Dosimetric comparison of helical tomotherapy, volume-modulated arc therapy, and fixed-field intensity-modulated radiation therapy in nasopharyngeal and cervical cancers

Abstract Background: To compare the dosimetric parameters of different radiotherapy plans, helical tomotherapy(HT), volume-modulated arc therapy (VMAT), and fixed-field intensity-modulated radiation therapy (FF-IMRT) for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and cervical cancer (CC).Methods: A total of 15 patients with NPC and 15 patients with CC were chosen for retrospective analysis and replanned for HT, VMAT, and FF-IMRT. The prescribed doses of the planning target were 2.12/69.96 Gy, 1.8/59.4 Gy for NPC and 1.8/45 Gy for CC, respectively. The dosimetric parameters of the planning target, organs at risk (OARs), and the efficiency of radiation delivery were assessed and compared using the paired-samples t-test.Results: Compared with VMAT and FF-IMRT, HT plans significantly improved the mean conformity index (CI) and homogeneity index (HI). For the OARs, the HT plans reduced the maximum doses of most organs, such as brainstem, spinal cord, and optic nerves in NPC, and significantly reduced the volume of the high-dose region in NPC and the V30 and V40 of small bowel, rectum, and bladder in CC. However, VMAT evidently reduced the treatment time and improved the efficiency of radiation delivery than HT.Conclusions: For NPC and CC, results showed that HT and VMAT possessed better homogeneity and conformity of the target and better sparing of OARs compared with the conventional FF-IMRT, and HT achieved the best effect. VMAT had the shortest radiation delivery time. The results of this study can provide guidance for the selection of appropriate radiation technologies for patients with NPC and CC who are undergoing concurrent chemoradiotherapy.