Assessment of IGRT variability for lung SBRT

Bryan Kim; Charles Kirkby; Amy Semaka; Brock Debenham; Trevor Campbell

doi:10.1016/j.jmir.2021.02.004

Assessment of IGRT variability for lung SBRT

J Med Imaging Radiat Sci. 2021 Jun;52(2):191-197. doi: 10.1016/j.jmir.2021.02.004. Epub 2021 Mar 8.

Authors

Bryan Kim¹, Charles Kirkby², Amy Semaka³, Brock Debenham⁴, Trevor Campbell¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medical Physics, Jack Ady Cancer Centre, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.
² Department of Medical Physics, Jack Ady Cancer Centre, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada; Department of Physics and Anatomy, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Department of Oncology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
³ Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
⁴ Cross Cancer Institute, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; Department of Oncology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Electronic address: Brock.Debenham@albertahealthservices.ca.

PMID: 33707110
DOI: 10.1016/j.jmir.2021.02.004

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this project was to assess factors that may influence variability in the pre-treatment kilovoltage cone beam computed tomography (kV CBCT) image matching process for lung stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT).

Methods and materials: Pre-treatment CBCT and planning CT data sets of previously-treated lung SBRT patients were gathered and anonymized from four radiotherapy centers in Alberta. Eight radiation therapists (RTTs) and four radiation oncologists (ROs) were recruited from the same four cancer centers for image matching. Identical data sets were provided to each user, but the order of image sets was randomized independently for each user to remove any learning bias. Inter-user variabilities were then investigated as functions of various factors, including image origin (source institution/machine), user's institution (local matching protocol), profession (RTT vs. RO), years of experience and image quality (presence/absence of added noise).

Results: Very little variation in image matching between different users was observed. The mean differences from the consensus means for different image sets were less than 1 mm in all directions, and cases that exceeded 3 mm (i.e. clinically significant differences) were extremely rare. Image origin, user's institution, and profession (RTT vs. RO) didn't lead to any meaningful clinical differences, while image quality didn't introduce any statistically significant differences. In addition, no discernible trend was seen between user's experience and deviation from the user mean. Overall, no meaningful differences in inter-user variabilities for the different factors investigated were found in this study.

Conclusions: There appears to be an adequate standardization across the province of Alberta in terms of CBCT image matching process. No clinically significant differences were observed as functions of various factors investigated in this study. Consistency in matching between RTTs and ROs in this study suggests that RTTs do not need systematic RO approval of their lung CBCT match. It should be noted that RTTs at the centers in this study receive comprehensive training in CBCT-based image matching.

Keywords: Cone beam CT; Lung cancer; Radiation therapy; Stereotactic.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Cone-Beam Computed Tomography
Humans
Lung
Radiosurgery*
Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted
Radiotherapy, Image-Guided*