in heterogeneous condition, The homogeneous plastic phantom were also utilized. Two dose algorithms; Analytical Anisotropic Algorithm (AAA) and AcurosXB (AXB) were applied in plan dose calculation processes. In order to evaluate the accuracy of treatments under respiratory motion, we analyzed the gamma index between the plan dose and film dose measured under various moving conditions; static and moving target with or without gating. The CT number of GTV region was 78 HU for real patient and 92 HU for the homemade lung phantom. The gamma pass rates with 3%/3 mm criteria between the plan dose calculated by AAA algorithm and the film doses measured in heterogeneous lung phantom under gated and no gated beam delivery with respiratory motion were 88% and 78%. In static case, 95% of gamma pass rate was presented. In the all cases of homogeneous phantom, the gamma pass rates were more than 99%. Applied AcurosXB algorithm, for heterogeneous phantom, more than 98% and for homogeneous phantom, more than 99% of gamma pass rates were achieved. Since the respiratory amplitude was relatively small and the breath pattern had the longer exhale phase than inhale, the gamma pass rates in 3%/3 mm criteria didn't make any significant difference for various motion conditions. In this study, the new phantom model of 4D dose distribution verification using patient-specific lung phantoms moving in real breathing patterns was successfully implemented. It was also evaluated that the model provides the capability to verify dose distributions delivered in the more realistic condition and also the accuracy of dose calculation.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.473-479
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• 2023

In this study, the dose of photoneutrons generated during radiotherapy of prostate cancer using high energy was measured using a photo-stimulated luminescence dosimeter. In addition, this study was intended to study the probability of side effects occurring in the abdomen. A medical linear accelerator capable of generating 15 MV energy, True Beam STx (Varian Medical Systems, USA) and a radiation treatment planning system (Eclipse, Varian Medical Systems, USA) were used. A human body phantom was installed on the couch of the linear accelerator, and an Albedo Neutron Optical Stimulation Luminescence Neutron Detector (Landauer Inc., IL, USA) was used to measure the photoneutron dose. The photoneutron dose value in the abdomen of VMAT and 3C-CRT was 52.8 mSv, more than twice as high as VMAT compared to 3D-CRT. During radiotherapy of prostate cancer, the probability of causing side effects in the abdomen due to light neutron dose was calculated to be 3.2 per 1,000 for VMAT and 1.4 for 3D-CRT. By studying the abdomen, which has a major side effect that can occur during radiotherapy of prostate cancer, it is expected that it will be used as a meaningful study to study the quality of life and stochastic effect of prostate cancer patients

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.129-137
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• 2024

Purpose: Patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) who undergo dental procedures during radiotherapy (RT) face an increased risk of developing osteoradionecrosis (ORN). Accordingly, new tools must be developed to extract critical information regarding the dose delivered to the teeth and mandible. This article proposes a novel approach for visualizing 3-dimensional planned dose distributions on panoramic reconstruction computed tomography (pCT) images. Materials and Methods: Four patients with HNC who underwent volumetric modulated arc therapy were included. One patient experienced ORN and required the extraction of teeth after RT. In the study approach, the dental arch curve (DAC) was defined using an open-source platform. Subsequently, pCT images and dose distributions were generated based on the new coordinate system. All teeth and mandibles were delineated on both the original CT and pCT images. To evaluate the consistency of dose metrics, the Mann-Whitney U test and Student t-test were employed. Results: A total of 61 teeth and 4 mandibles were evaluated. The correlation coefficient between the 2 methods was 0.999, and no statistically significant difference was observed (P>0.05). This method facilitated a straightforward and intuitive understanding of the delivered dose. In 1 patient, ORN corresponded to the region of the root and the gum receiving a high dosage (approximately 70 Gy). Conclusion: The proposed method particularly benefits dentists involved in the management of patients with HNC. It enables the visualization of a 3-dimensional dose distribution in the teeth and mandible on pCT, enhancing the understanding of the dose delivered during RT.

• The Journal of Korean Society for Radiation Therapy
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.87-99
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• 2016

Purpose : This study will evaluate the clinical utility by applying clinical schematic that uses monoenergy or dual energy as according to the location of tumors to the stereotactic radiotherapy to compare the change in actual dose given to the real tumor and the dose that locates adjacent to the tumor. Materials and Methods : CT images from a total of 10 patients were obtained and the clinical planning were planned based on the volumetric modulated arc therapy on monoenergy and dual energy. To analyze the change factor in the tumor, Comformity Index(CI) and Homogeneity Index(HI) and maximum dose quantity were each calculated and comparing the dose distribution on normal tissues, $V_{10}$ and $V_5$, first ~ fourth ribs closest to the tumor ($1^{st}{\sim}4^{th}$ Rib), Spinal Cord, Esophagus and Trachea were selected. Also, in order to confirm the accuracy on which the planned dose distribution is really measured, the 2-dimensional ion chamber array was used to measure the dose distribution. Results : As of the tumor factor, CI and HI showed a number close to 1 when the two energies were used. As of the maximum dose, the front chest wall showed 2% and the dorsal tumor showed equivalent value. As of normal tissue, the front chest wall tumors were reduced by 4%, 5% when both energies were used in the adjacent rib and as of trachea, reduced by 11%, 17%. As of the dose in the lung, as of $V_{10}$, it reduced by 1.5%, $V_5$ by 1%. As of the rear chest wall, when both energies were used, the ribs adjacent to the tumors showed 6%, 1%, 4%, 12% reduction, and in the lung dose distribution, $V_{10}$ reduced by 3%, and $V_5$ reduced by 3.1%. The dose measurement in all energies were in accordance to the results of Gamma Index 3mm/3%. Conclusion : It is considered that rather than using monoenergy, utilizing double energy in the clinical setting can be more effectively applied to the superficial tumors.

• The Journal of Korean Society for Radiation Therapy
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• v.30 no.1_2
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• pp.177-183
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• 2018

Purpose : Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy(VMAT) has the advantage of uniformly and precisely irradiating the tumor to the shape of the tumor while reducing the risk of radiation damage to normal tissues. such as brain cancer, head and neck cancer and prostate cancer, It is being used for treatment. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the usefulness of the Jaw-Tracking technique(JTT) in VMAT for brain and head and neck cancer. Materials and Methods : We selected eight patients with brain and head and neck cancer(4 Brain, 4 head and neck) who were treated with the VMAT treatment technique. Contouring information of the patient's tumor and normal organ was fused to the Rando phantom using the deformable registration of Velocity(Varian, USA). A treatment plan was developed using the Varian Eclipse(ver 15.5, Varian, USA) with the same patient actual beam parameters except for the use of jaw-tracking. As the evaluation index, the maximum dose and mean dose of target and OAR were compared and a portal dosimetry was performed for the treatment plan verification. Results : When using JTT, the relative dose of OAR decreased by 5.24 % and the maximum dose by 7.05 %, respectively, compared with the Static-Jaw technique(SJT). In the various OARs, the mean dose and maximum dose reduction ranges ranged from 0.01 to 3.16 Gy and from 0.12 to 6.27 Gy, respectively. In the case of the target, the maximum dose of GTV, CTV, PTV decreased by 0.17 %, 0.43 %, and 0.37 % in JTT, and the mean dose decreased by 0.24 %, 0.47 % and 0.47 %, respectively. Gamma analysis The JTT and SJT passing rates were $98{\pm}1.73%$ and $97{\pm}1.83%$ on the basis of 3 % / 3 mm, respectively. Comparing the doses of all OARs applied to the experiment, it was found that the use of JTT resulted in a significant decrease in dose due to additional jaw shielding besides MLC than SJT. Conclusion : In radiation therapy using VMAT treatment plan, we can apply JTT in the case of adjacent tumor and normal organs such as brain cancer and head and neck cancer, and in radiotherapy required large field and high energy caused increase leakage dose through MLC. It is considered that the target dose of PTV can be increased by lowering the dose of normal tissue surrounding the tumor.