ESTRO 2024 - Abstract Book

S3595

Physics - Dose prediction, optimisation and applications of photon and electron planning

ESTRO 2024

Conclusion:

In this study, we have shown the dosimetric advantages of VHEE scanning beams in treating two distinct clinical sites. By establishing the minimum requirements for a VHEE machine to generate high-quality treatment plans, we have demonstrated that as few as three beams can yield effective clinical plans, paving the way for exploring future FLASH treatments [10]. A comparative analysis between VHEE plans and state-of-the-art photon VMAT and IMPT plans highlight the robustness of VHEE treatment plans, showing their resilience to unexpected changes in patient geometry. This improvement was consistent across two anatomically diverse areas of the body. These findings have potential clinical implications, suggesting that VHEE could increase plan quality or minimise adaptive planning during treatment. This, in turn, could alleviate the clinical burden and reduce unnecessary treatment gaps while making it an ideal candidate to explore FLASH radiotherapy.

Keywords: VHEE, Treatment planning, FLASH

References:

[1] C. DesRosiers et al. “150-250 MeV electron beams in radiation therapy”. In: Physics in Medicine & Biology 45.7 (July 2000), p. 1781. issn: 0031-9155. doi: 10.1088/0031-9155/45/7/306.

[2] Magdalena Bazalova-Carter et al. “Treatment planning for radiotherapy with very high energy electron beams and comparison of VHEE and VMAT plans”. In: Medical Physics 42.5 (May 2015), pp. 2615–2625. issn: 2473-4209. doi: 10.1118/1.4918923. [3] Emil Schuler et al. “Very high-energy electron (VHEE) beams in radiation therapy; Treatment plan comparison between VHEE, VMAT, and PPBS”. In: Medical Physics 44.6 (June 2017), pp. 2544–2555. issn: 00942405. doi: 10.1002/mp.12233. [4] Agnese Lagzda et al. “Influence of heterogeneous media on Very High Energy Electron (VHEE) dose penetration and a Monte Carlo-based comparison with existing radiotherapy modalities”. In: Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B 482 (2020), pp. 70–81. doi: 10.1016/j.nimb.2020.09.008.