Computational investigation of biological dose-volume outcome predictors in 29 canine nasal tumor patients treated with stereotactic radiation therapy
Date
2012
Authors
McBeth, Rafe, author
Zhang, Dongqing, advisor
LaRue, Susan, committee member
Custis, James, committee member
Ben-Hur, Asa, committee member
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Abstract
The ability to mathematically model biological response to radiation dose in the tumors of cancer patients is a significant goal for the medical physics community. Although much work has been done in this area, novel treatment approaches are challenging the current knowledge of the radiation biology and oncology communities. In particular, doses five to ten times higher than traditional treatments are prescribed in stereotactic radiation therapy. These new treatment techniques are thought to have different mechanisms that cause cell death in comparison to classical treatments. These extraordinarily high doses are made possible by using advanced imaging, treatment planning, linear accelerator capabilities and immobilization to precisely target cancer while sparing healthy normal tissue. Biologically guided radiation therapy (BGRT) and biologically based treatment planning (BBTP) methods offer the next attractive step forward in radiation therapy. To examine the capabilities of biological based dose parameters, a mature data set of 29 canine nasal tumor patients was analyzed using the generalized equivalent uniform dose (gEUD) and the dose to a relative volume.Over one hundred individual predictors were inspected, with greater than five thousand individual tests, in search of optimal indicators of patient outcome.Testing showed that high negative gEUD values and the minimum dose to the tumor were highly significant predictors in the outcome of the patients. However, more robust techniqes need to be added to the analysis in order to validate these results.
Description
Rights Access
Subject
dose
equivalent
generalized
radiation
stereotactic
therapy